Piatti's.

Stop number 13. Now I am reviewing something I have never posted on this blog -- pasta! (Pasta is my second favorite thing next to bread.) So this spot is in La Jolla. Right near the shores there is a restaurant called Piatti's. 

They have very good gluten-free pasta. I ordered the plain pasta with red sauce and cheese. It was the best gluten-free pasta ever. I would say my mom's is the best, but sometimes the pasta is stuck together when she cooks it. (No offense, Mom. But now we are even for putting my bad spelling on the blog.) Well anyway, it was very good. The sauce was a little sweet, but I really liked it. 

My family really likes their food, too. They have a garlic, olive oil to dip that my parents love. The bread looked awesome so it was a little tough for me, but I made it through. 

 Be sure to check them out here for more information. I will definitely be back again!

La Jolla Shores 10/11 

naked pizza.

 

Stop number 12.  Guess what this place has? More pizza!!!! You can never have too much pizza, right? Well this one is called Naked Pizza. And I know you are like, that is a weird name for a pizza place, but this is the opposite of the name. They have so many toppings! 

I had black olive and pepperoni. The gluten-free crust was really good. Almost as good as Sammy’s old crust! It was nice and chewy and it didn't have too much cheese. Just the right amount. 

My parents tried one of their veggie choices. I say Naked Pizza is now tied with Woodstock's Pizza. I would definitely go again!
Oh, and they have iPad's to play with as well. 

Check them out here.

orange blossom cafe.

Eleventh stop. So on this morning I woke up and went to breakfast with my family. The place is called Orange Blossom Cafe and I came here to try something I've never had before. Crepes. (Or carpes as I originally spelled them. Sorry Vincent, I had to add that.) 

But anyway, my sister and I ordered the Mexican Chocolate Crepe. I had the gluten-free version and my sister had the regular version. The crepes were covered with cocoa powder, chocolate syrup and cinnamon, with a side of whip cream. It was really good. 

I had imagined that the crepes were going to be thinner and a bit chewier, but they were still thin and tasty. My mom said the regular crepes had a better texture, but I was happy with the gluten-free version. It was more like a treat, than a breakfast! 

I would definitely go back. My mom wants to try the lemon-sugar crepe. I want to try the Tiramisu Crepe. So if you're in the mood for crepes, stop by the Orange Blossom Cafe in Solana Beach or just check them out here. 

Oh, and they had a gluten-free cookie, too. It was an almond cookie and it stuck to the roof of my mouth. But it was still good!

a cake for Grandpa and Vincent.

From Kristin: Vincent and his grandpa celebrated their birthdays together this year. Grandpa turned 83 and Vincent turned 11!

To celebrate I made a gluten-free cake that I found here. It is a Lemon Ricotta Almond Cake and it is so easy and so yummy that I wanted to share it here. Vincent loved it. Even the gluten-free skeptics liked it. For the recipe details visit the glutenfreebay blog. Oh, and I added the toasted almonds and strawberries for decoration, but they are really the only thing I would add to the recipe.


Happy Birthday Vincent and Vince!

birthday dinner.

Today is my birthday and my mom made me a special dinner. Well, this dinner doesn't really have any special gluten-free items, but it's all gluten-free. 

The dinner had mashed potatoes, steak and artichokes. It is one of my favorite combinations. 

Then for dessert, we had gluten-free brownies with ice cream. That's it! There's my gluten-free birthday dinner.

disney gluten-free.

Ninth and tenth stop. This review is really two in one. The first stop is Storytellers Cafe inside the California Grand Disney Resort, right next to Disneyland. 

But before I get to the food, I just wanted to say that the hotel way really nice and the pool had a water slide. We stayed there for free (well not really) my dad had to go there for his work and he took me, my mom and my sister. 

Well now, onto the food. Ok. First the service at Storytellers Cafe was really nice. Once the waiter knew I was gluten-free he brought me my own plate of bread to eat while I waited for my food. I ordered the cheeseburger and it was probably the best gluten-free cheeseburger ever. The bun was kinda small, but it was good (repeat, there was a bun!) and the burger was cooked just right. 

I was so happy we went there one more night. I ordered the gluten-free pizza. But, it was just ok. The crust was grainy and kinda undercooked. Storytellers Cafe, please cook the crust a little more. (Tell me what you think of their crust if you go there.)

The next stop was across from the hotel in Downtown Disney. The restaurant was called Naples and it was Italian food. I ordered the gluten-free pasta and it was good. The pizza looked good too, but it is not gluten-free. 

The rest of the time I spent hanging out in the pool and going to Disneyland. Oh, and I got to go to the Lego Store!

woodstock's pizza.

Eighth stop. This stop is a pizza place in San Diego called Woodstock's Pizza. It has really good gluten-free crust, a little different than I've had before. It was nice and chewy, and the sauce and cheese were also good. 

Too bad you can only order it in large! So you'll need a whole family to eat it, but I think they will like it. Even my sister (who is not gluten-free) liked it. So if you are in the mood for pizza go check it out here. 

Oh, and I am not really a big salad fan, but I liked the antipasto!

And they were playing the homerun derby that night...nice!

I am still searching for the perfect crust to replace the old Sammy's Woodfired Pizza crust, but Woodstock's you are almost there!

guest review.

Meet Owen, one of my very best friends. We've been friends since we were three! I am happy that he is our first guest and has written a great review. (Owen has Celiac Disease and eats gluten-free, as well!) Take it away, Owen....

Cups is a cupcake bar in La Jolla. A small cupcake is $2.00 and it's $4.00 for the large cupcake. They have many gluten-free flavors but they only put two per day.

There is a cupcake called "Bottom's Up" with this whipped cream cheese frosting and the cupcake part is chocolate. It tasted really good. The cupcake was moist but firm.

Another gluten free cupcake is called the "Hummingbird Cup". The cupcake is pineapple-banana with walnuts. It is also really good.

The best part is they have karaoke and if you sing, you get one free small cupcake. It doesn't matter if you mess up. You can do it again and again!!! I recommend going to Cups for dessert.

Photos by Hannah Wilder

For more information, check out Cups here.

happy 4th of july.

dear sammy's woodfired pizza.

Dear Sammy's, 
Your new [gluten-free] crust was good but not as good at your other one. The old one was thinner and chewier. The new one is kinda grainy and uncooked. (My friend Owen agrees.) Sammy's if you could bring back the old crust that would be great. 
Vincent


What do you think of the new gluten-free pizza crust at Sammy's? 

how do you s'more?

Note from Kristin: While we are busy celebrating summer with a bonfire, we would love to know how our gluten-free readers eat s'mores! There's nothing better than a gooey marshmallow with chocolate and we are looking for a good gluten-free version. 


Here is Vincent's s'more with two pieces of plain chocolate and a marshmallow in the middle.

Here is mine using Nature Valley Granola Thins which were delicious used for s'mores. The chocolate is layered right onto a thin granola bar. They are not gluten-free, but if you can tolerate oats, this might be an option for you.  

Also, just to clarify, Vincent's gluten allergy causes him a lot of stomach problems. But he can handle small doses of oats and some alternative grains, like spelt. We are also lucky that so far we have not had to worry about small traces of cross contamination. So occasionally we do try products with different grains that are not entirely gluten-free but are alternatives to traditional wheat products. This is obviously not an option for everyone and we realize that some of our posts might not fit the dietary needs of everyone. This is just what seems to work for us. Our first choice, is always gluten-free, of course, but we do have a few alternative favorites, (ie, soaked grains, spelt, kamut) that we may want to share along the way! So, enough of the gluten-free formalities, if you've got a great gf s'more idea, please comment!   

picasso naturals.

Seventh stop. This stop is Picasso Naturals in Kearny Mesa. We heard about this spot from my crazy uncle Manual. I can't really see him there because it is really small and he is always the life of the party. He likes this place a lot though and I can see why. They make healthy good food. Pretty much anything on their menu can be made gluten-free including both the wraps and sandwiches.

I ordered the tuna melt and it was small but really good. I also ordered one of their smoothies and it was AWESOME. Lola, my sister, liked the smoothie, too. 

My mom ordered a veggie wrap and she said it was good. It was made with brown rice tortilla. 

My dad ordered a sandwich that looked really good. It had turkey, jalapenos, lettuce and cheese on multi-grain bread. This was another good spot for gluten-free sandwiches, wraps, smoothies and other healthy foods! A lot of their produce is organic and the owner was really nice, too. Check them out on Yelp or visit them at 7420 Clairemont Mesa Blvd, #115 San Diego, CA 92111.

gluten-free favorites.

Product number one. This is one of my favorite brands called Udi's. They have all sorts of gluten-free stuff like cookies, pizza crust, and bread. All three are really good. The cookies and bread are nice and chewy. That is the thing I miss most about bread and I am sure you miss it, too. (Have I mentioned that bread is one of my favorite foods?!!) 


Udi's bread is great for sandwiches and toast but it's kind of small. The pizza crust are nice and thin and crisp up really good. Overall this is a great brand!


Here is a photo of the pizza crust and bread but sorry, we ate all the cookies!