Tag Archives: santa barbara

Brasil Arts Cafe

23 Jun

Pão de QueijoHappy Solstice Weekend! This past week, we had lunch at Brasil Arts Cafe. There are only two items on the menu that are labeled as gluten-free, but the lady at the register was very informed about any alterations that had to be made to other menu items to make them GF. I started with the Pão de Queijo. This is described as “Simple and Gluten-Free Brazilian Cheese Buns”. I loved this. My only complaint was that I thought I was getting multiple buns due to the description as I could have crushed a bunch of these! I then had the Brazilian Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken.

Brazilian Caesar SaladThis was pretty similar to a typical caesar salad, except it had little pieces of that cheese bread as croutons. As much as I liked that bread on its own, it wasn’t as good of a consistency for croutons.

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Memorial Day Weekend

28 May

Fire-Roast ToastThis past weekend, we took advantage of the great weather by miniature golfing, hiking and enjoying i Madonnari at the Mission. Before miniature golfing, we stopped at my favorite spot in Ventura, Redbrick Pizza Cafe. We started with the GF Fire-Roast Toast. I want to eat this every day for the rest of my life. It had olive oil, garlic, chipotle sauce, parmesam, herbs and a bruschetta spread. I also had the Italian Fhazani which was good as well. After eating, we headed to Golf N’ Stuff for some miniature golf.

Miniature Golf CourseEven though I lost, it was still a lot of fun. They have an arcade too if you want to pretend that you are a kid again. The next day, we decided to go on a short hike/walk to Knapp’s Castle. The views there were fantastic.

Knapp's Castle

From Wikipedia:

George Owen Knapp, founder of Union Carbide, built Knapp’s Castle shortly after purchasing the 160-acre (0.65 km2) parcel in 1916. In 1940, Frances Holden bought the property and invited her friend, world-famous opera singer Lotte Lehmann, to move in. The mansion was destroyed by a forest fire only five weeks later, and now only the massive sandstone foundations, fireplace pillars and walls of the original seven structures remain intact.

It is such a unique spot that offers unbelievable panoramic views. We also took advantage of i Madonnari. If you have the chance, you should visit the Mission the next couple of days while the chalk drawings on the plaza there are still fresh. It is one of those great local events that Santa Barbara offers every year. I just love this city so much.

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A Flight and a Fight for a Cure

22 May

Aerial View of Santa BarbaraSunday was a beautiful day in Santa Barbara. The skies were blue without a cloud in sight. What better way to spend the day than an aerial tour of the area? I took flight with Above All Aviation, located adjacent to Santa Barbara Airport. For the next 30 minutes, I enjoyed stunning views of Reagan Ranch, Lake Cachuma, Oprah’s house and our beautiful coastline. After the flight, I headed down to Chase Palm Park to partake in the Take Steps for Crohn’s and Colitis Walk. A group of us walked on behalf of Gluten-Free Santa Barbara to support those with these digestive diseases.

GFSB It was great to see so many people in the community rally around those who suffer from these diseases. I would love to see something similar in the future to benefit Celiac awareness and research!

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Finch & Fork

14 May

Blistered Shishito PeppersToday was another beautiful day in Santa Barbara. My good friend and I decided to take advantage of the weather by enjoying a beverage on the rooftop at the Canary Hotel. After soaking up some rays, we headed downstairs to try Finch & Fork. We started by sharing the shishito peppers. I love shishito peppers. These were especially salty and delicious. I then had the halibut.

Local HalibutThis was served with a lentil salad, roasted cipollini onions and asparagus. The fish was cooked well and I enjoyed the salad that it came with. I would probably try something a little more flavorful though next time. My friend ordered the Pan Roasted Half Chicken.

Pan Roasted Half ChickenThis was served with a sweet corn puree, apple and arugula salad and charred lemon. Out of the two dishes, I preferred the halibut. Overall, we had a pleasant meal. I can already see myself returning just for the shishito peppers and the views from the rooftop.

 

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Spring Meet-Up

7 May

Happy Celiac Awareness Month! As a reminder, we are holding our Spring Meet-Up this Wednesday at Adama at 5:30 PM. For details and for any information about future events, please visit the Gluten-Free Santa Barbara Facebook Page! See you there… I will be the one devouring the GF onion rings!

Curried Onion Rings

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El Encanto

30 Apr

Spring Salad Edible FlowersLast night, we decided to try the much buzzed about El Encanto restaurant. We walked around the property a bit before eating, and found it to be quite beautiful. On a clear night, the views would be outstanding. Then we sat down for dinner. When I asked our waiter what my options were, he ran down a list of four menu items and then walked away not allowing for me to ask questions. This made me a bit nervous. When he finally came back, I narrowed it down to the two items he said I could have unaltered. They were the Pan Seared Swordfish and the Confit Jidori Chicken Breast. The chicken came with crispy chickpea fries which intrigued me, so I asked how they were prepared. It turns out that they are fried in contaminated oil so they were not GF. Additionally, about five minutes after ordering, an amuse bouche came out that was clearly not GF. The gentleman that brought it out apologized and said he would be back with something I could have but we never saw him again. Hmm. I started with the Spring Salad Edible Flowers without the croutons that usually come with it. I wasn’t a huge fan of the taste of this. My husband tried it and decided it tasted like Febreeze. For my main, I had the swordfish which was served with creamy Jerusalem artichokes, French black truffle, sweet garlic parsley custard and cabbage bacon emulsion. 

Pan Seared SwordfishI would love to say that this was great, but I found it a bit bland. The whole experience at the restaurant just felt very impersonal. As an Orient-Express property, I had high hopes that they would be well informed about allergies. But it was very apparent that there was a lack of awareness and communication going on. I think that in Santa Barbara, if you charge a certain amount of money, an expectation of reliable service come with it. I don’t think we would go back for food, but it does seem like it would be a nice spot for a drink in the summer.

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The Shop Cafe

29 Apr

Cecilia SaladMy coworker has been raving about The Shop Cafe since it opened, so I finally jumped on the opportunity to try it. I had their Cecilia Salad. This had quinoa, peas, roasted corn, kale, mandarin orange, spring squash, feta and toasted almonds with a chili lime vinaigrette. It was light and satisfying at the same time. I asked the owner if they have considered bringing in GF bread, but as they make everything from scratch (including their breads), they would only want to do it if they had the space to make their own. After eating, I headed over to the Mission since this is the perfect time of year to see the rose garden in bloom.

Mission Rose GardenDo we live in the most beautiful place or what?

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Hoffmann Brat Haus

28 Apr

Hoffmann BratAs we were walking around downtown Santa Barbara today, we stumbled on Hoffmann Brat Haus. After glancing at their menu I noticed that they have Udi’s GF buns available for a small charge. Sweet! The guy at the register was really helpful in finding someone who had the answers to all of my questions. Some of the brats are off limits, but they have a list behind the register of which ones are gluten-free. I ordered the Hoffman Brat with caramelized onions and hot peppers. They also have Belgian Fries which they assured me were GF as they are they only thing fried in the oil.

Belgian FriesThirsty and of age? They also have a couple of gluten-free beers available on the menu!

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Sick

3 Apr

Care PackageSince last Sunday, I have been home sick with a bad case of the flu. Forcing me to miss 10 days of work, this has been no ordinary flu. One of the only things that cheered me up in that time was this care package left on my stoop by my good friend that also happens to be celiac. I hadn’t had a Juice Ranch juice before, but I found that all of the nutrients that were packed into this particular juice was exactly what my body needed. I also enjoyed munching on the GF banana muffin she left me from Recipes.

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GF Bread at Sojourner Cafe

14 Feb

Roasted Eggplant and Bell Pepper SandwichLast 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.

Conehead Salad

 

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