Tag Archives: santa barbara

The Blue Owl

16 Sep

After seeing their menu online that said “Gluten-Free Bread is Available on Request”, I decided to try The Blue Owl one day. They use Our Daily Bread’s gluten-free bread. I ordered the Turkey Thyme sandwich which had roasted turkey, thyme mayo and cheese. The result was really tasty. They warmed the sandwich in a toaster oven using foil to protect the surface of the bread. They then brought me a GF brownie which they don’t have regularly, but happened to have on this day.

The brownie was very rich and decadent. The woman I spoke with behind the counter didn’t seem entirely confident in being able to keep my sandwich GF so I might avoid this place if you have Celiac like myself. I didn’t feel ill afterwards, but it felt like I was living on the edge a bit when I placed my order.

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Gluten Free Santa Barbara Support Group

7 Sep

Since I have moved back to Santa Barbara about a year ago, I have noticed so much progress for those who have to eat gluten-free. However, one thing still missing is a place for those who are GF to come together for information, guidance and support as you or your loved ones navigate a life without gluten. I am excited to announce that one of our local dieticians at Cottage Hospital and myself are starting such a group to be used as a resource for our community. There will be more information coming your way, but for now, mark your calendars. Our first meeting will be Wednesday, October 3rd at 5:30 PM at Cottage Hospital. If you are interested in updates regarding this group, please visit https://www.facebook.com/gfsantabarbara and like us! Please also RSVP for our event so that we can ensure that there are enough GF goodies to go around!

Have a fantastic Friday!

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Flavor of India

1 Sep

We were in the mood for Indian food, so we decided to try Flavor or India. I started with a salad that came with raita dressing. We then shared a few dishes. The first was the Benghan Bharta.

This eggplant was cooked with onions, tomatoes and fresh spices. I asked for it spicy which added a lot of heat to the dish. We also split the Saag Paneer.

This was fresh spinach cooked with homemade cheese and seasoned with aromatic herbs. To diffuse the spiciness, we also ordered the Pilao Rice.

This basmati rice was mixed with peas and seasoned with turmeric. I found it easy to dine here. Our waiter was familiar with what I could and could not have.

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Arch Rock Fish Happy Hour

26 Jul

Last night, I met up with a friend at Arch Rock Fish‘s Happy Hour. I started with some grilled corn, which I knew that I would love. Then I had the East Coast Lobster Tail.

This was served with some drawn butter and tasted very fresh. The last thing I ordered was the Spicy Tuna and Salmon Roll.

This was good, but I didn’t find it spicy at all. I made sure that they omitted the wasabi that would typically be placed on the plate. When you go here, they will give you a whole booklet that shows the allergy information for every item on the menu. Just keep in mind that it does not factor in cross contamination so stay away from anything fried!

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Crushcakes Cupcake

21 Jul

Today was one of those days where I consumed anything and everything. When it came time to have some dessert, I headed over to Crushcakes and got a gluten-free red velvet cupcake. I am not a frequent cupcake eater, but the frosting on this cupcake may have changed that for me. Yum.

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Working up an Appetite on Segways

15 Jul

One of my favorite things to do is to be a tourist in my own town. So, this morning, a friend and I spent about two hours exploring Santa Barbara on a Segway while learning a few interesting things along the way. All of this exploring made us quite hungry… especially after passing some of our favorite eateries. After we were done, we headed over to Boathouse to grab some lunch. I had the Blackened Shrimp Quesadilla which was served with caesar salad and grilled onions.

This seemed like a huge portion for one person. It was really good though and I loved that it was served on corn tortillas! Be sure to ask for your caesar salad to be made without croutons as it typically comes with them.

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Friday Night at Petros

14 Jul

One of the best things about going to dinner with another Celiac is that you can share dishes! On Friday night, a Celiac friend and I went to Petros. We started with the Shrimp Sagnaki which I loved. It consisted of shrimp with a tomato basil feta cheese sauce. This sauce had the perfect amount of heat to it… I found myself eating just the sauce after all of the shrimp had been eaten! For my main dish, I had the fish of the day which was Sappara.

I chose to have this grilled with olive oil and lemon juice. It came with a generous portion of the Petros Horiatiki Salad.

One of the things I love about eating Greek food is that it is so easy to be healthy! This was the perfect summer meal.

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Autism Family Night at the Santa Barbara Zoo

12 Jul

Tonight was Autism Family Night at the Santa Barbara Zoo. To support those families that whose lives have been affected by autism, the Zoo’s Ridley-Tree House Restaurant served up a limited menu that featured gluten-free and dairy-free items. I ended up getting the Grilled Veggie Stir-fry which was served over rice. The only alteration I had to make to the dish was to omit the mushrooms since they had been prepared with soy sauce. This was fine by me since I am not a huge fan of mushrooms! It would be wonderful if the Zoo would place GF friendly dishes on their permanent menu for those who have to avoid gluten.

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Quinoa for Breakfast

7 Jul

The other morning, I tried the Red Quinoa “Oatmeal” for breakfast at Scarlett Begonia. It had toasted almonds, apricots, maple syrup, house made ricotta and steamed milk. Other than substituting almond milk for the steamed milk, I didn’t need to make any substitutions!

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Lazy Acres Sandwich

29 Jun

It was one of those perfect Santa Barbara days where the weather is practically begging you to have a picnic. We went to Lazy Acres to get some sandwiches, cheese and crackers and made our way to Shoreline Park. I ordered their turkey sandwich on the GF multigrain bread. I LOVE that they now have an option for us GF people that are craving a sandwich on the Mesa. However, my bread crumbled to pieces as I ate it. Hopefully with time, they will find a bread that stays together long enough to enjoy the whole thing!

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