This morning, I headed to Goleta to try out Goleta Coffee Company’s new gluten free toasts. They prepare and bake their gluten-free, vegan bread on dedicated equipment. The area that they prepare their toasts is also dedicated gluten-free. They do serve lots of items with gluten there as well, but are careful to prevent cross contamination for the toasts. I had a really hard time deciding between the seven choices. I ended up going with their Classic Avocado and Superseed Banana Nut. The Superseed Banana Nut had almond butter, sliced banana, chia, flax, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and shaved coconut. It was toasted with maple syrup and cinnamon and drizzled with honey. Holy moly… this was awesome. The consistency of the bread was fantastic and held up to all of the toppings really well.
I was afraid that by ordering the Classic Avocado, I would be making a boring choice. This toast was anything but boring though. It was served with farmers market watermelon radish and lemon pepper. Both dishes were so beautifully prepared – I was surprised to see such an attention to detail at a super casual coffee spot. The fact that the flavors were just as good as the presentation made me put this on my short list for favorite breakfast in the area. I have included the toast menu below so you can plan your future visit! 
I am pretty sure I have found my new favorite dish in town. A friend and I decided to try 
I liked the heat of the cucumber along with the toasted garlic, but my favorite was the kale salad. When I ordered the salads, I was told that all of the ones that were in the case that day were gluten-free, even though not all of them were labeled as such. When I asked why they weren’t all labeled GF, I was told that they only put the GF on the items that typically weren’t so that their customers would know. This seems like a horrible idea. You should label the items that are gluten-free whether or not those items are “typically” safe or not safe. I confirmed the ingredients and preparation for the three items I selected, but it definitely leads me to believe that they need to rethink their labeling strategy to avoid miscommunication. When you have celiac, you can never make assumptions about your food whether it is labeled GF or not.
My favorite building in Santa Barbara is the courthouse. It is unbelievably beautiful with intricately painted walls and ceilings and panoramic views from the clocktower. Plus, I got hitched there, so it will always be one of my favorite spots in town. Just steps from the courthouse is new-ish restaurant, 
Usually this soup comes with fried olives. The manager/owner explained that the oil used to fry them is uncontaminated as they only fry potato chips in it. However, this batch of olives was not from today, and so just to be safe, he didn’t want to run the risk of cross contamination since he didn’t see them being made. I appreciated the caution and felt comfortable with my order due to his communication with me and the kitchen. I just wished that the owners would properly educate their entire staff on what gluten is as well as what cross contamination is. I wonder what would have been the result of my meal if he wasn’t there to assist.
We split two doughnuts, banana bread and a cookie sandwich filled with icing.
Not only were the items we selected delicious, they brought back great memories of going to BabyCakes in NYC when I was younger. The next morning, we got an early start to the day at 
I chose the breakfast sandwich which consisted of a biscuit-type of donut/bread. I loved the flavor of it and considered getting a second one until I remembered we ordered lots of fonuts to sample.
These three were the banana, churro and raspberry vanilla fonuts. We also had a banana chocolate and chocolate with sprinkles fonut. We did not leave hungry. After our hearty breakfast, we spent the morning exploring Griffith Park.
Everything was so green due to the recent rains. Our favorite part was the 
We ordered three of these deliciously light and flavorful nuggets of goodness. The Corny For You was filled with cream of corn, ricotta and spinach.
The Siberian Classic dumplings were filled with beef and pork and were served with a sour cream sauce on the side. My personal favorite were the Hot Chick dumplings.
They were filled with chicken and veggies and drenched in a Thai coconut curry. The good thing about eating these in the comfort of your home is that no one can judge you when you lick the container clean. How do people in Los Angeles eat anything other than these dumplings every day?
The potatoes were so crispy and good. The dish was served with the restaurant’s homemade gluten-free flatbread.
This bread would be great for a sandwich. With our bellies full, we drove back to Santa Barbara.
This morning, I noticed on the Find Me Gluten-Free app that there is a restaurant listed that has GF pancakes. 
Hello there. Do you remember me? I haven’t forgotten about you. Life has just been quite busy. I had the urge to try somewhere new in Santa Barbara this past week which led me to 
gluten-free in sb 
