Tag Archives: state street

PizzaRev

17 May

Margherita PizzaOn Friday we went to see Pitch Perfect 2 at Paseo Nuevo. Right next to the movie theater is the newly opened PizzaRev. I had read about this chain being good about limiting the chance of cross contamination so we decided to give it a try. As soon as I let the gentleman at the counter know that I had celiac, he went straight into a very well rehearsed routine. He changed his gloves and explained to me that he would be seeing my pizza through the entire process rather than passing it down the line like the other pizzas. As I remarked that it was very cool to see them take it seriously, his coworker chimed in to say that it was very important to limit chances of cross contamination. Yay PizzaRev! Rather than use the sauce that they use for the other pizzas, he used a squirt bottle and clean ladle. As he went down the line, I asked about the meats. They are all GF except for the meatballs. Since the GF pizza is put on a tray within the oven, he explained that they put oil on the bottom so it crisps up a bit.

We ordered the Margherita Pizza and the Taco Pizza without the chorizo. I preferred the Margherita which had tons of fresh garlic. The taco pizza was okay. We ordered it as is so that we could try it as it was intended. I think that next time I would add some jalapeño to it for a little punch.

Taco PizzaWe really enjoyed the crusts they used. Upon asking we learned they were from Venice Bakery. They do cook the pizzas in the same oven as the normal pizzas and they do use the same ingredients on the line (like Chipotle) except for the sauce. There is definitely still a risk of cross contamination. However, I felt much more confident eating here than I do at other pizza places in Santa Barbara. It was so refreshing to see staff that had been properly trained how to keep my food safe!

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Barbareño

15 Apr

California RollWe recently tried Barbareño in downtown Santa Barbara at the old D’Vine location. I was pretty excited since their focus is on locally sourced food which in my head translates as “We know all about the evils of gluten” for some reason. When I was ordering, I went through my usual spiel waiting for the waitress to cut in and say that I would be well taken care of. Instead, there seemed to be an attitude about modifying any of the dishes to be gluten-free. There were multiple instances where she said that the chef did’t intend for the dishes to be consumed in an altered state. As a celiac I have to modify dishes a lot. I would never judge a chef on a dish’s flavor profile if I had to alter it. That being said, I would always hope that any dietary needs could be accommodated to the best of their ability. I ended up getting the California Roll modified. It was really light and fresh. I then had their burger without the bread.

BurgerIt was a decent burger. They substituted some potatoes in for me which were particularly good. I really had my eye on the Santa Maria BBQ, but beer is used in the preparation of the dish. I liked the vibe of the restaurant. Their outdoor patio seemed like a great spot to have a drink once the days are longer and the weather is warmer.

Things have been quieter here since life has been pretty busy. Our daughter just got diagnosed with some food allergies, so as we venture into this new territory, we have been cutting back on dining out as much to be safe. That being said, I would love to connect with you GFSB people! Come to our next meet-up, this Sunday, the 19th, at Lilac Patisserie. We will be there at noon enjoying their awesome lunch menu. We will now be meeting monthly, the third Sunday of the month, so mark your calendars!

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Lilac Pâtisserie

19 Jan

Cherry SconeHurrah! Lilac Pâtisserie is finally open! This entirely gluten-free bakery and café on State Street is a very welcome addition to Santa Barbara. I stopped in today to check out the space and pick up some goodies. For now, they are holding off on their breakfast and lunch menus so that they can make sure that they are done right. There were plenty of treats to choose from though to satisfy any appetite. I had a cherry scone that was incredible. I found myself having a hard time deciding between the banana nut muffin and apple crisp muffin, so I got both.

banana nut muffinApple Crisp MuffinI also couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have a toffee nut cookie which was very satisfying. Oh, did I mention I also got a brownie to go? They have two huge cases featuring their attractive and yummy cakes. I am already trying to decide which to get for our little one’s upcoming first birthday.

GF cakesThe only thing I could find wrong about Lilac was that it is going to challenge my lack of self-control. Stay tuned for Gluten-Free Santa Barbara’s next meet up at our new favorite eatery in town!

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Patxi’s Pizza

23 Dec

Padron PeppersI just got home from having a memorable meal at new restaurant, Patxi’s Pizza. The only problem was, it was memorable for all the wrong reasons. I had seen ahead of time that they carried GF pizza crusts. I was optimistic that as a chain, they would understand how to take care of their many guests that have to eat gluten-free. Sadly, I was wrong. I asked our server if they place the GF pizza on a separate pan so that it wasn’t touching the same surface as the normal pizza. She said that they don’t but that they probably could. I then asked if they could use a different knife to cut the pizza, but she said that they couldn’t.

At this point, I understand that a lot of restaurants offering “gluten-free” products do not care at all about those of us who have to eat gluten-free. Rather than take responsibility for serving a product that is truly gluten-free, they are jumping on the gluten-free bandwagon and trying to squeeze some extra dollars out of those who just prefer to eat GF. It is frustrating to the millions of us who have no choice as to what we can consume, but I understand that it is their prerogative. The part that I don’t understand is how as a restaurant, there is no training done to be aware of the ingredients in your product. Almost everyone that dines out has a preference or dietary need involving certain ingredients. Before opening, a restaurant’s management should make training a priority so that their customers are taken of. After all, they are in the service industry. After asking many questions about the ingredients in their salads (once it was clear I shouldn’t mess with their pizza), it was apparent that not only had our server not been trained to know what was safe or not for me to eat, there was no available manager to help her. The whole time we were there, there were ten workers (two of which looked like they were managers) just talking to each other in different huddles around the room. At no point did a manager look to help the server or check on our table. The fact that it took 40 minutes for my salad to get to the table made it even more aggravating that they were all just joking around with each other.

Greek SaladThe salad arrived with the dressing and cheese on the side even though that was not a request. It also came with tongs so that I could toss it myself which seemed very odd. I ordered the Padron Peppers as well which were actually pretty good. After our experience, we won’t be returning though. It would behoove the management to take the opportunity to train the staff and kitchen on the menu during quiet moments like today.

Now, I am even more excited for Pizzarev to open in Paseo Nuevo since it is clear that they care for their gluten-intolerant customers!

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Miso Hungry

6 Nov

Blackened SalmonOne of the great things about the Axxess Card is that it gets you to try new restaurants out. Japanese cuisine is always scary to try as a Celiac due to the risk of cross contamination, but I was so pleasantly surprised with my experience at Miso Hungry. I spoke with the gentleman behind the counter and learned that of all of their sauces, only the Teriyaki, Ponzu and Japanese Curry are not gluten-free. They use gluten-free tamari for their salad dressings (just avoid the Ponzu dressing). He also was sure to put on new gloves to be safe. I got so excited that I decided to order two items. First, I had the blackened salmon salad. This was dressed with their orange vinaigrette. The guy helping me encouraged additional sauces on top so I gave him free reign as long as they were gluten-free. I also had their spicy tuna sushi wrap.

Spicy Tuna WrapThese are about the size of a burrito. You have the choice of having it wrapped in nori or rice paper. I loved this as their spicy aioli gave it a kick. When I was getting my water, I saw a great Iced Tea Bar around the corner. I will definitely take advantage of this the next time I go!

Iced Tea Bar

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Benchmark Eatery

30 Jul

Portobello CarpaccioThis week, we decided to try out Benchmark Eatery. When we sat down and I informed the server of my dietary needs, she immediately went into a disclaimer about the kitchen not being gluten-free. She also mentioned that they typically do not allow for substitutions, but that she would check with the kitchen to see if they could accommodate me. We started with the Portobello Carpaccio which was naturally gluten-free. This had chopped egg, frisée and roasted pistachio. It wasn’t overwhelmingly flavorful, but we both enjoyed it nonetheless. For my main, I had the Kale Antipasto without the crispy potatoes.

Kale AntipastoI love anything with butter beans. I was still a bit hungry after finishing, but I am sure the potatoes would have made it a bit heartier.  As a note, the chickpeas they serve in place of bread are not gluten-free as they have been battered and fried. However, for those that are not gluten-free, they got rave reviews from my husband.

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Napoléon’s Macarons

6 Feb

MacaronsWhile downtown last night, we stopped in to what used to be Ben & Jerry’s at the Paseo Nuevo Mall. It is now Napoléon’s Macarons. As a HUGE fan of Ladurée’s Macarons, I was excited to try these. There was a big sign that greeted us letting us know that they were all gluten-free.

GF MacaronsWe ended up getting a box of different flavors – Passion Fruit, Raspberry, Pistachio, Chocolate and Salted Caramel. The consistency wasn’t quite like the Ladurée macarons. The salted caramel and chocolate flavors actually felt a little chewy but it might have been because it was the end of the day. It was still nice to have a GF snack option downtown!

 

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Blue Tavern

6 Jan

Beets and Heirloom Tomato SaladHoly moly it has been a long time. I will try to catch up on some posts this week. My whole family was here to end 2013. While they were here, we tried Blue Tavern. Let’s start with the positive. The food that I had was really tasty. They serve some corn and salt on the table when you sit down, but this is not gluten-free as they use a contaminated fryer. I started with the Beet and Heirloom Tomato Salad. I would order this again as the combination of the beets, tomatoes and pesto was quite good. For my main dish, I had the Quinoa Risotto.

Quinoa RisottoThis had parmesan, wild mushrooms, arugula and parsley oil. I have always had an aversion to mushrooms but I didn’t find these offensive. Rather, I found the dish was nice and flavorful. Overall, I enjoyed my food. But there were two incidents that overshadowed the night for me.

When we sat down, they asked if we wanted Santa Barbara water or bottled water. We said the tap water was fine. They brought over two carafes of water. Half of our table had normal tasting water from one of the carafes. My half of the table however was poured water that tasted like extreme salt water. When we said something to our waitress after spitting it out, she asked if we wanted bottled water then. I asked her if she wanted to taste it as there was something very wrong and I wanted her to see what we meant. She then said that they had heard that from other people, but she did not apologize or offer to get other tap water. She asked us if we wanted to then order bottled water. It was so ridiculous of a situation but we said fine so that we could have water. At the end of the dinner when we got the bill, we had spent an excessive amount on just bottled water as we were a party of nine.

Our table had ordered two orders of the potato gratin (which was GF). When one of the food runners brought out the second order, she said this is compliments of the kitchen. I then explained that we had actually ordered the item, so there was no need for it to be complimentary. She responded, “That is what the kitchen told me to say” and then walked away. When we checked the bill at the end of the meal, they had charged us for both orders, so it was very odd that they would have said that at all.

Even though the food was good, these other things that happened just seemed so off that I have a hard time wanting to go back. Hopefully, they figure out their water situation and their communication skills so that they can be successful!

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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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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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