We were in Park City for my birthday this year and I was craving sushi, so we ended up at Yuki Yama. Right off the bat, it was clear that they understood cross contamination. Once I heard that they had a celiac-safe fryer, we immediately ordered their gluten-free stuffed shishitos. These tempura fried shishitos were stuffed with goat cheese and came with a spicy chili dipping sauce. These were insanely good. So good in fact, that we ended up ordering another one of them for dessert. I also had the house salad with ginger dressing.
They had a bunch of cold plates that were gluten-free, so I tried the citrus hamachi. This was pretty light. I would probably try another dish next time though as it wasn’t as flavorful as I had anticipated.
And then there was the sushi menu… I got a bit overwhelmed since so many rolls were safe for me to eat. Due to the fact that tempura is usually not an option for me, I opted for two rolls: the Executive and the Green Hornet.
The executive had gluten-free tempura shrimp, avocado, cilantro and was topped with tuna, lime, sweet soy & habanero sauces. This was good, but the Green Hornet was even better.
It had spicy tuna, tempura shishito peppers, avocado, cilantro and a jalapeño aioli. YUM. For birthdays, I always opt for experiences over gifts, so I continued the celebration the next day by attempting to ski jump at the Utah Olympic Park. Attempting to do something like that when you are 35 means that two weeks later, your body is still feeling it. There may or may not be footage of me taking a spill down the ski ramp while all of the 10-year old ski jump campers look on.
Yuki Yama
20 Aug501 on Main
20 Aug
Our go-to spot in Park City is 501 on Main. One of the reasons for that is that they have gluten-free (celiac safe) Utah Sweet Onion Slivers with a spicy ranch dipping sauce. This past trip, we visited twice as it is also great for my daughter with allergies and my vegetarian husband. I ordered the Slow Roasted Turkey Melt with a side of the fantastic onion slivers.
Bearclaw Cabin
11 Aug
This past week, we were in Utah attending a work getaway and celebrating my birthday. While a lot of the meals were at the hotel we were staying at, we had some opportunities to venture out and eat some tasty gluten-free food. My favorite meal was without a doubt at Bearclaw Cabin. After taking two chairlifts at Sundance Resort up to a mountaintop lodge, we were rewarded with panoramic views of the surrounding mountains. And to “top” it off, they served safe nachos. There will be a few posts from Utah and then it will be back to Santa Barbara’s gluten-free offerings. Speaking of which, please let me know if there are any new safe spots for me to try. We’ve been traveling so much this summer, it is hard to keep track of restaurant openings!
Marbella, Spain
2 Aug
It has been just a week since we returned from a family trip to Marbella, Spain. Every year, my dad plans a trip to somewhere in the world. He won’t tell anyone where we are going, including my mom. Then in late Spring, he sends an email to all of us telling us where this year’s adventure is. We are a complicated group with dietary restrictions. We have two Celiacs, a vegetarian, one person with severe allergies to nuts and sesame, one person that doesn’t eat red meat or pork, another that doesn’t eat products from cow that has a shellfish allergy, a pescatarian, a person allergic to eggplant and another that can’t eat asparagus. Every year, I bring translation cards for my Celiac and for my daughter’s allergies so that I can properly communicate with restaurants to avoid any incidents. This year I used Celiactravel.com for the gluten-free restaurant cards and Select Wisely for my daughter’s allergies. I found that I had to use the cards a lot more this year than in previous years. But once the staff had the cards, we were all good. Below are some of the more memorable restaurants that we visited.
The first dinner we had off our hotel’s property was Zozoï located in Old Town Marbella. My brother and I were very excited to find out that they had celiac-friendly spring rolls. They use rice paper and only fry the spring rolls and their beef tallow Belgian fries in the oil used. These were probably one of my favorite things I had on the entire trip. Our table also shared some fantastic Belotta ham. 
The pigs were only fed macadamia nuts and ran 20 kilometers a day so the meat was super lean. I had fish and a side of those Belgian fries for my main dish.
Our next dinner was right on the water in Marbella. When the waiter told me they had gluten-free bread and I inquired if there was any cross-contamination, he looked at me in disbelief and told me of course not. Apparently gluten-free actually meant gluten-free here.
My brother and I shared two starters. The first was the table-smoked salmon tartare with avocado.
The second was the sautéed vegetables with garlic prawns.
For my main, I had Grilled tuna from the Strait of Gibraltar. It was served with seasonal vegetables. 
We also had a side of their roasted potatoes with the meal.
The next evening we enjoyed the very special tasting menu at Dani Garcia, a Michelin 3-star restaurant. Everything from the glassware to the printed menus personalized to dietary needs to the presentation of the food were spectacular. Even tea service was so wonderful and special. Rather than include pictures of every special course, I thought I would just include one as a sampling of the creativity used.
In hindsight, we should have gone to Skina before Dani Garcia. This one-star Michelin restaurant followed a very tough act. We enjoyed another tasting menu here and I failed to take any pictures. However, they did a good job with ensuring all of our dietary needs were taken care of. After dinner, the walk through Old Town Marbella was really beautiful as everyone seemed to be out and about.
The next evening we ate with views of the water near the Marbella marina at Pikaro. Out of all of our meals, I felt most tentative ordering at this restaurant since the waiter told me that they couldn’t guarantee safety at the restaurant since it was a very small kitchen. However, after talking with him more, I was able to order a starter of Spanish cheese. 
They gave me some warmed gluten-free bread to go with it. Most of the gluten-free breads that I had in Spain came in these sealed packages so that there would be no cross contamination when warming them up. 
For my main course, I had a fish with ham on it.
There was a steamed cheese cake gluten-free dessert on the menu which I tried but wasn’t a fan of.
On our last day in Spain, we traveled to the mountaintop city of Ronda which was unbelievably beautiful. The picture on the top of this post was taken there. We had a guide that brought us to Restaurant Albacara once the tour was over. The restaurant had panoramic views of the gorge and Puente Nuevo bridge. Once again, I was served packaged gluten-free bread.
I ordered the sea bream baked in salt. It was served with seasonal vegetables.
Our last dinner was at Los Bandidos in the Puerto Banus area of Marbella. Once again, there was safe gluten-free bread.
I started with the prawns cooked in a chili garlic herb sauce. I then split a mixed salad with my husband.
For my main course, I ordered the Grilled Tuna from Almandraba with vegetable Risotto. Our waitress let me know that the risotto wasn’t gluten-free, so she substituted potatoes for it. 
When the dish arrived, I was very skeptical that it was gluten free. It looked like soy sauce was drizzled all over it. After going over the ingredients of the sauce with someone from the kitchen more than once, it was determined that the color came from a dark sesame oil.
A lot of our lunches were spent at the hotel due to nap time for our toddler. We did room service a couple of times. There were multiple restaurants on the hotel property that we tried as well. My favorite was MC Beach which was located right on the water and had the most perfect vacation-type atmosphere. On two occasions I had the sushi as they were able to prepare it gluten-free. 
The fatty salmon was quite memorable. So tender and good. I also had the quinoa salad which was a lot heartier than expected.
This location was also the perfect spot for a cocktail after our sitter arrived to the room and before it was time for the grown-up dinner. With the sounds of the Alboran Sea in the backdrop, it didn’t get much better than this.
There was one entirely gluten-free restaurant that was pretty close to our hotel that I didn’t have time to visit called Celiacioso. Perhaps on a return trip I will make it there!
Once again, we were able to travel successfully with a multitude of dietary restrictions. If you have kids and are looking to travel to Marbella, the Marbella Club Hotel was fantastic and they have the most impressive kids’ club offered that I have ever seen.
Ground Breaker Brewing
8 Sep
Over Labor Day Weekend, we attended a wedding in Stevenson, Washington for one of my closest friends. After flying into Portland, we decided to grab a bite to eat before making our way across the state border. Thanks to a recommendation from an awesome Gluten-Free Santa Barbara member, we went to Ground Breaker Brewing – an entirely gluten-free brewery and gastropub. We started with the Blistered Padron Peppers which are one of my favorite snacks to munch on. They did not disappoint. I had a really hard time deciding between getting their fried chicken and their pulled pork sandwich since those are things I never get to have. The other white meat won out.
This was as good as it looks. It was served on a New Cascadia roll, a dedicated gluten-free bakery located in Portland. My husband ordered the Squash Tomato Cheese Sandwich.
The cheese and tomato gave it kind of an eggplant parmigiana taste which was a good, familiar taste. To finish the meal, we split a chocolate chip cookie.
Oh god this was fantastic. I think it is mandatory that all cookies I have from now on have salt sprinkled on top. Since we were at a gluten-free restaurant AND brewery, it seemed necessary to try their beers.
They had 8 beers on their list which made it hard to pick which ones to try. Therefore, we ordered samples of all of them. My favorite was the Pale Ale, but the IPA No. 5 was a close second. I seriously love the Pacific Northwest. You have amazing gluten-free options and it is so incredibly beautiful. 
Five Loaves Cafe
3 Jun
If you are visiting Charleston, you MUST make Five Loaves Cafe one of your stops. This casual, allergy friendly restaurant went above and beyond in accommodating our tricky group. After letting them know about our dietary needs, they brought out “normal” bread and oil and a separate plate of GF bread and oil. The bread wasn’t anything special (I believe it was Udi’s), but the fact that they served it along with its own safe olive oil was awesome. I had read that their soups were great, but I was having a hard time deciding between the six gluten-free choices so I went with the three soup sampler. I chose the potato, cheddar and broccoli, the tomato tarragon with crabmeat and the carrot ginger. They were equally yummy and the perfect size. For my main dish, I had the Pumpkin Seed Encrusted Salmon.
Even though I didn’t taste much of the pumpkin seed, the salmon was cooked well and the accompaniments were light and fresh tasting. We couldn’t resist ordering their gluten free carrot cake for dessert.
This was a very good decision. We made quick work of the cake, finishing the meal on a high note. The menu at Five Loaves was so accommodating that we ended up getting take-out from there another day. I had the Rueben Sandwich on GF Bread which was pretty darn tasty… so tasty in fact that I ate it too quickly for a picture. There were about ten other things on the menu that I would have tried if we had more time in Charleston. It is so nice to find a place where you have as many choices as anyone else!
Hominy Grill
1 Jun
Anytime I am in the South, I have a craving for shrimp and grits. And so, when we knew we were heading to Charleston, I started researching which restaurant had the best shrimp and grits there. Hominy Grill kept coming up, but to my disappointment, the recipe that had been posted online showed that they used flour. Nevertheless, we went there anyway as it came highly rated as a breakfast restaurant. On their menu, they have gluten-free pancakes listed. Once I talked to our waitress, I didn’t feel comfortable ordering them since they used the same flat top for everything else. It also sounded like it was a very small kitchen that happened to be very busy at the time. When I told her that I really wanted the shrimp and grits, she said they could make those gluten-free for me. I am so glad that they did. These were unbelievable. Along with the shrimp, there were scallions, mushrooms and bacon served over cheese grits. Oh god these were good. I don’t think I gave myself a second to breathe as I inhaled the dish in record time. It is very clear that this restaurant has both a local and tourist following, and for good reason. Because of that, try going on a weekday when the crowd is a bit more manageable!
Dellz Uptown
1 Jun
I just got back from my first visit to Charleston, South Carolina where we attended a friend’s wedding. As we were there with a group a friends, we all rented a house together through airbnb. It was my first experience with airbnb but I loved it. If you need a recommendation for a house to rent, I have one for you! Close to the house we rented was a great spot called Dellz Uptown – a vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free friendly restaurant. Most of the food here has a Caribbean influence which was very appealing to me. I ordered the Turkey Goddess Wrap with a GF wrap and no sauce just to be safe. The wrap held together amazingly. This was definitely one of my favorite spots during our trip. I am still regretting that we didn’t make a return trip!
The Little Beet Table
13 May
While in NYC last weekend, we tried the entirely gluten-free The Little Beet Table. Not only is everything gluten-free, but they also are heavy on the veggies so you can feel good about what you are eating. To start, we had the Tender Shrimp which was served with chickpeas, garlic and chili. I would have ordered 5 of these. There was a fight at the table for the chickpeas, garlic and chili. We also shared the Tuna Tataki.
The charred jalapeño vinaigrette gave this dish a subtle heat that was quite good. For the baby, we ordered the Roasted Sweet Potatoes and their Market Beans.
Served in a cast iron skillet, the sweet potatoes were perfect in every way. Due to the yumminess of the smoked sea salt on top and the crispy skin, we took the opportunity to teach our daughter that sharing is caring.
She wasn’t too fired up about the beans which was fine by me as I finished these off with gusto. I ordered the LBT Burger as my entree. This was topped with roasted tomato, potato crunch, special sauce, bacon and NY state cheddar.
Although it was really good, I didn’t really get much crunch from the “potato crunch”. It was served with fingerling potatoes and some extra “special sauce”. The special sauce had a little kick in it that tasted a bit like horseradish. My dad ordered the Rigatoni with onions, garlic, olives, tomatoes and pepperoncini.
The gluten-free pasta was a great consistency so I asked whose they use. Apparently the reason it was so good is that they make it in-house. My husband got the Vegetable Panini served on a multi-grain bread.
The bread was outstanding. I would use it for all my bread needs if it was available for purchase. The sandwich was so good with the sliced zucchini that we have talked about recreating it at home. It was so nice to be able to go to a restaurant where I could try what everyone had ordered. I am not sure that they appreciated how much I ate of their dishes, but it was definitely a special experience. I can’t wait to get back there so we can try their flatbreads.
River Edge Pizza Kitchen
13 May
We were back on the East Coast recently to see a pediatric allergist for our daughter. While there, we found an amazingly gluten-free friendly spot called River Edge Pizza Kitchen. The owner, Francine, has three celiac grandchildren so she has taken it upon herself to have safe Italian food for them to eat. I had the chicken parmigiana hero – something I haven’t had in 11 years. Eating it brought back so many great memories. I also had the cheesy garlic bread since it would have been wrong to not order gluten-free cheesy garlic bread.
I inhaled these during the short walk from the restaurant to our car. They did not disappoint. As good as this place was, it was a reminder that there isn’t a place in Santa Barbara for safe gluten-free comfort Italian food.
Speaking of reminders, GFSB will be meeting at Lilac this Sunday at noon! For more information or to RSVP, visit our Facebook page.
gluten-free in sb 
