Thanks to a tip from Laura via our Gluten-Free Santa Barbara page, I caught word that there is an ice cream spot in Montecito that has gluten-free cones! I literally RAN there as fast as I could. Rori’s which is located in the newly revitalized Montecito Country Mart is the cutest little ice cream shop you will ever see. And… not only do they have GF cones, but they also have GF and dairy free chocolate chip cookies to make ice cream sandwiches out of! The girl behind the counter was very knowledgeable about which flavors were and were not safe for me to eat. I decided on the fresh mint patty with chunks of chocolate in it. I love that it is February and I was able to enjoy a GF ice cream cone out in the sunshine. Does life get much better than this?
Rori’s
6 FebAdama – Santa Barbara’s First Entirely GF Restaurant!
28 Jan
As of last week, Santa Barbara got its first entirely gluten-free restaurant when Adama decided to revamp their menu. How great is it that we can eat out locally and know that we can order every single thing on the menu?! I decided to head over there for lunch the other day to try the new menu out. I started with the Curried Onion Rings which were unbelievably crispy and satisfying. I then had the Twisted wrap.
This had southern fried “chicken” strips that were wrapped in a rice tortilla with ranch, lettuce and tomatoes. Even though I was nervous about it, I liked the consistency of the “chicken” strips. For dessert, I had a chocolate chip cookie.
Looking for the perfect excuse to try out the new menu at Adama? Come join Gluten-Free Santa Barbara on Tuesday, February 5th at 6:00 PM at Adama for our winter meet-up. If tasty libations, yummy food and gluten-free people aren’t enough of a reason to come (what is wrong with you?!), then I have another reason… Celiac Dietician Melinda Dennis will be there to offer information and guidance. RSVP on the Gluten-Free Santa Barbara Facebook page or send me an email at glutenfreeinsb@gmail.com.
D’Vine
17 Jan
There is yet another place for gluten-free sandwiches now! D’Vine which is just steps from State Street now has Udi’s bread that they can substitute for their sandwiches. Once of the employees explained that if you have Celiac, it may not be best to eat there as it is not a dedicated GF facility. However, once I told them that I was Celiac, they took precautions to keep my sandwich safe. I was impressed that a couple of them used the term “Celiac” and seemed to understand what that meant (changed gloves, prepared it on a clean surface, didn’t use the toaster). I had the Sunshine Sandwich which had cucumber, avocado, tomato, red onion, carrots, sprouts, ranch and cream cheese.
Pickles & Swiss
16 Jan
There is a new sandwich spot in Paseo Nuevo called Pickles & Swiss that offers gluten-free bread for their sandwiches! They use Our Daily Bread’s GF bread. Upon asking questions, they didn’t really seem too informed about cross contamination so I would say to eat at your own risk. There is one toaster press that they use, so if you do get a sandwich, you have to get it served cold which was fine by me. They were happy to change their gloves to accommodate me. I ordered the Chipotle Turkey Club which had turkey, bacon, tomato, avocado, romaine and a chipotle aioli. The bread was quite crumbly, probably due to the fact that it could not be used on their toaster press. Otherwise it was good. I wonder if they switched to Canyon Bakehouse Bread if it would make a difference with the crumbly issue or of course it would be wonderful if they had a dedicated press in the back for gluten-free bread!
Brunch at Coast
13 Jan
This morning, we decided to try Coast at the Canary Hotel after seeing that they had GF Banana Nut Bread on their menu. The last time we had been to the Canary Hotel was the night before we got married when we had a welcome dinner on the rooftop, so it holds a special place in my heart. The banana nut bread was served with some mixed berries. I was told the Huevos Rancheros was gluten-free but upon asking questions, I found that they typically fry the tortilla in a contaminated fryer. However, they were able to make mine in a pan to prevent cross-contamination.
This had fried eggs, cotija cheese, salsa rojo, beans, avocado and cilantro served on the crispy tortillas. Everything tasted nice and fresh. After eating we went up to the rooftop to take a look and reminisce. It still has some of the best views of Santa Barbara!
Product Review: Saffron Road Chickpea Snacks
6 Jan
I love products with a lot of flavor, so when Saffron Road sent me some samples of their chickpea snacks, I was excited to dig in. I found that they were addictive. The Falafel flavor was the least spicy. It was easy to finish this bag right away. Bombay Spice was packed with flavorful spices, even leaving behind the evidence on my hands. I wasn’t a huge fan of the Wasabi flavor, but for those that enjoy wasabi, you will find that it tastes as if are eating wasabi straight up. The folks over at Saffron Road have sent me some coupons to share, so leave a comment if you want to get your hands on this tasty snack!
Tre Lune has GF Pizza!
3 Jan
The whole family was in town for New Years to celebrate my brother’s birthday. One of the restaurants we visited was Tre Lune as it has always been a family favorite. As I was getting ready to order my usual order of GF pasta, the waiter let me know that they now serve a GF pizza! After asking all of the details (same oven, different surface, different utensils), we decided to get one for the table. I am so happy that we did. This is definitely my new favorite spot in town for GF pizza as the crust had a good consistency and the ingredients of the pizza were great too. For my main dish, I had the usual Spaghetti alle Lenticchie which had lentils, spinach and roasted tomatoes.
Cat Cora’s Gourmet Market – Salt Lake City Airport
23 Dec
We had a couple of hours at Salt Lake City Airport before our flight, so we took a walk to see what kind of food they had. After a few minutes, we found Cat Cora’s Gourmet Market. There were lots of gluten-free items available there for purchase. One particular item that caught my eye was this cherry cream cheese coffee cake. I found it hard to finish the whole thing but it was quite good.
Park City Pizza Co.
23 Dec
One of most gluten-free friendly places we found in Utah was Park City Pizza. On their gluten-free menu, they have the following paragraph:
We feel for you, we really do… we know how hard it is to find yummy GF food! Our resident celiac and owner Jeff lives this way, our manager Alyssa has major gluten intolerance! We also know how scary it can be to eat out and not know whether or not you are being poisoned (a little dramatic but you get the picture). That is why we had our kitchen certified by the gluten free institute and our co-workers trained to do the very best we can to ensure your food won’t make you sick! We hope you enjoy (and tell all your wheat-free friends!)
I just love how aware the restaurants here are about cross contamination! We ordered a cheese pizza.
This was a good basic cheese pizza. We also ordered the baked ziti since that used to be my go-to order back in the gluten eating days.
It was warm and gooey which was fantastic after a cold day of skiing. AND… it came with garlic bread!
gluten-free in sb 