Gluten-Free Santa Barbara: La Super-Rica, Simply Pies & More Fanciness

If you’re posh and planning a trip to Santa Barbara, and also happen to be a celiac you are in massive luck. I just spent the weekend in beautiful Santa Barbara, not on a luxury vacation but visiting my mother-in-law. It’s one of a handful of trips I’ve made to SB since being diagnosed, and luckily, my MIL has done a lot of g-free research for me around Goleta and SB. So before I even arrived I was ahead of the game. Which is probably why Woody’s (my husband’s favorite BBQ restaurant in the whole world) was probably not the first place our family should have gone out to eat, but we did.

Like a lot of barbecue sauce, Woody’s has soy sauce as an ingredient. We know because they picked up the bucket and checked. That’s right, a bucket. My husband’s favorite barbecue comes from a bucket. So I went for the celiac special — a burger without a bun — and the rest of my family enjoyed a gluten-filled meal. Oh yeah, and this:

Which is why I included Woody’s in this round-up. Because that place is a blast, even if you totally can’t eat there. Which you can’t. So don’t go.

One place you will want to frequent, however, is Simply Pies. Almost every one of their pie options is also made gluten-free and honestly, it’s the most amazing pie crust I’ve ever tasted. My MIL brought me a lemon pie a few months ago, and I enjoyed this caramelized onion and mushroom quiche on this trip. That pie crust is truly inspiring. Look it:

Gluten-Free Atlanta: Meat is the Word

They sure know how to treat a lady in Atlanta. And I don’t just mean all that holding doors stuff. As someone who grew up in the south’ish, I’ll admit traveling to Atlanta g-free made me nervous. Things I knew I would miss out on include, fried chicken, and, well, fried anything.

Being pleasantly surprised at gluten-free options seems to be my thing these days, so I shouldn’t have been surprised by my Atlanta gf bounty. Apparently I’m incredibly easy to surprise, because I’m still excited over my crazy dinner last night, that did not contain one iota of the sticky stuff. Whoo-hooo! But first, the reason I’m here in A-town, is for the annual BlogHer Food Conference. And those ladies, they know their audience. Check out the breakfast table —

Gluten-Free Austin: Celiac Capital of the World

I’ve only been back from Austin, Texas for a few hours and already I miss the ease of dining as I struggle to figure out where in the world to grab take-out that will appeal to my picky daughter and my celiac self. Because basically, my mind was blown this week as I chowed down in the best city in Texas (and quite frankly, a five state radius).  Here’s what happened in the first 36 hours I was there.

I went to three restaurants in a row that handed me a gluten-free menu. Three! Three gluten-free menus — in a freaking row! They know how to treat a girl who can’t hang with wheat. Also, check out that grocery store aisle above in Central Market. So much g-free business I had to walk away without buying anything so as not to buy EVERYTHING. Whole Foods, you need to take a lesson from the greatest grocery store of all time. Alternately, Central Market — please come to California. You know you want to, especially in the summers.

So here’s where I dined, and you should too if you’re looking for a good gf time in the live music capital of the world.