If you have to eat gluten-free like myself, you have to avoid ordering anything at a sushi restaurant that has the word soy in it… right? Wrong. Go to Arigato and order the wokked edamame with garlic soy flavor and request it to be prepared with the GF soy sauce that they have. The result is a tasty appetizer that has a good heat to it and has that soy sauce flavor that we so often have to avoid.
Tag Archives: santa barbara
Arch Rock Fish
14 Jan
We worked up quite an appetite looking at overpriced real estate in Santa Barbara. It was time for a break so we went to Arch Rock Fish for a late lunch. I started with the grilled artichoke which was very good. The other people at the table had ordered guacamole and chips as a starter but I didn’t share since the chips were fried in contaminated oil. I then had the grilled fish tacos (I know my orders are starting to get a bit predictable).
These were served with corn tortillas and a nice side of pico. The guacamole and cilantro on top made me very happy. I really liked the feel of the restaurant. The only thing I might change is the napkins. After our meal, we all had tons of lint leftover on our pants.
Crushcakes Cafe
14 Jan
We had a big day of looking at houses today so it was imperative that I have a hearty breakfast to start the day off right. We decided to try Crushcakes Cafe. I had the scramble with salsa, cheddar, jack and sliced avocado. Since I couldn’t have the bread that it is usually served with, they gave me corn tortillas. These were perfect to make mini breakfast tacos with.
Friday Morning Brunch
13 Jan
I had the day off today so I was able to get brunch, my favorite meal of the day. We went to Scarlett Begonia in Victoria Court. I had the polenta with two poached eggs, cippolini onions, artichokes (that are normally fried but were sauteed to be GF) and prosciutto. I have to admit… it was a weird combination of ingredients. However, I found it to be quite satisfying. My favorite part of the meal though was the homemade GF chocolate toffee we got with the check. Yum.
Petros
11 Jan
Tonight we tried Petros, the new restaurant on State Street across from the Arlington Theater. I started with the Petros Horiatiki Salad which had vine-ripe tomatoes, cucumber, feta, olives, avocado, onions, capers, olive oil and oregano. We then shared the Dip Combo which comes with portions of Kafteri, Melitanosalata, Tzatiki, Fava and Taramosalata. Since the Taramosalata has bread crumbs in it, they put it on the side for me. They also brought out sliced cucumber (at a charge) since I couldn’t eat the pita.
I really enjoyed two of them (the bottom two in the picture). The white one was the Tzatiki which had a good bite to it due to garlic. The one of the bottom was the Kafteri which consists of four special Greek cheeses blended with a cocktail of hot peppers. Then it was time for the main dish. I tried to order their signature dish which was feta crusted rack of lamb but there were bread crumbs involved so instead I went with the fish tacos which are served on corn tortillas.
These were pretty good. The feta on top was a nice touch. I struggled to finish all three though since it was a generous portion. During our meal, we had a waitress in training. I will say that I was glad that the seasoned waitress was with her while we were ordering as she seemed very knowledgeable about which dishes were GF or not.
Zaytoon
9 Jan
We were both pretty hungry before the sun had gone down, so we decided to take advantage of the weather and eat on Zaytoon’s wonderful patio. We started with some hummus. As my husband ate it with some warm pita, I ate it with some cucumber slices that the waitress brought out for me. We then shared the Egyptian foul mudammas.
I love this dish. It consists of fava beans cooked in garlic and topped off with olive oil, lemon juice, tomatoes, onions and parsley. It is very hearty for an appetizer. For my main dish, I ordered the Chicken Shawarma. Normally, this dish comes with rice pilaf and fattoush salad. However, their rice has orzo in it. Our waitress gave me more fattoush salad (without pita chips) to make up for the rice.
This was quite alright with me since I absolutely love their fattoush salad. Do you see that white glob in the bottom right of the picture? That is called heaven. It is some mixture of garlic, olive oil and some secret ingredients… all of which our waitress assured me were gluten-free.
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!
Anderson’s Danish Restaurant & Bakery
4 Jan
Photo from Anderson's Website
It was so incredibly nice out today in Santa Barbara so my husband and I went for walk along State Street after I got off of work. I have always been intrigued by Anderson’s, so we walked inside to take a look. Inside is a large baked goods case with tasty looking items. I asked one of the staff if they happened to any gluten-free items. What followed was amazing. He pointed out about ten items that were GF, all of which sounded like they would be incredibly good. He also offered a sample of any of them to us. I couldn’t resist, so I chose an item that sounded like it would be a good choice… something with a chocolate exterior and a creme filling. It reminded me of Yodels, a treat I used to love back in the gluten eating days. I will definitely be returning to try everyone one of those items… especially the APPLE PIE!
Los Agaves
3 Jan
I was feeling really run down today. When I got home from work I crashed on the sofa for longer than I intended. When I woke up, all I wanted was something warm and gooey. Enter the nachos from Los Agaves… the perfect cure for the chills.
Whole Foods Sandwich
2 Jan
We went to see The Descendants tonight at the Hitchcock Way Movie Theater. Go see this movie while it is still in the theaters. It was the perfect combination of funny and sad. Afterwards, we decided to pick up some dinner from Whole Foods. I went to the sandwich counter and asked if they could make a sandwich with GF bread. The guy said that he could. When I asked what kind of bread they use, he said Udi’s which made me really excited since their sandwich bread is great. However, it turned out he used Ener-G’s Tapioca Bread since they had an open package of it. It was pretty thin and crumbly and made me think that this is what most gluten eaters think all GF bread tastes like. The fillings were tasty though. I will definitely go back and try another sandwich on a day that they use Udi’s, especially since the guy was great about changing his gloves and being careful about cross contamination.
gluten-free in sb 