This past weekend, we had friends in town that were staying near the Funk Zone. We decided to take advantage of the fact that they were staying there to try new spot Finney’s Crafthouse & Kitchen. It was pretty packed, but we didn’t mind waiting as it was a perfect Santa Barbara night. After talking with our waitress, I learned that they use Udi’s buns for their burgers and prepare them on a safe surface when told that it is for an allergy or Celiac. I had the Finney Burger which had a house spread that was also GF. The fries are made in a contaminated fryer, so I had the burger with their side salad. I was pretty pleasantly surprised with the quality of the burger and salad as it was a notch above your typical bar/pub fare. I only wish that they used Canyon Bakehouse hamburger buns as those tend to stay together better and taste better in my opinion. The burger went well with my spicy margarita. 
The restaurant was also accommodating for children as we had two 4-year olds and 2 young babies. They provided crayons and an activity booklet along with a nice kid’s menu.
Finney’s Crafthouse & Kitchen
24 AprFood Harmonics
19 Apr
I drove to Ojai this morning to have a much needed haircut since my hair stylist of 10 years is currently living there. This was my first time driving on 150 since the Thomas Fire, and I was amazed at the regrowth you can already see. It is a beautiful drive that is worth it just for the change in scenery. After my hair was done, I stopped at Food Harmonics in Ojai for lunch since the “Find Me GF” app showed me that it was an entirely gluten-free restaurant. The website describes the restaurant as offering food that is “real, organic, gluten-free, nutritionally dense and amazingly delicious”. I ordered a Dosa with goat cheese, butternut squash and tamari sautéed mushrooms. It came with a mixed greens and sauerkraut. I also had their Turmeric Matcha Latte. I enjoyed my uber healthy meal on their back patio where there was the perfect breeze. I am already planning a return trip to Ojai for the entire family in the near future.
Oliver’s
12 Apr
Monday was a record-breaking warm day, so the idea of having an al fresco dinner as the day cooled off sounded really appealing. We decided to try Oliver’s since their outside patio always looked so nice when we would drive by. The entirely vegan menu has gluten-free items noted, but I made sure to check about cross contamination as we ordered our food. I was excited to find out that they use GF tamari rather than soy sauce.
We ordered three things from the sides menu which happened to come out first: The Kung Pao Broccolini, Long Beans and Shishito Peppers. My favorite of those three were the shishito peppers which were perfectly cooked.
We also ordered the artichoke “crab cakes” from the small plates menu since they sounded unlike anything we had tried before.
The hearts of palm closely resembled the consistency of crab. I especially enjoyed the corn and the spicy aioli. For our main dishes, we ordered the veggie burger and the pad thai. The gluten-free option for the veggie burger is for it to be served with lettuce to wrap the burger in. However, once we saw the dish, it was clear that we would be fork and knifing the burger instead of attempting to pick it up.
The burger was good, but I might try something different next time to mix things up. The pad thai was a generous portion.
You might think that after ordering (and eating) so much food, there is no way that we would order dessert. You would be wrong. Both of the desserts they offered that night were gluten-free, so we went with the one that sounded more interesting to us – an apple crisp topped with coconut ice cream.
As this was made with oats, I made sure to confirm that the oats were certified gluten-free. Our overall experience at Oliver’s was really good – the staff was helpful, the outdoor patio was beautiful and the food and drinks were tasty. I’m already looking forward to returning to the patio to have another Johnny’s Alive cocktail and a small plate or two.
Santa Barbara Cider Co.
30 Mar
For parents of young children, sometimes you feel that a drink is necessary. Santa Barbara has no shortage of breweries or wine tasting rooms. But the breweries aren’t really a draw for Celiacs and sometimes wine just feels a little too refined when you’ve got boogers and spit up on you from your offspring. Enter the Santa Barbara Cider Company… an entirely gluten-free, family friendly tasting room and patio that still feels cool enough that your childless friends will want to make an afternoon or evening of hanging out there.
There are always 12 different ciders on tap, with 5 more taps coming in the near future. They have 4 different flavor profiles so there is truly something for everyone. The ciders feature fresh pressed juices (nothing from concentrate) that are sourced from three different states and there are no artificial colors, sweeteners or preservatives added. Basically you can feel good about getting your drink on. I did a taster flight so that I could sample their different flavors. I had Grow a Pear, Tropical Hopical, Viva and Homemade Apple Pie. My favorite was Grow a Pear, but Viva which combined pomegranate and lime was a close second. Homemade Apple Pie tasted exactly as it was intended, bringing back memories of Thanksgiving. The Tropical Hopical blended mango with hops and would be a good choice for those who would love the hoppy taste without the gluten. There are exclusively GF snacks for purchase (think potato chips, cookies and trail mix). They frequently have food trucks, but they can’t vouch for them being safe for celiacs as expected. I had Woodstock’s GF pizza delivered while we were there which went perfectly with the cider. If you want to have a drink with a side of corn hole, board games and fun tunes, Santa Barbara Cider Company is your new go-to place.
Brasil Arts Cafe
25 Mar
After spending the day downtown to attend the March For Our Lives, I thought it would be nice to support a local business that appeared to be gluten-free friendly by the looks of their menu. We’ve walked by Brasil Arts Cafe countless times on our way to Chicken Little, our favorite local children’s store. I was so excited to finally try it out. As I started to ask my usual questions, our waitress informed me that it was her first day but that she would get the owner to help ensure that I was getting correct information. The owner was very aware of cross contamination, informing me that I wouldn’t be able to have anything fried due to their lack of a GF fryer. He was also very accommodating with my daughter’s allergies. He made sure as soon as we ordered to go into the kitchen to ensure they took the necessary steps to keep us safe. I started with their small caesar salad which is served with their naturally GF pão de queijo – a delicious cheese bread. I wouldn’t necessarily call this a small salad so I can’t imagine what the large looked like. For my main dish, I had the BAC Burger.
The burger featured locally sourced beef on their cheese bread. Since I was unable to have their fries, I had this with the side salad which was another large portion. As much as I enjoyed having the option of eating a burger with a bun, I really want to return to try the Moqueca de Peixe as it is also naturally gluten-free and sounded very good.
Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar
21 Jan
It has been a trying month and a half here in Santa Barbara between the fires and the mudslides. Add the fact that I gave birth to a son a week before the Thomas Fire started, and you can imagine how crazy it has been. During the stretch of days with toxic air, we stayed inside as long as possible before I needed to get out of the house. We took a day trip north to Avila Valley Barn which was the perfect place to breathe fresh air for a few hours. There were pony rides and animal feedings for my daughter and yummy gluten-free snacks for purchase so that we were all happy. We also did a day trip south to Camarillo and Thousand Oaks. We spent a couple of hours at a local playground and then went to Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar for lunch. Our waitress was very well informed about cross contamination for both my celiac and my daughter’s allergies. I had the GF Sweet and Spicy Shrimp Wok which was unbelievably tasty. I think it was a combination of the fresh air, friendly service and being able to eat safe Asian-style cuisine, but I loved my meal and have been thinking of returning since we were there.
Green Table
26 Sep
I had been meaning to try Green Table in downtown Santa Barbara for some time now. The entire menu is organic, gluten-free and vegetarian with lots of vegan options for those who choose that lifestyle. I am quite indecisive, so I asked the employee helping me what their most popular lunch item tends to be. That led me to the Raw Veggie Wrap. It was a raw veggie burger with their house dressing, cucumber slices, avocado, arugula, shredded cabbage and goat gouda cheese all wrapped up in a coconut tortilla. When I first got the wrap, I thought that it looked like a lot of lettuce as filler, but I was pleasantly surprised as to how dense it was when I bit into it. I really enjoyed the goat gouda that I added to it as well. Not only does Green Table have a nice variety of made-to-order foods, they also have an extensive juice and matcha menu. Fans of the autumn favorite PSL will be happy to find a Pumpkin Spice Matcha Latte on the menu, prepared with freshly made almond milk. Now if only it would start feeling like fall around here…
Sharky’s Woodfired Mexican Grill
15 Jul
Braving the smoke in Goleta from the Whittier Fire, we decided to try Hollister Village’s newest restaurant, Sharky’s Woodfired Mexican Grill. When I looked at their menu online before heading there, I found that they seek out organic, local ingredients which was very appealing to me. I ended up ordering the Sharky’s Quinoa Salad with tofu added on. This salad was uber healthy but filling at the same time. It had organic red and white quinoa, organic baby spinach, cabbage, jicama, cucumber, sweet peppers, green onions, cilantro, avocado and toasted flax and chia seeds. The dressing was an avocado vinaigrette. Online, they have a gluten-free menu guide which is very helpful, noting that the fryer is used for items that contain gluten.
Somerset – CLOSED
22 May
Last week, we went on a much needed date night to the newer restaurant, Somerset. We sat in the beautiful garden courtyard which has gotten a major facelift since the Arts & Letters Cafe days. With tons of copper patio heaters to keep you warm, it is such a nice setting to spend a Santa Barbara evening out in.
Our waitress was familiar with Celiac Disease which is always reassuring. She walked me through the menu pointing out which items were truly gluten-free and which would have cross contamination. We started with the Spring Vegetables which came with fava tendrils, salsa verde and crème fraîche. I loved the freshness of this dish, especially the perfectly cooked brussels sprouts and asparagus. I then ordered the Burrata with grilled asparagus, prosciutto, mustard greens, cured egg yolk and pine nut breadcrumbs. For this, I had to omit the breadcrumbs. 
In hindsight, I would have passed on this dish as it felt very similar to the first starter we ordered. I also had it without the egg yolk, so perhaps that would have added a little more complexity to the taste to differentiate it from the first dish. For my main dish, I ordered Braised Short Rib Osso Buco.
This was accompanied by polenta, swiss chard, cipollini onions and a horseradish gremolata. The polenta was about 50% butter which was awesome, because butter. But it also made it so rich that I had a hard time finishing more than half of the dish. I think that had I skipped the starters, I could have polished this off as the meat was so tender. I wasn’t planning on ordering dessert, but then our waitress alerted me that their Chocolate Walnut Torte was made using Thomas Keller’s gluten-free Cup4Cup flour mix. Sold.
The salted caramel was a fantastic addition to the torte. The only part of the menu that we didn’t explore was the cocktail menu as I am currently not drinking. However, one of our neighboring tables had a frothy looking concotion that looked quite intriguing. The restaurant is definitely a littly pricy compared to your average Santa Barbara restaurant. But sitting in that courtyard is worth it, even if you only go for drinks and dessert.
Pickles & Swiss
16 Jan
This past weekend I went on a lunch date with my 96-year old grandma. She loves a good sandwich, so we decided to try the new location of Pickles & Swiss at Hollister Village in Goleta. When ordering, I found out that the cashier thought she may have celiac. Not so awesome for her, but awesome for me as I knew that she would ensure my sandwich would remain gluten-free. She had the staff change their gloves and the sandwich was placed on a GF-specified tray before being heated in the toaster. I had the tuna melt which was perfectly gooey and yummy. If you are in downtown Santa Barbara, you can also try their Paseo Nuevo location. I’ve eaten successfully at that location a handful of times as well since I wrote about them 4 years ago.
gluten-free in sb 