While planning our trip to California several people (all unrelated to each other) told me we should stop in Solvang. On the day we booked our hotels, Expedia was having a great special on the Hadsten House Inn and Spa and just like that, Solvang became part of our trip. Solvang is an old Danish town on the outskirts of the Santa Barbara wine country. I never would have expected this random little town to be one of my absolute favorite stops on our trip. I LOVED this part of our trip. Since we got home I have been recommending Solvang and the Hadsten House to everyone!
We arrived in Solvang on a Wednesday afternoon only to learn that is was “3rd Wednesday.” On the third Wednesday of the month, the town hosts a wine tasting festival. To participate, you purchase a wine glass and 5 tasting tickets for $20. The town is filled with wine tasting rooms of local wineries; most of which participate in 3rd Wednesday. It was so much fun and we loved being able to try so many different types of wine. The best part was that the Hadsten House is right in town and walking distance to dozens of tasting rooms. Also, the Hadsten House provides their guests a list of tasting rooms and near by wineries that offer free and discount tastings.
Our room at the Hadsten House was so cute and cozy. I loved the decor. It didn’t feel like a standard hotel room because it had a homey feel. After indulging in wine tasting all afternoon we made a reservation at the Hadsten House Dining Room which was also beautifully decorated. The menu had a good variety, the service was great and our waitress was able to easily accommodate my gluten allergy. I ordered a little out of my comfort zone and tried the scallops with risotto. The Hadsten House also offers a complementary American breakfast in the Dining Room with your stay.
After leaving LA, Mike and I headed to Santa Barbara for an afternoon. It was a cloudy day, but we stopped at the beach to put our toes in the Pacific one last time. We walked around the town and visited the historic Santa Barbara Court House which offered the most beautiful views of the city.
I was looking forward to stopping at Savoy Cafe & Deli for lunch because I had read that they offer gluten-free options. Totally pumped and ready for a gluten-free sandwich I ordered the Gibraltar on gluten-free bread. I also asked the waitress if they cut the gluten-free bread on a clean cutting board with a clean knife to which she respond, “Yes, no problem.” After overhearing our conversation, another waitress behind the counter interrupted us. She told me that since I was concerned about how my bread was being cut, she wanted to let me know that the bakery Savoy orders the bread from slices the gluten-free bread on the same machine that slices gluten-filled bread. Queue the silence. I did not see these details coming (although they were greatly appreciated) and had to get off line to re-think my order.
Totally stumped and not in the mood for a salad, I asked the waitresses if they would be able to make the Gibraltar sandwich with a romaine lettuce wrap. Luckily, they said they were definitely up to the challenge. Mike ordered the Gibraltar on regular bread, we bought a snicker doodle cookie and sat down at a table to wait for our food. The Gibraltar Romaine Wrap was a success! It was so good and perfectly wrapped. I didn’t miss the bread at all. The waitress told me it was the first lettuce wrap she ever made. Let me tell you; she nailed it. I am sending a big thank you to that waitress and Savoy Cafe for going above and beyond to make my lunch awesome.
After leaving Savoy Cafe, Mike and I continued walking around town of Santa Barbara. There are a lot of shops and restaurants in this area. We walked past Lilac Patisserie, a completely gluten-free cafe and bakery. I could not resist and ran right in. There are very few gluten-free bakeries on Long Island, so I was excited to buy a homemade baked treat. Mike and I agreed on a cinnamon coffee cake which we ate the next morning. It was perfect. This coffee cake was tasty, moist and the perfect size to share. Mike even said that if he wasn’t the one to buy it he wouldn’t have thought it was gluten-free. Highly recommend Lilac Patisserie if you’re looking for GF. desserts in Santa Barbara.
We spent the day in Santa Barbara then made our way to north to Solvang.
When I began my gluten free journey, I was a little worried about what vacations would look like for me. I worried that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy my trips that way I had in the past. With my fifth trip to “The Happy Island,” approaching, I was really looking forward to some delicious dinners. In the months leading up to my vacation I was constantly researching gluten free restaurants in Aruba. I found TripAdviser and other blogs to be very helpful, but emailing a restaurant prior to my trip had the best outcomes. To my surprise, many restaurants in Aruba were more than willing to accommodate my food allergy. When I made a dinner reservation for my family, I would also mention my allergy. When we arrived at dinner, I also always spoke with our waitstaff directly. Unfortunately, gluten free beer has not made its way down to Aruba, but the grocery stores offer many gluten free items. In this blog post I am sharing the restaurants I dined on my most recent trip to Aruba.
My family ate here on the first night and I was amazed by the staff’s knowledge of gluten. Our waitress completely understood my gluten allergy and arranged for a chef to show me around the salad bar. For those of you who have never been to Texas de Brazil I will explain the serving style of the dinner. First, guests visit the salad/appetizer bar for the first course. Next, you sit down at your table flip your card to green (“yes, I would like more food!”) and servers come around with a variety of meats that are carved right onto your plate. The chef walked me around the salad bar and told me all of the dishes and dressings that contained gluten. He also reminded me of which meats I would not be able to eat for dinner. For my entire dinner our waitress kept an eye on me and reminded me of which meats I could not sample. She even knew to avoid vodka in my drinks! I highly recommend going to Texas de Brazil while you’re in Aruba gluten free or not! Our dinner was awesome.
In the past this restaurant has been one of my favorites while in Aruba. The ribs here are amazing! My family ate here twice during our trip. Unfortunately (and not to my surprise) the ribs are not gluten free. The first night my waiter did not understand my allergy; he actually thought I said I was allergic to glue, so he brought the manager over. I ordered plain grilled chicken on a salad with oil and vinegar dressing. Although the salad was not nearly as satisfying as the rib would have been, I enjoyed my salad and did not get sick. The second night our waitress told me the dry-rub ribs did not contain gluten ingredients, so I decided to give them a try. After watching my family devour delicious saucy ribs early in the week I was green with envy. Although the dry-rub wasn’t as good as the saucy BBQ ribs I had years ago, they were still tasty. Afterwards, I did have a bit of an upset stomach, but nothing too terrible. In the future I would just stick to the salad and suggest others do the same, especially if you have Celiacs.
One night my family decided to order in, so I picked up a gluten free pizza with peppers from Linda’s. I was definitely one of the best GF pizzas I’ve had. One of my cousins even said he thought it tasted just like regular pizza. Unfortunately, I got a stomach ache pretty quickly. Although several other blogs raved about Linda’s gluten free dutch pancakes I was too hesitant to go back after trying the pizza. The rest of my family stopped at Linda’s for breakfast one morning and loved it.
Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! Yemanja is the only restaurant I found with an actual gluten free menu. Most of their dishes are gluten free to begin with so I was able to choose from the same dishes as my family. They even brought me fresh, fluffy and delicious gluten free bread. This night I had grilled mahi-mahi and was able to eat the family style side dishes that were put on the table. I highly recommend dinning here if you have a gluten allergy or not. My entire family loved this dinner. It’s definitely somewhere we are looking forward to visiting again on future trips.
Definitely put Gianni’s restaurant on your list if you are looking for excellent Italian food. Although they do not have a gluten free menu, they do offer gluten free pasta and knowledgeable staff. All but two pasta sauces were gluten free. We actually ate here twice because the food is so good and they could accommodate my allergy. The first night I had gluten free penne with carbonara sauce. It was so good I had it the next time as well, but the gluten free pasta of the night was fusilli. Both nights my waiters took great care in noting my gluten allergy.
When my cousin made our dinner reservation this night he actually spoke directly to the chef. The chef informed him that many of the restaurant’s dishes did not contain gluten and he would be more than willing to accommodate my food allergy. I had the delicious filet mignon special with spinach, mushrooms and a baked potato. This was yet another delicious family dinner that we all enjoyed.
At the end of my trip I ate lunch at the Marriott’s Aruba Ocean Club when my waitress told me I could have asked the front desk to make note of my allergy in the computer. She said all of the restaurants on the grounds  would be able to see my food allergy in the computer when processing our meals. I will definitely remember this for next time. I hope this helps all of you gluten free readers who may be traveling to Aruba!
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