We lived in Baltimore City for three years and came to love the area. There are so many great options for GF dining there and it is just a city with a lot of personality. We had a great time visiting our old stomping grounds while taking in the Blue Angels flying over the area in celebration of “Sailabration“, an incredible event that the city put on to commemorate the Bicentennial of the War of 1812. After reminiscing and catching up with friends, we headed over to one of our favorite restaurants, Cinghiale. This spot offers GF pasta and the servers are always knowledgable about what is safe to eat. I ordered the gluten-free pasta with the Cinghiale Ragu. Even though I don’t have a picture of it, trust me when I say that it was wonderful.
Tag Archives: pasta
Cinghiale
24 JunLa Riviera Trattoria
10 Jun
We were back in New Jersey visiting family, so I took it upon myself to search for a new gluten-free restaurant to try. I read about La Riviera Trattoria and their GF menu online, so we decided to try it the first night we were there. We started with the stuffed artichoke with GF breadcrumbs.
I had never had a artichoke with bread crumbs (for obvious reasons), but I really enjoyed this. We also shared the fresh roasted peppers with mozzarella that were consumed too quickly for a photo opp. My husband ordered the GF gnocchi with a butter and sage sauce so that I could sample it.
This was incredibly rich and good. It is a good thing I don’t live closer to this restauant or else I could see myself eating this dish multiple times a week, and growing horizontally quite rapidly. I ordered chicken parmigiana for my main dish.
I can’t remember the last time that I was able to order this at a restaurant. It was always one of my favorite comfort foods growing up so it made me so happy to be able to have it again, bread crumbs and all. And… since I tend to overorder when given a GF menu, we also had an order of the GF penne with garlic and broccoli.
This was a lighter pasta that went well with my chicken parmigiana. I wasn’t going to get dessert but then I looked at the menu and there was a gluten-free brownie with vanilla ice cream demanding to be ordered.
Thank goodness I had my parents, grandparents and husband to help out with this since I had eaten way too much at this point. The brownie had a really good consistency and taste to it though. This restaurant was so overly accommodating thanks to the owner’s daughter having celiac. They take great pride in ensuring that there is no cross contamination in the preparation of the GF items. If you can even think about food at the end of your meal (which I personally couldn’t), they have pasta, bread crumbs and other assorted GF products available for puchase on your way out.
Perfect Pasta
22 May
We went to Via Maestra 42 the other night and I ordered the very enjoyable gluten-free pasta you see pictured above. The name of the dish has escaped me, but I can tell you the following: If you find yourself there, order the pasta with the pancetta and tomatoes. There is a subtle heat to the dish that made for a perfect meal and even more perfect leftovers.
Talking up an Appetite
8 Mar
First off, thank you to those of you who made it out to the Whole Food talk tonight. It was so nice to meet some of you in person!
Since we were really hungry, we headed over to Fresco as soon as it was over. Their pasta special for the night was a fusilli pomodoro. It included roasted garlic, diced tomato, and basil sauteed in extra virgin olive oil. I love that they have gluten-free pasta available. While we were paying, the cashier was pointing out some GF desserts to me. One in particular, a flourless chocolate cake, looked really tasty but after last night’s excess, I thought it was better to hold off for the night.
Pane e Vino
27 Feb
It was a chilly day here in Santa Barbara so some warm Italian food sounded perfect. We decided to go to Pane e Vino in the Upper Village of Montecito. I started with the soup they had for the day, a hearty vegetable soup. It had lots of chunks of potatoes which made it quite filling. Then I had the Insalata Mista.
This consisted of baby lettuce, tomatoes and leeks with a vinaigrette dressing. It was nice and light. Then, after asking our waiter about gluten-free pasta, and being told they had penne and spaghetti, I ordered the Fusilli con Melanzane e Scamorza with the GF penne.
This pasta had smoked mozzarella, eggplant and a tomato sauce. You could really taste the smokiness in the dish which I liked. I just keep getting excited about all of the options we have here in the Santa Barbara area. This is another great one to add to the list of GF friendly places. I will note that I did have to request the pasta to be made in a fresh pot of water. It sounded like without asking, they make it in a “contaminated” pot so just be sure to make it clear if you are intolerant and not just eating GF by choice!
Nutbelly for Lunch
17 Feb
We decided to go hit some golf balls in Carpinteria today, so we stopped at Nutbelly Pizzeria for some lunch. We got two pizzas to split. The first was the GF cheese pizza with sausage (which is GF), red onions and peppers. The second one we got was the GF cheese pizza with garlic.
I still really like the crust here. It was a little less done this time, so it gave in the middle, especially for the heavier toppings on the first pizza. However, the taste of the crust was really good. I asked our waitress why they don’t do more to advertise the fact that they have a GF crust. Her answer was that they don’t want people that don’t have to eat GF ordering it all the time so that there is enough for those that have to eat GF. I can understand this as they make their own crust there which is time consuming. Additionally, when I asked about them bringing in gluten-free bread for their sandwiches, she explained that they want to have GF bread and GF pasta available, but that they want to do it right and make sure that taste is not compromised. Good answer.
Truffles at Tre Lune
16 Feb
Pasta with black truffles and white truffle oil? Yes please. Tonight we went to Tre Lune and I saw that dish on the specials menu. Was it as good as it sounded? It was pretty fantastic. It wasn’t an overpowering truffle taste, yet it had just enough bite to it.
Arnoldi’s Cafe
6 Jan
Last night, we were both craving Italian food, so we decided to check out Arnoldi’s. I had called ahead to see if they had gluten-free pasta, and they confirmed that they do! I started with a Caesar Salad. Even after doing my whole GF speech, the salad arrived with croutons. Not the best start, but the waiter was quick to have them make me a fresh one. It was a solid Caesar Salad. I then had the GF pasta with the Arrabiata sauce.
This was as straightforward as you could get but the sauce was really good. We sat outside along the Bocce Ball courts. This seems like the perfect place for a first date or a double date. We didn’t try our luck with the Bocce Ball this time, but we definitely want to return!
Silvergreens To Go
28 Dec
Ok. I know that doesn’t look very appetizing. This was what my potato cheddar soup from Silvergreens looked like after driving it home. However, after mixing it up a bit, it looked a bit better and was quite delicious. I also got the Thai Chicken Pasta with GF pasta and grilled chicken.
This was very yummy. I was afraid that the sauce might be a bit heavy, but I found that it was on the lighter side and full of flavor.
Via Maestra 42
7 Dec
Tonight we were up in the San Roque area so we decided to try Via Maestra 42. This is one of those places that you pass a million times. I am so happy that we finally stepped inside. It is a cozy, neighborhoodish restaurant. I started with the Insalata di Franco. It included organic greens, freh mozzarella, tomatoes, grilled zucchini and grilled eggplant. I really liked this salad. I then had GLUTEN-FREE PASTA. At this point, I will be surprised if a place I go to does NOT have GF pasta. The waitress explained that it was a $5.00 charge for the GF pasta. I said that was fine, and ordered the pasta with shrimp, cherry tomatoes and arugula.
The sauce was very light. I asked for some red pepper flakes to put some kick in it. It was a good pasta dish if don’t want anything too heavy. So then comes the funny part. As we paid, the waitress brought a wrapped up box of gluten-free pasta from Italy. She explained that since I paid the $5.00 for the pasta, I might as well get what is left of it so that I can cook the rest at home. How nice is that? I definitely want to return and try their Bolognese… and their pesto… and their Pomodoro… and their gelato that is flown in from Italy.
gluten-free in sb 