There are some mornings in Santa Barbara where you remember how lucky you are to live in such a beautiful spot. This was one of those mornings. We started the day by taking our pup for a walk along Butterfly Beach, enjoying the show that the dolphins seemed to put on for us. After working up an appetite, we went to Lucky Penny for breakfast. I had the wood-fired eggs with salsa verde, fingerling potatoes, cotija cheese and fresh cilantro. Usually this comes with chorizo, but I got it without it. Additionally, their eggs come with crostini on the side so you just have to ask for them to leave it off the plate! I really loved the vibe here as it isn’t a full service restaurant. We sat on their picnic style benches, enjoyed the tunes playing and watched a photo shoot take place outside.
Old Wives’ Tales
13 Aug
For breakfast one morning, we headed to the East side of Portland to a place called Old Wives’ Tales. At Old Wives’ Tales, they state that at least 90% of their menu is gluten-free. There, I ordered GF pancakes made from Bob’s Red Mill GF flours. I also had a side GF English Muffin.
Sometimes it is nice to go to a restaurant and to be able to order a bunch of carbs!
Besaw’s
6 Aug
We just got back from spending a few days in Portland, Oregon to celebrate my birthday and our wedding anniversary. Holy gluten-free awesomeness. I think Portland is my new favorite place. One morning, we decided to try a place called Besaw’s for breakfast. We shared an order of the rosemary-garlic roasted potatoes with melted gruyere. These were fantastic. I then ordered the gluten-free french toast, because why on earth would I order something else when that was on the menu?
This was pretty tasty too. They use a bread called Jensen’s which was perfect consistency for the french toast.
Miró at Bacara
18 Jun
A couple of weeks ago, I went to Bacara for breakfast with a friend to celebrate her birthday. When I started to ask my questions about gluten-free items, the waitress was very confused. It was clear that she was not sure what gluten-free meant. As she kept saying “I think that is okay”, I asked if she would just go to the kitchen to ask the chef what my options were. Once she came back, she knew that they had gluten-free bread available. I had the Open Face Santa Barbara Cambridge House Smoked Salmon on gluten-free bread. It was okay. The company and the views definitely made up for it though. One other thing that I was not crazy about that had nothing to do with being GF was that when she brought our dishes out, she also gave us the check immediately. I personally feel that by doing that, it makes you feel more rushed.
Radial Cafe
13 Apr
One morning in Atlanta, we tried Radial Cafe for breakfast. Our waiter’s grandmother also had Celiac, so he was very well informed. I ordered the gluten free pancakes, which he assured me they prepared on a designated GF surface with clean utensils. These were ridiculously good. They consisted of quinoa, corn, tapioca, buckwheat flours and ground flax. There was some cinnamon in them as well. The short stack was plenty as the pancakes were huge. He also recommended a very GF friendly spot to us in Atlanta called Urban Pl8, which we didn’t get a chance to visit, but sounded as if they would take care of Celiacs.
Esau’s Cafe
26 Oct
This morning, the husband and I went to Esau’s for breakfast. It was perfect weather to sit outside on their patio. I ordered the Bacado Omelette. It came with bacon, jack cheese, tomatoes, onions, avocado and sour cream. Instead of toast, I had the option of getting corn tortillas with it! This was perfect, as I made miniature tacos with my dish. I think all breakfast spots should have that option!
Four Seasons Chicago
10 Sep
One of my favorite things about Four Seasons is their gluten-free friendly breakfast. The Four Seasons in Chicago was no exception. With items like GF Nutella Hotcakes and GF cereal on the menu, I knew I would be fine. I ended up getting the GF blueberry muffin which had plump and juicy blueberries. Along with my scrambled eggs, I also had gluten-free toast.
Our waitress assured me that they had a dedicated gluten-free toaster to prevent cross contamination!
Bell Street Farm
28 Jul
Today we spent the day in Los Alamos so that we could try Bell Street Farm. Not only did we get to visit this cool market/eatery, but we also lucked out because it was the Los Alamos Chair Faire! You may be asking yourself, what is a Chair Faire? Well, it is exactly what it sounds like… a fair that showcases chairs. From the website,
Benefitting the Olga Reed Elementary School in Los Alamos, the event offered folks a chance to sell their chairs of any kind, whether they be quality antiques, hand-crafted artisan works, unique artist painted chairs, or treasures from the garage, “last-stop-before-the-dump.”
As fun as the fair was (the music was actually great), the highlight of the day was the Bell Street Farm. I ordered the pork belly-wrapped shoulder, sauteed crispy with roasted potatoes and onions and topped with 2 ‘over-easy’ eggs.
This is typically served with bread on the plate, so make sure you communicate that you can’t have it. I really enjoyed this dish. If it were a little later in the day, I may have ordered the Charcuterie and Cheese since I saw that they had Mary’s Gone Crackers gluten-free crackers available for purchase. How cool is that?
Quinoa for Breakfast
7 Jul
The other morning, I tried the Red Quinoa “Oatmeal” for breakfast at Scarlett Begonia. It had toasted almonds, apricots, maple syrup, house made ricotta and steamed milk. Other than substituting almond milk for the steamed milk, I didn’t need to make any substitutions!
Breakfast at Fresco
1 Jun
Yesterday, we went to Fresco for breakfast. I was able to order one of their wraps on their GF bread. I got the Morning Wrap which had three eggs, vermont cheddar, crispy bacon and fresh avocado. I got it served with the side of fruit. This was VERY filling.
gluten-free in sb 