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.
Food Harmonics
19 AprPickles & 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.
Little Kitchen
11 Nov
Whenever I see gluten-free bread listed on a menu, I am always skeptical. More often than not, it is prepared with no consideration to the people that actually will get ill if they consume gluten. So when I visited Little Kitchen in downtown Santa Barbara, I was pleasantly surprised. Upon asking the owner how they prepare the sandwiches with gluten-free bread, she asked if I was celiac and then explained that her good friend is as well. She then assured me that my sandwich would be prepared in a clean pan rather then the usual flat top. Additionally, she proactively walked over to the chef making the food to have him change his gloves and clean the work space. I ordered the Vineyard Chicken Sandwich with chips (the fries are made in a contaminated fryer). It had organic chicken with a balsamic glaze, goat cheese, caramelized onions, butter lettuce, tomato and rosemary garlic aioli served on BFree’s GF Brown Seeded Sandwich Bread. I had never had this GF bread before but found that it had a really good consistency and taste. The restaurant itself has a super cool decor. It is located right next to the Kitty which seems perfect as they also offer up a very appealing late night menu. I can’t wait to go back to try their grilled cheese (hello Sriracha mayo)!
AH Juice
28 Jul
Hello there. Do you remember me? I haven’t forgotten about you. Life has just been quite busy. I had the urge to try somewhere new in Santa Barbara this past week which led me to AH Juice on Haley Street. This 100% organic cafe just steps from The Mill offers plenty of naturally GF foods. I ordered the Wild Smoked Salmon Free Range Scramble without the toast. The quality of the salmon was outstanding and I loved the slices of avocado that came with the sautéed veggies.
Speaking of The Mill, I’d like to congratulate GFSB’s cofounder, Courtney, on her recent wedding which took place at Potek Winery. With a very cool setting, an entirely gluten-free menu compliments of Wildwood Kitchen and Lilac Patisserie, and good company, it was one of my favorite weddings I’ve been to! Good luck to you and your husband in SLO! The GF community there will be lucky to have you! Stepping into Courtney’s role for Gluten-Free Santa Barbara will be Emily Luxford, MS, RD. Emily has “developed and published research regarding dietary modification. Emily’s focus is individualized medical nutrition therapy. Her practice includes evidence based nutrition intervention for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, renal disease, gastrointestinal disorders, bariatric surgery nutrition support and disease prevention.” Come meet us at one of our monthly meet-ups at Lilac Patisserie. If you ever have any questions, you can also always send us a message through Facebook!
Five Loaves Cafe
3 Jun
If you are visiting Charleston, you MUST make Five Loaves Cafe one of your stops. This casual, allergy friendly restaurant went above and beyond in accommodating our tricky group. After letting them know about our dietary needs, they brought out “normal” bread and oil and a separate plate of GF bread and oil. The bread wasn’t anything special (I believe it was Udi’s), but the fact that they served it along with its own safe olive oil was awesome. I had read that their soups were great, but I was having a hard time deciding between the six gluten-free choices so I went with the three soup sampler. I chose the potato, cheddar and broccoli, the tomato tarragon with crabmeat and the carrot ginger. They were equally yummy and the perfect size. For my main dish, I had the Pumpkin Seed Encrusted Salmon.
Even though I didn’t taste much of the pumpkin seed, the salmon was cooked well and the accompaniments were light and fresh tasting. We couldn’t resist ordering their gluten free carrot cake for dessert.
This was a very good decision. We made quick work of the cake, finishing the meal on a high note. The menu at Five Loaves was so accommodating that we ended up getting take-out from there another day. I had the Rueben Sandwich on GF Bread which was pretty darn tasty… so tasty in fact that I ate it too quickly for a picture. There were about ten other things on the menu that I would have tried if we had more time in Charleston. It is so nice to find a place where you have as many choices as anyone else!
Barbareño
15 Apr
We recently tried Barbareño in downtown Santa Barbara at the old D’Vine location. I was pretty excited since their focus is on locally sourced food which in my head translates as “We know all about the evils of gluten” for some reason. When I was ordering, I went through my usual spiel waiting for the waitress to cut in and say that I would be well taken care of. Instead, there seemed to be an attitude about modifying any of the dishes to be gluten-free. There were multiple instances where she said that the chef did’t intend for the dishes to be consumed in an altered state. As a celiac I have to modify dishes a lot. I would never judge a chef on a dish’s flavor profile if I had to alter it. That being said, I would always hope that any dietary needs could be accommodated to the best of their ability. I ended up getting the California Roll modified. It was really light and fresh. I then had their burger without the bread.
It was a decent burger. They substituted some potatoes in for me which were particularly good. I really had my eye on the Santa Maria BBQ, but beer is used in the preparation of the dish. I liked the vibe of the restaurant. Their outdoor patio seemed like a great spot to have a drink once the days are longer and the weather is warmer.
Things have been quieter here since life has been pretty busy. Our daughter just got diagnosed with some food allergies, so as we venture into this new territory, we have been cutting back on dining out as much to be safe. That being said, I would love to connect with you GFSB people! Come to our next meet-up, this Sunday, the 19th, at Lilac Patisserie. We will be there at noon enjoying their awesome lunch menu. We will now be meeting monthly, the third Sunday of the month, so mark your calendars!
Lilac Pâtisserie
19 Jan
Hurrah! Lilac Pâtisserie is finally open! This entirely gluten-free bakery and café on State Street is a very welcome addition to Santa Barbara. I stopped in today to check out the space and pick up some goodies. For now, they are holding off on their breakfast and lunch menus so that they can make sure that they are done right. There were plenty of treats to choose from though to satisfy any appetite. I had a cherry scone that was incredible. I found myself having a hard time deciding between the banana nut muffin and apple crisp muffin, so I got both.
I also couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have a toffee nut cookie which was very satisfying. Oh, did I mention I also got a brownie to go? They have two huge cases featuring their attractive and yummy cakes. I am already trying to decide which to get for our little one’s upcoming first birthday.
The only thing I could find wrong about Lilac was that it is going to challenge my lack of self-control. Stay tuned for Gluten-Free Santa Barbara’s next meet up at our new favorite eatery in town!
Joni’s Kitchen
30 Sep
This month, we headed back east to Montauk to see our friends get married. I used my trusty Find Me Gluten-Free App to see if there was anything GF friendly near where we would be staying. I ended up hitting the jackpot with Joni’s. While ordering, I noticed an array of GF baked goods on the counter including a plethora of doughnuts! I devoured my cinnamon doughnut outside on one of their faded turquoise picnic tables. I then had the zen rabbit wrap with chicken.
When ordering, the lady (perhaps Joni) assured me that they would be changing their gloves and taking precautions to limit cross contamination. This spot is just blocks from the beach and definitely had a local’s feel to it. I wish we were in the area for more time so I could have had a couple more meals here!
Benchmark Eatery
30 Jul
This week, we decided to try out Benchmark Eatery. When we sat down and I informed the server of my dietary needs, she immediately went into a disclaimer about the kitchen not being gluten-free. She also mentioned that they typically do not allow for substitutions, but that she would check with the kitchen to see if they could accommodate me. We started with the Portobello Carpaccio which was naturally gluten-free. This had chopped egg, frisée and roasted pistachio. It wasn’t overwhelmingly flavorful, but we both enjoyed it nonetheless. For my main, I had the Kale Antipasto without the crispy potatoes.
I love anything with butter beans. I was still a bit hungry after finishing, but I am sure the potatoes would have made it a bit heartier. As a note, the chickpeas they serve in place of bread are not gluten-free as they have been battered and fried. However, for those that are not gluten-free, they got rave reviews from my husband.
Mesa Verde
8 Jul
Santa Barbara’s newest restaurant is Mesa Verde, a “plant-based” vegetarian restaurant. The first thing I noticed on the menu was that it said “No Modifications. No Substitutions.” These are the worst words to see as a Celiac. However, I saw that they offered gluten-free flatbread. When I asked our server about it, I learned that they share the same surface in the oven as the regular flatbread. When the server asked the kitchen about that, she was told that the gluten burns off in the oven so it would be safe. Wrong. I just wish our local restaurants would participate in gluten-free training to make it more comfortable for Celiacs to dine there. Luckily, I was able to find some tasty alternatives. We started with the Cacao Black Bean and Sweet Potato Tacos. There was a spicy red sauce drizzled on top that was particularly yummy. Then I had the Fez Seven Vegetable Tagine served on Red Quinoa. For this dish, they omitted the fried shallots that typically accompany it.
It was good, but I would probably try something else next time. Luckily, many items on the menu are naturally gluten-free. If you check Mesa Verde out, make sure that you do not park in the 7-11 parking lot as we watched multiple cars being towed!
gluten-free in sb 