I had heard that new restaurant, Bettina, has amazing pizzas so we decided to try it out since it mentioned gluten-free options on their online menu. The restaurant itself was very appealing. My kids loved it because it is located at the Montecito Country Mart where they have a fire truck, carousel and horse that will move for a couple of quarters. The bad news is that the GF pizza is not celiac safe. They use the same oven surface as their regular pizzas. The good news is that they have a fantastic shrimp dish on the menu which is GF. The sauce was so buttery and flavorful that I found myself trying to get every last drop of it. I was a bit surprised that the non-GF “gluten-free” crust had an upcharge of $5 on the menu. I could understand it if they had to take special steps to avoid cross contamination, but as that wasn’t the issue, it seemed high to me.
Bettina
11 DecMizza
4 Dec
Ever since the restaurant Pizza Mizza closed, I had been meaning to try Mizza. I always liked Pizza Mizza’s gluten-free crust which was made with cup-4-cup flour and cooked on a clean surface. However, when my husband and I tried Mizza today, we found out that the GF pizza option they have is cooked on the same surface as the regular pizzas. After speaking with the manager, he confirmed that the new Mizza Pizza delivery service (are all of these names confusing you yet?) is made in a different kitchen than Mizza and they are able to cook the GF pizzas on a clean surface. Hooray! If you want to eat at Mizza, there are still some gluten-free options for you. I had the chopped salad while my husband had the arugula and roasted potato salad.
I also ordered the pan seared halibut for my son and to bring home as leftovers. It was served with heirloom tomatoes, roasted potatoes, carrots and broccolini.
Although I was bummed to not have gluten-free pizza for lunch, I was glad to have some safe GF options to choose from. I do love that the restaurant is in La Arcada as the courtyard is particularly magical this time of year with the holiday decorations.
Dellz Uptown
1 Jun
I just got back from my first visit to Charleston, South Carolina where we attended a friend’s wedding. As we were there with a group a friends, we all rented a house together through airbnb. It was my first experience with airbnb but I loved it. If you need a recommendation for a house to rent, I have one for you! Close to the house we rented was a great spot called Dellz Uptown – a vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free friendly restaurant. Most of the food here has a Caribbean influence which was very appealing to me. I ordered the Turkey Goddess Wrap with a GF wrap and no sauce just to be safe. The wrap held together amazingly. This was definitely one of my favorite spots during our trip. I am still regretting that we didn’t make a return trip!
PizzaRev
17 May
On Friday we went to see Pitch Perfect 2 at Paseo Nuevo. Right next to the movie theater is the newly opened PizzaRev. I had read about this chain being good about limiting the chance of cross contamination so we decided to give it a try. As soon as I let the gentleman at the counter know that I had celiac, he went straight into a very well rehearsed routine. He changed his gloves and explained to me that he would be seeing my pizza through the entire process rather than passing it down the line like the other pizzas. As I remarked that it was very cool to see them take it seriously, his coworker chimed in to say that it was very important to limit chances of cross contamination. Yay PizzaRev! Rather than use the sauce that they use for the other pizzas, he used a squirt bottle and clean ladle. As he went down the line, I asked about the meats. They are all GF except for the meatballs. Since the GF pizza is put on a tray within the oven, he explained that they put oil on the bottom so it crisps up a bit.
We ordered the Margherita Pizza and the Taco Pizza without the chorizo. I preferred the Margherita which had tons of fresh garlic. The taco pizza was okay. We ordered it as is so that we could try it as it was intended. I think that next time I would add some jalapeño to it for a little punch.
We really enjoyed the crusts they used. Upon asking we learned they were from Venice Bakery. They do cook the pizzas in the same oven as the normal pizzas and they do use the same ingredients on the line (like Chipotle) except for the sauce. There is definitely still a risk of cross contamination. However, I felt much more confident eating here than I do at other pizza places in Santa Barbara. It was so refreshing to see staff that had been properly trained how to keep my food safe!
Patxi’s Pizza
23 Dec
I just got home from having a memorable meal at new restaurant, Patxi’s Pizza. The only problem was, it was memorable for all the wrong reasons. I had seen ahead of time that they carried GF pizza crusts. I was optimistic that as a chain, they would understand how to take care of their many guests that have to eat gluten-free. Sadly, I was wrong. I asked our server if they place the GF pizza on a separate pan so that it wasn’t touching the same surface as the normal pizza. She said that they don’t but that they probably could. I then asked if they could use a different knife to cut the pizza, but she said that they couldn’t.
At this point, I understand that a lot of restaurants offering “gluten-free” products do not care at all about those of us who have to eat gluten-free. Rather than take responsibility for serving a product that is truly gluten-free, they are jumping on the gluten-free bandwagon and trying to squeeze some extra dollars out of those who just prefer to eat GF. It is frustrating to the millions of us who have no choice as to what we can consume, but I understand that it is their prerogative. The part that I don’t understand is how as a restaurant, there is no training done to be aware of the ingredients in your product. Almost everyone that dines out has a preference or dietary need involving certain ingredients. Before opening, a restaurant’s management should make training a priority so that their customers are taken of. After all, they are in the service industry. After asking many questions about the ingredients in their salads (once it was clear I shouldn’t mess with their pizza), it was apparent that not only had our server not been trained to know what was safe or not for me to eat, there was no available manager to help her. The whole time we were there, there were ten workers (two of which looked like they were managers) just talking to each other in different huddles around the room. At no point did a manager look to help the server or check on our table. The fact that it took 40 minutes for my salad to get to the table made it even more aggravating that they were all just joking around with each other.
The salad arrived with the dressing and cheese on the side even though that was not a request. It also came with tongs so that I could toss it myself which seemed very odd. I ordered the Padron Peppers as well which were actually pretty good. After our experience, we won’t be returning though. It would behoove the management to take the opportunity to train the staff and kitchen on the menu during quiet moments like today.
Now, I am even more excited for Pizzarev to open in Paseo Nuevo since it is clear that they care for their gluten-intolerant customers!
Boochies
29 Aug
On August 14, my husband and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary. For lunch we decided to get some food from Boochies and have a little picnic at the Sunken Gardens, the place where we got married. As stated on Boochies’ website, “Every ingredient is 100% organic and totally free of gluten, meat, dairy, soy, and GMO’s.” We started with the veggie pizza which had a cauliflower crust. I hadn’t tried a cauliflower crust before then because it seemed odd, but the taste of the crust was pretty good. Then we had a quinoa veggie burger.
The bun was also made of cauliflower. Since we grabbed this from a prepared case, it was cold. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it had been made to order and was still warm. For dessert, we split the Blueberry Creme Cupcakes.
These were pretty great. This is a good option for certified gluten-free food in downtown Santa Barbara. It would have been nice if it wasn’t just take away food and there were some seats available. At least there are endless beautiful spots in Santa Barbara to enjoy this healthy meal.
Rubirosa Ristorante
8 Jan
While in NY, we tried a place in Soho called Rubirosa Ristorante. They had a gluten-free menu and after asking our waitress a bunch of questions, it was clear that they were aware of what cross contamination was and how to avoid it. We started with the mozzarella sticks. Fried cheese = Perfection. We then split the Classic GF pizza.
We really enjoyed the pizza as all of the ingredients involved were tasty. I can’t wait until we get back there so I can try the pasta… and the chicken parmigiano… and the rice balls… and the meatballs.
The Bourbon Room
24 Oct
Tonight, we headed to The Bourbon Room as I was craving a burger. I had heard that they offer gluten-free rolls for their burgers so I was very excited. Once we got there, I found that in addition to the rolls, they also had GF pizza! Since I am eating for two, I rationalized that it was totally normal to order two main dishes. The gluten-free cheese pizza was pretty good. The waitress assured me that they cook it on a different surface than their regular pizzas. The crust was on the thin side and stayed together well. I also ordered a cheeseburger on the GF bun.
I couldn’t have the fries since they were in contaminated oil, so I got a side salad without the croutons. It was so nice to be able to have a burger with a bun! As I had just consumed a whole lot of food, I turned down dessert as tempting as it sounded. Our waitress had informed us that they had a GF chocolate chip cookie pie. This is definitely a reason to return!
As a reminder, we will be holding our Fall Gluten-Free Santa Barbara Meet-up on Wednesday at Shoreline Park. For more details, please visit our Facebook page.
A Mano Pizza
27 Aug
We have just gotten back from a family trip to Iceland and Italy. There will be plenty of posts coming your way soon. This first one was our meal prior to leaving from the East Coast. In Ridgewood, New Jersey, there is a pizzeria called A Mano Pizza where they fully understand cross contamination. They make their gluten-free pizzas in a separate oven and with separate utensils. I started with the Fresca salad which had baby arugula, shaved parmigiano, cherry tomatoes and balsamic. I then had a GF Margherita pizza with garlic.
All of the ingredients in the pizza were very fresh and flavorful. It was a great way to start our vacation!
Sizzle Pie
13 Aug
After a long afternoon of exploring Powell’s Bookstore, we crossed the street to grab some gluten-free pizza. At Sizzle Pie, we found that not only do they offer a GF crust, but they prepare it on separate surfaces and use different utensils. The crust was thicker than a lot of GF crusts and was very good.
gluten-free in sb 