Tag Archives: soup

Cafe Ana – CLOSED

19 May

IMG_4404.jpgMy favorite building in Santa Barbara is the courthouse. It is unbelievably beautiful with intricately painted walls and ceilings and panoramic views from the clocktower. Plus, I got hitched there, so it will always be one of my favorite spots in town. Just steps from the courthouse is new-ish restaurant, Cafe Ana. With large windows offering views of the courthouse and library, it is a nice location to enjoy a cup of coffee or have a snack. When I went to the cashier to place my order, I started to ask questions about particular items. The gentleman helping me tried to inform me that the burrata and tomato soup would not be gluten-free because of the burrata. Intrigued, I asked what was on the burrata that was not GF. At that point, either the manager or owner who overheard stepped in and let me know that it was gluten-free. As I placed the order, he assisted the cashier so the correct notes would be written for my items. I went with the Butter Lettuce Salad with shrimp added. I also ordered a cup of the Spring Vegetable Soup.

IMG_4402.jpgUsually this soup comes with fried olives. The manager/owner explained that the oil used to fry them is uncontaminated as they only fry potato chips in it. However, this batch of olives was not from today, and so just to be safe, he didn’t want to run the risk of cross contamination since he didn’t see them being made. I appreciated the caution and felt comfortable with my order due to his communication with me and the kitchen. I just wished that the owners would properly educate their entire staff on what gluten is as well as what cross contamination is. I wonder what would have been the result of my meal if he wasn’t there to assist.

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Bossie’s Kitchen

16 Apr

IMG_4052.jpgI just had an incredibly satisfying lunch at Bossie’s Kitchen, or as my daughter refers to it, the restaurant with a cow on the roof. Prior to dining there, I had emailed the owners to see if they had anything on their menu that could be made gluten-free for a celiac. I was happy to receive word back that there were a variety of safe options:

We do have a gluten-heavy menu, and while not all items can be made gluten-free for celiac, here’s a few that we can do for you:
-Proteins: grilled salmon with dill yogurt or rotisserie chicken, without gravy
-Salads: kale & quinoa salad, ginger beet and citrus salad, caesar salad (we can make this to order for you, without breadcrumbs)
-Soup: generally vegetarian and gluten-free.
-Plates: you may combine either protein with any of the salads; roasted market vegetable plate may be served without the pita bread; grilled hamburger without the bun and french fries (there would be cross-contamination in the fryer with our fried chicken, that is dredged in flour)
-Nightly Specials: Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday nights we offer the best options for you that are gluten-free.  We can substitute quinoa for cous cous on Tuesday’s chicken tajine special, without pita bread; Saturday and Sunday nightly specials do not contain gluten: grilled pork belly with coconut rice; pot roast dinner.
I ended up ordering the grilled salmon with a side of their kale and quinoa salad. I also had a bowl of their split pea coconut curry soup.
IMG_4049.jpgThe salmon was perfectly cooked with a delicious crispy skin. It went really well with the salad’s roasted vegetables. The soup was unbelievably flavorful. They change up the soup every couple of months, so be sure to stop in before this bowl of yumminess goes away.

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Sides Hardware and Shoes

8 Mar

Carrot SoupWednesday was one of those overcast days that almost beg you to have soup. Lucky for me, at Sides Hardware and Shoes, their special soup for the day was a fantastic carrot soup with ginger cream and chive oil. I started with a cup of it, instantly regretting that I didn’t just order a gallon of it as my order. For my main dish, I initially was going to order the shrimp tostada but they fry the corn tortilla in contaminated oil. Instead, I had their fish tacos.

Fish TacosThese were served on fresh corn tortillas and had fresh albacore tuna, cabbage, guacamole, salsa and a chipotle aioli. There was a lot of fish with the tacos so I filled up pretty quickly. However that didn’t stop me from trying their gluten-free dessert, macaroon sandwiches.

Macaroon SandwichesThese coconut macaroons were filled with dark chocolate and coconut swirl sorbet. I am not a huge coconut fan and I was pretty full at this point so I only had one. But for those coconut lovers, this would be a great dessert to share!

 

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Suzanne’s Cuisine

7 Dec

Chicken ChiliThis week, the husband and I escaped to Ojai for lunch. We decided to try Suzanne’s Cuisine as I had heard good things. I started with the Chicken Chili which was the special soup for the day. I then had the Southwest Salad of three rices.

Southwest Salad of Three Rices

This had wild, brown and jasmine rice, vegetables, smoked turkey, green chilies, corn and feta cheese. I could have just had the salad as it was very filling. I really loved the variety of rices along with the feta. Everything tasted very fresh. I found that our waitress was very informative on what was GF and not. They have a nice outdoor patio there as well which enhanced the meal!

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Cottage Hospital Cafeteria

26 Sep

One of the nice things about eating at a hospital is that there is an awareness of different dietary needs. At Cottage Hospital, they ensure that at least one of their soups and one of their main dishes each day is gluten-free. Additionally, everything is labeled clearly as shown above so that there is no question as to what you can and can’t eat. I ended up having their salmon with pineapple relish. I got this with a side of rice and vegetables.

I was surprised at how good a hospital’s cafeteria could be! I loved the pineapple relish that came on top of the salmon. For dessert, I had some GF chocolate cake.

My favorite part of the cake was definitely the frosting. While there, I met with with the cofounder of Gluten-Free Santa Barbara to plan our first meeting. As a reminder, it is being held one week from today! It will be held in the cafeteria area at 5:30 PM. Additionally, every Wednesday, Cottage Hospital holds a farmer’s market from noon to 5:00PM. So, just show up a little early to get some shopping done!

To get the latest updates on our future meetings, events and more, just like us on Facebook! AND… if you plan on attending our inaugural meeting, please RSVP on the event site.

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Night at the Ranch

4 Jul

The other night, we had dinner at Stonehouse, located at the San Ysidro Ranch. I started with the special soup which was a lobster curry soup. I also enjoyed some gluten-free bread! Yes, that is right. I was offered some GF bread.

I ordered the Grilled Washugyu American Kobe Beef Striploin without the blue cheese. It was incredibly tender. For dessert, we shared the chocolate souffle which was ridiculously good.

Is that one delicious looking dessert or what?

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Pacific Crepes

16 May

Don’t get too excited…. gluten-free crepes are not accessible for us yet in Santa Barbara. However, if you want to make someone in your life very happy, go to Pacific Crepes. They can have one of the very delicious looking crepes on the menu, and you can have one of their tasty salads or their French onion soup without the bread. I ordered the Celtic salad which comes with artichoke hearts, tomato, goat cheese, potatoes and prosciutto. Make sure you are very clear that you can not have bread as they typically put it on the side of the salad.

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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.

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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!

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Julienne

18 Feb

Last night my parents and I decided to try Julienne since we have been hearing good things about it. I started with their special cauliflower soup which had little bits of the most flavorful purple cauliflower in the center of it. I then had their caesar salad without the croutons.

It had a garlic anchovy dressing that was quite wonderful and was topped off with lots of grated cheese. For my main dish, I had the steamed halibut with crispy red lentils and a cabbage puree.

The crispy lentils that went with this were so unbelievably tasty. I could eat a whole bowl of them. I wasn’t going to order dessert but then I saw that they had a homemade ice cream that night that was York Peppermint Patties ice cream. Our waitress assured me that it was GF and so I made the very good decision of ordering it.

This tasted like a great mint ice cream with the bonus of getting little chunks of the peppermint patties. This entire meal was just so fantastic. Our waitress was very well informed as to what I could and could not have. Another perk of dining here is that they have embraced the farm to fork mentality, supporting our local Santa Barbara businesses. We will definitely be returning sooner than later to get more of this gem!

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