We only had time for a quick dinner tonight, so we ran over to La Super Rica. Lucky for us, the Chilaquiles were on the specials menu for the day. This is one of my three favorite things there, including #6 and #13. Yum.
Tag Archives: santa barbara
Opal
25 Mar
We went to Opal last night with some friends. I started with the special soup which was a Creamed Potato and Spinach Soup. Luckily for me, there was no flour in it. I then ordered the Salmon Filet with a Thai Curry Sauce. Usually, they drizzle a hoisin sauce on top but since that has soy sauce, they omitted it.
This was incredibly delicious. I loved the julienned vegetables that were served with it. Although our waitress wasn’t entirely sure as to what was GF or not, she was in close contact with the kitchen and they were incredibly knowledgeable.
Silvergreen’s GF Menu
21 Mar
Silvergreens just made it a whole lot easier to order if you have to eat on a gluten-free diet. When we went tonight, I was pleasantly surprised to receive the menu above. I ended up getting a half sandwich with a cup of soup. The Tillamook Grilled Chicken sandwich was wrapped in lettuce and included grilled chicken, Tillamook cheddar, tomatoes, red onions and mayo. I chose the potato cheddar for my soup. Potatoes and cheese are always a fantastic combination. It is just so nice to be able to go to a restaurant that has been proactive in accommodating the gluten-free diet!
Downey’s
20 Mar
Tonight we went to Downey’s, which is consistently rated one of the best restaurants in Santa Barbara. I was interested to see how gluten-free friendly they were. Our waiter was really good, running down the menu and letting me know what was safe and what to avoid. I started with the mussels. They were prepared with a bit of curry and served on lentils. Then I had the steak prepared with grilled asparagus and pureed potatoes.
This was very good. After this course they brought out a cheese platter that we could choose from. I asked if we could have a plate made without the stilton since blue cheeses typically start their mold from bread. When they served the cheese though, it was on a plate with bread and crackers. I thought that they would have remembered that I could not have bread and crackers near my food. I ended up just eating the ends of the cheeses that were furthest from the gluten. Overall the two dishes I had were wonderful, but I was disappointed that at that stage of the meal, there was such a careless mistake.
Recipes Bakery
11 Mar
Yesterday, I met up with a friend to explore the wonderful Saturday Farmer’s Market in Santa Barbara (where I got the most amazing cranberry and walnut goat cheese). As we were getting ready to leave, we saw the cutesy Recipes Bakery building across the street and decided to go in to see what they were all about. As we were both excitedly noticing the “GF” label on the menu, one of the staff members mentioned that they can make all of the items shown above gluten-free except for the banana bread. Even the pancakes? Yes indeed. So I ordered the GF pancakes and my friend ordered the egg scramble with a GF muffin substituted for the toast. Here comes the weird part. As we were waiting for our food we scouted the area to find where we would be eating our breakfast. It turns out they aren’t really set up as a restaurant. Therefore, there really isn’t a seating area set up. This is also why were served our dishes in to-go containers. We both felt this was odd since they had breakfast menu items on the menu, and not just baked goods. We got over that pretty quick once we started eating.
These had lots of chunks of fresh pineapple dispersed within the pancakes. I found them to be really flavorful. The vanilla infused cream complimented them perfectly.
I had a bite of my friend’s GF muffin and it was good, but I was still happy with my choice of the pancakes. If you are looking for breakfast to go, this is your spot!
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.
Jane
7 Mar
I have been meaning to try Jane for quite some time since it just looks appealing from the outside. We started our meal by sharing the grilled pasilla chiles with swiss cheese, fresh cilantro and a tomato vinaigrette. This was very good. I just love the taste of pasilla chiles. For my main dish, I had the Gorgonzola Salad Bowl without the gorgonzola.
This had grilled chicken breast, avocado, bacon, tomato, chopped romaine and a red wine vinaigrette. The chicken was still warm from the grill and the ingredients just tasted very fresh. We weren’t planning on getting dessert, but then we saw the Jane Sundae on the menu. It consisted of soft serve vanilla ice cream, caramel, homemade toffee and whipped cream. After the waitress confirmed that all of the ingredients were ok for me, we dove in.
If they sold that toffee, I would buy it by the ton… seriously. It was that good.
Don’t forget to stop by at Whole Foods Market tomorrow night for the big event!
Brophy Brothers
6 Mar
With no clouds in sight, it was the perfect day to have lunch with a friend at Brophy Brothers. When I was explaining what my restrictions were, the waitress informed me that she too was gluten intolerant! I ended up getting the Cold Combo.
It came with two clams, two oysters, ceviche, crab meat and eight peel-and-eat shrimp. It was the perfect portion for lunch. This is one of my favorite spots in Santa Barbara since the fish is fresh and you have spectacular views of the coastline while you eat!
As a reminder, if you have nothing to do this Thursday, stop by our local Whole Foods Market to learn about some alternative gluten-free grains AND to find out the right questions to ask when you are eating out! I will be there 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM!
Saturday Sandwich at Savoy
4 Mar
This Saturday, I had a longer than usual work break so I visited my favorite gluten-free sandwich spot, Savoy Cafe and Deli. I had the Gaviota on the GF bread and then a gluten-free chocolate chip cookie for dessert.
Ordering this cookie was a very good decision as it was especially good. While I was there, I noticed the signs up advertising the fact that they will be featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives tomorrow, March 5th, at 7:00 PM and 10:00 PM. From their facebook site:
Savoy Cafe is going to be on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives and to celebrate we are throwing a party! We will be doing two showings, one at 7:00pm and at 10:00pm, with music from Joan and Tonic and specials in between. It’s going to be a night you don’t want to miss. See you then!
We have already set our DVR to capture it! Have you?
Picnic and the Zoo
29 Feb
It had been awhile since I had seen my friend and her adorable baby so we decided to have a picnic in Alice Keck Park and then go to the zoo! I brought us gluten-free sandwiches made on Udi’s bread from Whole Foods. They were incredibly good.
Is that not the cutest baby you have ever seen? He rolled around a bit while we devoured the sandwiches. For dessert, I brought some cookies that I saw at the store.
These reminded me of a thicker version of the Entenmann’s cookies that we had in our house growing up. They were chewy and had a really good taste. After our picnic, we headed to the zoo to see some animals.
This giraffe just wanted to hang out with us, even following us as we were starting to leave! It was fun to see young Daniel, the giraffe, and the newest resident, Michael. Next time, we may just have the picnic at the zoo since there is plenty of grass to spread out on!
gluten-free in sb 