Yesterday was an unbelievably beautiful day in Santa Barbara. To take advantage of the weather, I decided to try The Garden Market in Carpinteria as I had heard they had a really nice spot for al fresco dining. The Garden Market has gluten-free bread available for their sandwiches. They typically use a toaster that is contaminated to prepare the sandwiches but were happy to use the oven instead to warm the bread up. I had the Classic Avocado which had avocado, provolone, lettuce, tomato, sprouts, red onion and mayo. The sandwiches usually come with tortilla chips, but rather than take any risks, I asked to hold the chips and purchased some GF potato chips instead. I enjoyed my meal back in their sunny garden area which was a very peaceful spot to unwind, eat and make progress on my latest book.
The Garden Market
2 MarGF Bread at Sojourner Cafe
14 Feb
Last night, we decided to try out Sojourner’s gluten-free bread. They are making it in-house, so I was excited to see how it held up. I ordered the Roasted Eggplant and Bell Pepper Sandwich. It had roasted eggplant, red bell peppers, smoked mozzarella, sprouts and pesto. The bread taste was normal, but it was a bit crumbly as you can see in the picture. Perhaps once they tweak it a bit, it will hold together a little more. We also split the Conehead Salad which is always healthy and yummy.
Adama – Santa Barbara’s First Entirely GF Restaurant!
28 Jan
As of last week, Santa Barbara got its first entirely gluten-free restaurant when Adama decided to revamp their menu. How great is it that we can eat out locally and know that we can order every single thing on the menu?! I decided to head over there for lunch the other day to try the new menu out. I started with the Curried Onion Rings which were unbelievably crispy and satisfying. I then had the Twisted wrap.
This had southern fried “chicken” strips that were wrapped in a rice tortilla with ranch, lettuce and tomatoes. Even though I was nervous about it, I liked the consistency of the “chicken” strips. For dessert, I had a chocolate chip cookie.
Looking for the perfect excuse to try out the new menu at Adama? Come join Gluten-Free Santa Barbara on Tuesday, February 5th at 6:00 PM at Adama for our winter meet-up. If tasty libations, yummy food and gluten-free people aren’t enough of a reason to come (what is wrong with you?!), then I have another reason… Celiac Dietician Melinda Dennis will be there to offer information and guidance. RSVP on the Gluten-Free Santa Barbara Facebook page or send me an email at glutenfreeinsb@gmail.com.
D’Vine
17 Jan
There is yet another place for gluten-free sandwiches now! D’Vine which is just steps from State Street now has Udi’s bread that they can substitute for their sandwiches. Once of the employees explained that if you have Celiac, it may not be best to eat there as it is not a dedicated GF facility. However, once I told them that I was Celiac, they took precautions to keep my sandwich safe. I was impressed that a couple of them used the term “Celiac” and seemed to understand what that meant (changed gloves, prepared it on a clean surface, didn’t use the toaster). I had the Sunshine Sandwich which had cucumber, avocado, tomato, red onion, carrots, sprouts, ranch and cream cheese.
Pickles & Swiss
16 Jan
There is a new sandwich spot in Paseo Nuevo called Pickles & Swiss that offers gluten-free bread for their sandwiches! They use Our Daily Bread’s GF bread. Upon asking questions, they didn’t really seem too informed about cross contamination so I would say to eat at your own risk. There is one toaster press that they use, so if you do get a sandwich, you have to get it served cold which was fine by me. They were happy to change their gloves to accommodate me. I ordered the Chipotle Turkey Club which had turkey, bacon, tomato, avocado, romaine and a chipotle aioli. The bread was quite crumbly, probably due to the fact that it could not be used on their toaster press. Otherwise it was good. I wonder if they switched to Canyon Bakehouse Bread if it would make a difference with the crumbly issue or of course it would be wonderful if they had a dedicated press in the back for gluten-free bread!
501 on Main
19 Dec
After working up an appetite on Park City’s Alpine Coaster, we decided to head to Main Street in Park City for some window shopping and lunch. A sign caught my eye in the window of 501 on Main that said they had worked with the “Gluten-Free Institute Restaurant Certification Program“. When talking to our waiter, he showed me all of the things that were on that menu that were gluten-free. We started with the Utah Sweet Onion Slivers. These sweet onions were hand-battered with rice flour and then fried in a dedicated gluten-free fryer. They were served with a medium spiced chipotle dipping sauce that was unreal. Seriously. I could have had 5 orders of these onions with the sauce. I then had the turkey melt on gluten-free bread.
This had house smoked turkey, swiss and cheddar cheese, tomato and garlic aioli on Udi’s gluten-free bread. It was served with french fries that were fried in their dedicated fryer. This was quite good. As a note, my husband, who has had his share of veggie burgers in his life, stated that the black bean chipotle burger there was the best veggie burger he has ever had by far.
Artifact Coffee
29 Nov
One of my favorite spots in Baltimore for a meal is Woodberry Kitchen. However, I didn’t plan ahead when I was back there so we were unable to get a reservation. Lucky for us, the same owners recently opened a coffee shop just steps from the restaurant called Artifact Coffee. Just like Woodberry Kitchen, they are very accommodating for those who need to eat gluten-free. They are able to substitute GF english muffins for their breakfast sandwiches and GF bread for their sandwiches. I ordered the roast beef sandwich.
This sandwich had roast beef, red onion, greens, horseradish mayonnaise and asiago cheese. It was quite delicious. This is the perfect place to grab a bite to eat and a cup of coffee or tea!Mity Nice
5 Sep
For the past few days, my husband and I were visiting family and friends in Chicago and exploring all that the city had to offer. I was so excited by all of the great GF options that we came across. Our first meal there was at a restaurant called Mity Nice. It was located in Water Tower Place alongside the most amazing looking “food court” as another option for dining. The food court was known as foodlife and had different stations that clearly labeled “G” for the GF items. As soon as I started explaining my needs to our waiter at Mity Nice, he brought me over a GF menu. He then brought us a basket of their bread which happened to be GF. In this basket were the tastiest popovers still warm from the oven. Seriously… how can we get these popovers to Santa Barbara ASAP?! I ended up ordering the grilled chicken sandwich which came with lettuce, tomato and a chipotle mayo.
Served on a GF bun, this chicken sandwich was quite satisfying. Our whole experience at Mity Nice was really great.
Flying Avocado
29 Jun
There aren’t too many places for GF sandwiches in Baltimore. That is okay though when you have a place like Flying Avocado to go to. I usually order the Roasted Turkey and Pesto sandwich. This comes with sliced turkey breast, pesto, roasted red peppers, goat cheese and field greens.
Risotteria
22 Jun
I have a tradition every time that I go to New York City. Once I take the train in from New Jersey, I head right to Risotteria for some gluten-free goodness. Located in the heart of the village, this is a special spot us GF folk. As you peruse the menu, you are served unbelievably wonderful GF breadsticks. This particular visit, I started with the caesar salad.
Any place that serves salad with crispy gluten-free croutons is all right by me! We then split two items. The first was the Mozzarella, Tomato and Pesto Panini.
This panini was amazing. The bread was perfectly crisp and the ingredients were simple, but flavorful. We also had the Mozzarella Pizzette with garlic.
Their crust is very thin and crispy. One of my favorite things about Risotteria is there is a little flag that perches in your GF food when it is served to you.
As a celiac, there is sometimes that moment when you get served something at a restaurant and you are not sure if it is truly GF or not. Being served your food with this flag takes away the fear that there might have been miscommunication between you, the server or the kitchen. You can stop worrying and start enjoying!
gluten-free in sb 