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.