Tag Archives: california

Intermezzo

3 Nov

With the lighting, that doesn’t look too appetizing. But the smoked ham, lentil and red wine braised chard soup I started with at Intermezzo had a lot of flavor. I wasn’t looking to eat too much tonight so I just got some soup and vegetables. The market vegetables were fresh and perfectly dressed with some balsamic.

Now both of these items were great. But what I really wanted was the truffled parmesan french fries. Unfortunately, they are not made in a dedicated fryer. However, the husband enjoyed them immensely.

After eating, we went next door to the Au Bon Climat tasting room. This is one of my favorite pinots from this area, so I am very excited that they finally opened their own tasting room!

In other news, there appears to be a large hole on the butt of my jeans that was discovered while out tonight. Apparently this blog is not good for my waistline.

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Nordstrom Cafe

3 Nov

I had to pick something up at Nordstrom today, so I figured I might as well go have a salad in their cafe for lunch. When perusing the menu, I saw a note that they had GF pasta available there! This town is finally starting to catch on! I got the Pasta Primavera with the gluten-free penne. This included roasted zucchini, squash, peppers, carrots, onion, tomato, fresh basil and a herb butter sauce with some parmesan cheese on top. It was pretty light. The outside patio is the perfect place for lunch on a day when the sun is out.

 

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Plow and Angel

2 Nov

This evening, we went to Plow and Angel at the San Ysidro Ranch. Plow and Angel is the more casual dining option at San Ysidro Ranch. They also have Stonehouse which is more upscale. Both eateries have outdoor patios that are the most romantic, magical setting you can ever imagine. Seriously. If you have a special occasion that is worth celebrating, sit outside and just be in awe.

On to the food…. the first thing you will notice on the Plow and Angel menu is that it says on the bottom, “We are happy to accommodate all dietary needs such as vegetarian and gluten free diets.” It is true. They are very knowledgeable about the GF diet and even have gluten-free pasta available to substitute in on any dish with pasta. Another thing worth mentioning? If you dine at Plow and Angel, you can also order any dish from the Stonehouse menu. I started with “SYR’s Famous Tortilla Soup”. It includes avocado, grilled chicken, cheddar cheese, and corn tortilla crisps. This soup was SO good. I already am thinking about going back just to get this soup again. Then, for my main, I got the Maine Lobster Bolognese with GF penne all Chitarra, tomatoes and basil.

Now this dish comes at a price ($69.00), but it was delicious. There was plenty of lobster meat and the bolognese style sauce complimented the dish perfectly. If you are on a budget, just ordering the soup and a salad would be satisfying and enjoyable as the setting outside is just that special.

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Muffins on the Mesa

28 Oct

 

I wasn’t feeling too well when I woke up this morning and realized we didn’t have any cold medicine so I made my way to the CVS on the Mesa. As long as I was in the Lazy Acres parking lot, I figured I may as well pick a couple of things up. In their bakery case, they have gluten-free muffins. I went with the blueberry muffin and picked up some OJ to get some more Vitamin C in me. I also got some of their three bean vegetarian chili to go so that I would have something warm to look forward to for dinner.

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Steak Night

27 Oct

I wasn’t lying when I said that Lucky’s Onion Rings made with rice flour are unbelievable. That picture doesn’t even do them justice.

Last night, we had dinner in Lucky’s bar area. I started with their special soup which had white beans, tomatoes and fennel. Then we got to the good stuff. I had the petite filet cooked medium rare. My husband and I also shared the skinny onion rings and the hashed brown potatoes with gruyére cheese.

Make sure that you request the onion rings to be prepared with rice flour as they are typically prepared with a “normal” flour. This was such a good, filling meal. As always, there was some good people watching in the bar are while we were dining.

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Simply Pies

25 Oct

After running some errands today, I stopped at Simply Pies to see what gluten-free things were available. In the case, there was a vegetable quiche and chocolate cream pie that looked too good to pass up. I cut a sliver from the quiche and put it in the microwave for 15 seconds. YUM. The crust was flaky and had a good taste. I don’t even know if I had ever had quiche before but it seems to be a nice way to add a little variety to your breakfast. And then there was the chocolate cream pie…

Oh my goodness… this pie is so good. The whipped cream dollops on top were the perfect accompaniment to the chocolate. This little place on Hollister was so cute. I guess you can order any of their pies, quiches or pot pies to be made GF at least 24 hours in advance. The apple pie looked so incredibly good (with gluten) that I think I will have to try it GF. And pot pies?! How cool is that?!

 

 

 

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Dinner in Montecito

22 Oct

Tonight we went to dinner with my parents who were in town for two days. We went to the family favorite, Tre Lune. I started with my go-to Insalata di Fagioli pictured above. It was great, as always with the perfect balance of white beans, cucumber, tomatoes, onions and parmesan. I had really worked up an appetite all day while at work so I decided to order three courses. The next thing I had was the Carpaccio con Rughetta.

Sliced incredibly thin, this went into my belly very quicky. The mustard dressing in the middle was nice and light and complimented the beef tenderloin really well. The main course I ordered was the special pasta which had prawns and a tomato sauce. I had the choice of penne or fusilli. The picture below was of my dad’s pasta. He had the same dish with the regular spaghetti.

The only thing I didn’t like about this was that I prefer not to remove the heads. We requested them to be removed but the restaurant was too busy to accommodate us. Therefore, my dad had the task of removing both of our prawns’ heads. Yuck. I topped mine with the hot oil that they serve with their pizzas. It gave it the perfect about of heat. This meal paired with a wine from Puglia, Italy was extremely satisfying after a long and busy day at work.

 

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Olio Pizzeria

21 Oct

Tonight we went to Olio Pizzeria to try the gluten-free pizza. We started with the Calabrese-style olives which were very spicy. I then had the Favorite Salad which was good. It was a pretty large portion for a starter salad so I would share it in the future. Then, my husband and I shared two gluten-free pizzas.

The Umbra pizza had robiola cheese, crimini mushrooms and umbrian black truffles. I am not a fan of mushrooms, so I just pushed them off, but the truffle taste was fantastic.

The Margherita Pizza had fresh bufala mozzerella, san marzano tomatoes, parmesan, basil and e.v.o.o. My only complaint about this pizza was that the cheese wasn’t melted enough as shown in the picture above. I would also prefer more cheese coverage on my pizza. As far as the crusts themselves, I found that they were good. The bottom was firm enough to hold the toppings. The edge was crispy and had a nice flavor. I asked the waiter where they get the crusts from, and he told us that they were supplied through Sysco. Overall, the individual ingredients in these pizzas were far superior to the other pizzas in Santa Barbara that I have tried thus far, but it comes at a price.

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Just a little picture to make you drool

21 Oct

Where can I get this delicious sandwich you are wondering? Savoy…. big surprise there. This is the Gaviota Sandwich which includes garlic-rosemary chicken breast, tomato, provolone, Savoy greens and dijon on the toasted gluten-free bread.

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Olio e Limone

18 Oct

I was craving some carbs tonight so we went to Olio e Limone. The starter I ordered was on the specials menu (it has been on the specials menu every time I have eaten there), and I understand why. It is just so darn tasty. It consists of Burrata Cheese, Tomato, Eggplant, Red Peppers, Greens, Olive Oil and Balsamic. When I ordered, I had asked the waiter if they GF pasta available. He told me they have spaghetti and a noodle similar to penne on hand. Gluten-free pasta choices? Nice. I went with the Rustichelle d’Abruzzo all’Amatriciana which is pasta with pancetta, onions and a spicy tomato sauce.

It was so delicious. I wish I could eat those onions everyday for the rest of my life. I prefer my sauce a little spicier, so the waiter brought out the hot oil they use next door at their pizzeria. I started talking to the waiter about gluten-free pizza offered at the Olio Pizzeria next door. He said that they had been getting a lot of interest and that they were working on it. He thought it would be sooner than later. Just moments later when he returned with the check, he said, “Guess what? I was in the kitchen and saw a pizza that looked a little different. It turns out they have the gluten-free crust now!” I can’t tell you how excited I was to hear this news. I started grilling him about how they handle the crust, and he assured me that they use a thin baking sheet to keep it off the same oven as the regular pizza and they use a different cutter as well. So there you have it… it has finally happened as of this week! Olio Pizzeria now has pizza available for us GF food connoisseurs!

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