Tag Archives: gluten free

Tydes at the Coral Casino Beach and Cabana Club

9 Feb

Here’s the catch…. in order to eat at Tydes, you must either be a member of the Coral Casino Beach and Cabana Club OR you need to be a registered guest at the Four Seasons Biltmore. So what are you waiting for?! Go get a room for the night! Reason #1 you should book a room: You get gluten-free bread when those that eat gluten get their bread. My warm bread was served with a fantastic olive oil. Reason #2: The Butternut Squash Soup.

This was unbelievably tasty. One of the many perks of having GF bread is that you can soak up every last drop of this amazing soup. Reason #3: The Caesar Salad.

I got this without the croutons and without the anchovies on top. Do you see how much grated cheese is on top?! This is the caesar salad I dream about….It had a slightly garlicky dressing that was great with all of that cheese. Reasons #4: The incredibly fresh Branzino. For my main dish, I had the Branzino which was served with chickpeas, capers and olives.

This piece of fish was prepared perfectly and went really well with the saltiness of the capers and olives. We decided to get a couple of sides with our main dishes…which brings me to Reason #5: HERB FRIES WITH PARMESAN AND TRUFFLE OIL.

Imagine my excitement when I found out that these are made in a dedicated fryer. To be honest, it is worth staying a night at the Four Seasons just to have these fries. They were beyond wonderful. As for our other side dish? Reason #6: Broccolini with parmesan. These didn’t photograph as well because it was dark, so you will just have to take my word for it when I say that they were cooked just right. Overall our meal here was perfect. In addition to all of the dishes, our server was warm and attentive. And now comes the hint dropping for my husband… doesn’t a night at the Four Seasons sound great?

 

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Ahi Sushi

8 Feb

To celebrate my half-birthday (yes, I count that as something worth celebrating), we decided to try Ahi Sushi on upper State Street. I had my San-J travel soy sauce packets on the table when I started to explain to our waitress what I was allergic to, and she said the magic word, “gluten“. She brought me out their gluten-free soy sauce to use. She then was absolutely fantastic in confirming what I could and could not have. I started with the MaMa Mia roll which consists of yellowtail, salmon, cucumber, avocado, jalapeno, jalapeno masago and garlic.

It typically includes two sauces but to be safe, we omitted them. I then had the Sgt. Pepper Roll which has crab meat (not artificial), cucumber, avocado, mango, albacore, jalapeno and masago.

I also had this roll without the sauces. The last roll I had was a basic yellowtail roll. They were small, compact pieces which I love because they are easy to eat. Overall, we had a really great experience at Ahi Sushi, mainly because of our waitress, Masami.

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Lunch at Sojourner Cafe

6 Feb

If you are like me, you sometimes look at restaurant websites to see what their specials are for the day. That is what I was doing this morning when I saw “hearty vegetable soup” on Sojourner Cafe’s menu and knew that that was what I must consume for lunch. I started with a cup of this GF hearty soup which was perfect on an overcast day like today. Then I had the garlicky caesar salad without croutons.

I wasn’t planning on getting dessert, but then our waitress informed me that they had a gluten-free brownie bite. Of course I had to get it so that you could see a picture of it.

This was the perfect amount of richness. What a perfect lunch for a rare day off from work!

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The Taste of Victory

5 Feb

What is the best way to celebrate the NY Giants Victory? For me, it was to bake one of the vegetable pot pies in my freezer made by Simply Pies. I will be honest… I was really nervous about preparing it correctly. Even though it only had three steps, I tend to screw things up in the kitchen. However, 45 minutes later, I had a delicious pot pie that I happily consumed. I will definitely be buying these again.

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El Capitan Canyon

4 Feb

For my husband’s birthday, I surprised him with a night glamping at El Capitan Canyon. This place is really worth checking out. They have luxurious tents and cabins as accommodations. Each tent or cabin comes with its own picnic table and firepit. For dinner, we made veggie burgers with the Sunshine GF Veggie Patties, Udi’s hamburger rolls, hummus, onion and tomato. That was the first time I had Udi’s hamburger rolls and I loved them. For dessert we made gluten-free smores over our firepit. We used S’moreables, GF marshmallows, and Vosges’ peanut butter bonbon chocolate. These were so good. In the morning, we had breakfast at the Canyon Market and Kitchen.

I had the huevos rancheros which was quite tasty after a night of “roughing it”. Under those extra corn tortillas were beans with some melted cheese as well as some potatoes that were cooked with onions. Yum.

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Jeannine’s Upper State

2 Feb

For lunch today, we went to the Jeannine’s on Upper State Street. For those of you that like baked goods, this is the place to go. Not only do they have a GF menu of goodies, but they also have a nice selection in their case. We ended up getting a carrot cupcake with cream cheese frosting.

This was pretty good. It was plenty for the two of us to share. For my main, I had the Mediterranean Salad without the bread it usually comes with.

This was a nice portion for lunch. I think the only thing that might have made it better would be some grilled shrimp on top. We really liked this location of Jeannine’s, but the parking lot was a little hectic.

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Spiritland Bistro

31 Jan

Today is a sad day in Santa Barbara for those who are gluten-free, vegetarian or just fans of good food. Spiritland Bistro has posted the following on their website,

“Dear Patrons,

We are sorry to inform you that we are now CLOSED. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding. If you need to contact management, please email: info@spiritlandbistro.com“

Just a couple of weeks ago there was a notice on their site saying something to the effect of there being a family emergency and that they would be temporarily closed. Unfortunately, it is now permanent.

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La Super Rica Taqueria

28 Jan

If you live in Santa Barbara, chances are you know of and have been to La Super Rica before. Is it really as good as people say? I think so. Above is the #6, one of the tastiest things you will ever eat. It consists of sauteed strips of chile pasilla with onions, melted cheese and herbs on two corn tortillas that are about three seconds old. It is one of my go-to dishes there. The other is #13,  which is possibly even better than #6.

It might look ordinary, but this is no ordinary dish. The menu says it is melted cheese with homemade tomato sauce and 3 corn tortillas. I like to think of it more as a party in my mouth. This is one of my favorite things to eat in the world. The other dish I like to get here is the Chilaquiles which is not on their regular menu. I know they have it on the specials’ menu every Tuesday though. As a tip, they are cash only and you can expect to wait during normal dining times.

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Panino Montecito

26 Jan

It is really warm out today (I am not complaining) so I wanted something light for lunch. I picked up the Chicken Salad Salad from Panino in Montecito. This was incredibly tasty and filling. If you ever go wine tasting up near Los Olivos, they have a location up there that is the perfect place to get salads to go and have a picnic on one of the winery properties! (And for your gluten-eating friends and family, they have great sandwiches to choose from too. Now if only we could get them to carry GF bread…)

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Renaud’s Patisserie and Bistro

24 Jan

This morning, we decided to try Renaud’s Patisserie and Bistro in the Arlington Plaza. I ordered the omelette with peppers, spinach and gruyere cheese and made with egg whites. For my side, I chose the potatoes. I really loved this meal. The omelette was the perfect size and had the perfect amount of fillings. The potatoes were incredibly good as well. The outdoor seating of this bistro is really appealing as it is in a quieter shopping center that has many cute stores. I definitely want to return to try some of their macarons!

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