SAGE Grill in Encinitas

A reader recommends SAGE Grill in Encinitas for those of us with gluten issues. Their menu notes which items are gluten free and the Owner is aware of the importance of avoiding cross-contamination since his daughter also has food sensitivities.

1506 Encinitas Blvd
Encinitas, CA 92024
760-943-7243

Open daily 11:30am-1oPM
Sunday brunch: 10am - 2pm

http://www.sagegrill.com

Gluten Free Soup

I tried Kettle Cuisine's Grilled Chicken Corn Chowder recently and it was really good. It's more of a meal than a starter since it's thick and hearty. All of their soups are gluten-free, even the chicken and noodles, and the chicken is antibiotic-free and raised on a vegetarian diet.

The only bad part is that each soup is $3.99 at Whole Foods, which seems a lot for a soup. Of course, if you treat it as a meal, it's not so bad.

http://www.kettlecuisine.com/Our-Soup.aspx

Really Good GF Crackers

Crunchmaster Multi-Seed Crackers are really good. I tried the Original Flavor and they were crunchy and very tasty. I think they have a lot more flavor than typical rice crackers.

I bought a bag for $2.49 at Fresh & Easy. I think you can also buy them at Costco.

http://www.crunchmaster.com/home.aspx

Gluten Free Challah Bread

Katz Gluten Free Company sent a bunch of free samples to our San Diego Gluten Free Group and I was lucky to get a loaf of their Sliced Challah Bread. Challah bread is what I used to think of as egg bread as a kid. The bread is really tasty and does not need toasting, it's delicious right out of the bag. However, I would not want it as my everyday bread since it does contain 6 grams of fat (2.5 grams of saturated fat) for every 2 slices... although it does include 3 grams of protein too!

I am also looking forward to their cinnamon rolls. If they taste anything like the bread, you wouldn't know they are gluten free!

In San Diego, you can buy it online only. Their online vendor search did not show up any stores in the local area. A loaf of the challah bread online costs $5.79 which seems to be average for gf bread.

http://www.katzglutenfree.com/

IKEA - a great place to eat!

When you think of IKEA, you typically don't think of food. You think of large boxes of furniture that you can spend many hours putting together. I know because I have spent many hours putting their pieces together....

Anyway, whenever I go to IKEA, I get the gluten free almond torte in the cafeteria. It's almond cake with really good creamy vanilla frosting and it's only $1.29/slice! They also have it for sale downstairs in the freezer section along with about 5 other flavors that are labeled gluten free. YUMMY!!

I also get the salmon entree that is stuffed salmon with vegetables and potato-broccoli cakes. I don't know for sure that they are certified gluten free but I've eaten this meal many times without any problems. Also, you can have a large entree, a salad, a dessert and a drink for less than $10 - who can beat that? And it's healthy too!

2149 Fenton Parkway
San Diego, CA 92108

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/store/san_diego

If you are in Palm Springs, Check out this place.

If you are like many San Diegans and head to the desert for a weekend or two during the year, be sure to check out Palm Greens Cafe in Palm Springs.

I have been there twice - for breakfast and dinner and both times it has been excellent. They serve GF pancakes for breakfast and have all sorts of GF options for later in the day. They also usually have GF baked goods such as brownies, cookies and cupcakes that you can eat there or take to go.

611 south palm canyon drive

Palm Springs, CA 92264

Get Directions

(760) 864-9900

palmgreenscafe.com‎

GF bread at Chargers Games!!

Gluten Not Included Bakery (http://gnibakery.com/) is supplying GF hamburger buns and GF hot dog buns plus other GF snacks to the "Gluten Free Zone" - a concession stand at the main entrance to the stadium.

Now you can enjoy the football game AND eat burgers and hot dogs along with everyone else!!

Let's support this stand so that gluten free foods become more widely available at events like these!

http://www.sandiego.gov/qualcomm/

Gluten Free, Dairy Free dessert

I love Rice Dream Strawberry "ice cream." It's so good and in my opinion, Rice Dream tastes so much better than Soy Dream. I think Soy Dream has an aftertaste. Rice Dream is also relatively healthy for a dessert and has no saturated fat. I just wish that it was available in more stores. So far, I have only seen it at Whole Foods for $3.69 for a pint.

http://www.tastethedream.com/index.php

Rudi's GF bread

This may be sacrilegious, but I think I prefer Rudi's GF bread to Udi's. Rudi's, whose name is suspiciously similar to Udi's, has a gf multigrain bread that is very similar to good whole wheat bread. And maybe it's my imagination, but the slices seem larger than Udi's bread.

I bought Rudi's GF bread at Whole Foods. It was the same price as most of the other gf breads, about $6/loaf.

http://www.rudisbakery.com/gluten-free/

Gluten Free Cupcakes in La Jolla

A reader let me know about this place and I haven't tried it yet but from the photos, it looks AMAZING. According to their website, they have several gluten free flavors - check the daily calendar for availability - including choco libre, limone ricotta, harvest, raspberry cheesecake and more!

CUPS
858-459-CUPS(2877)
7857 Girard Ave, La Jolla, CA 92037

http://cupslj.com/

Expecting too much?

I think a gluten-free and dairy-free mac & cheese
is too much to ask for. I usually enjoy Amy's frozen
frozen entrees, but this one was an exception. I
did not enjoy the soy cheese mac & cheese at all but
I don't think it was Amy's fault. I have yet to find
a good dairy-free cheese. Most of them just taste
funky. If anyone knows a good gluten and dairy
free mac & cheese, I would love to hear about it!

Great Mexican Food in Solano Beach

From a reader:

"I live in Solana Beach and I happen to live right down the street from a great Mexican place called Tony's Jacal. Recently I was diagnosed with Celiac disease, but much to my surprise, Tony's Jacal was able to do several items gluten free. If you tell them you have a "wheat allergy" they will whisk away your chips and bring you new ones that are fried in fresh oil, and I have eaten both their carnitas plates and shrimp fajitas (with corn tortillas) and haven't been sick."


http://www.tonysjacal.com/

621 Valley Ave
Solana Beach, CA 92075
Tel: (858) 755-2274

Hours of Operation

Lunch
Monday through Saturday 11:00am to 2:00pm

Dinner
Weekdays 5:00 pm to 9:30 pm
Friday and Saturday 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Sunday 3:00 pm to 9:30 pm
Closed Tuesday

My new fave GF cereal

I bought Mesa Sunrise from Nature's Path after loving their delicious and addictive honey-sweetened corn flakes. This cereal is organic and gluten-free and contains flax and amaranth. It tastes really good and is good for you with 3 grams of protein and fiber in each serving. I also like the ecopac packaging because you get more cereal in the bag and there's no unnecessary cardboard. I bought Mesa Sunrise at Wholefoods for about $6/bag (one bag = a lot more than a box).

http://www.naturespath.com/

Gluten Free Cakes

I have heard from several people now that these cakes and cupcakes a really good. They come in lots of flavors and are great for a party or catered event.

Cakes vary from $55-$65 each. Cupcakes are available as a dozen or a pack of 24 bites.


2Good2B Gluten Free

http://www.2good2b.com/

760-685-2168

Waters Fine Catering - To Go

I went to Waters Fine Catering's Solana Beach location yesterday for lunch. They have a really nice selection of freshly made food. It was a Wednesday, so they had a selection of gluten-free pizzas. There are also various other safe foods, such as salmon, rice, vegetables etc. The gluten-free pizza was very good and very reasonably priced - only $6.50 for a personal size pizza. If you choose to eat at the place (they have about 5 tables inside and 2 outside), then they will heat your food for you. They have different gluten-free selections on different days, so check their website, which is updated daily with the day's menu.

http://www.waterscatering.com/

They have two locations - one in Solana Beach and one in San Diego. I have not been to the San Diego location yet.

125 South Highway 101
Solana Beach, CA 92075
858-509-9400

1115 West Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110
619-276-0568

Brick Oven Pizzeria

I went to Brick Oven Pizzeria the other day when I was in Poway. The people there are very friendly and welcoming and are used to lots of us gluten-free types coming in.

Their gluten free crust is a lot like regular delivery crust - like Pizza Hut's hand-tossed crust. The gluten free pizza comes in the medium size only, which feeds 2-3 people, depending on your hunger level. They have a nice variety of toppings as well. My only complaint is that I wish their interior seating area was larger and was a little more separated from the order counter. For those of us who don't live in Poway, we would eat the pizza there, and more atmosphere would be nice.

12222 Poway Road
Poway, CA 92064
(858) 274-2568

Open Daily 11am-9:30pm

http://www.858brickoven.com/

Sooooo good

Omigosh, these "cookies" are so good. They taste like coconut chocolate chip cookies. The bag contains three servings but be careful, as you may eat all three servings in one sitting without noticing.

They are gluten free and nut free and raw, for those into the raw movement.

One bag at Whole Foods La Jolla was $4.29. They didn't have this flavor in the Whole Foods in Hillcrest today - they did have other flavors though.

http://www.goraw.com/

GF, nut-free granola bar

Nonuttin' granola bars are gluten free, nut free, dairy free and lots of other things "free" too! I was pleasantly surprised by the Nonuttin Double Chocolate Chunk granola bar I tried. It was pretty chewy and pretty chocolatey. I wish it had more than 2g of protein, but it is a pretty good snack for on-the-go.

I found it in Whole Foods in the GF section for $1.69.

http://www.nonuttin.com/

As close to normal as you can get

Udi's Gluten Free bread is as close to regular bread as you can get. It is soft and flexible and can be eaten without being toasted! It's good for a sandwich or for anything else that you use bread for.

So far, I've found it in the Whole Foods in La Jolla (not the Hillcrest one) for $4.99. They have it in white sandwich bread and multigrain varieties. But if you see it, buy it because they sell fast!

http://www.udisfood.com/

UPDATE: Thanks to helpful readers, it seems that Wholefoods in Hillcrest DOES carry Udi's bread - they must have been out when I went in. Also, it is available at Healthy Creations in Encinitas (along with the Udi's brand pizza crust).

I think the lesson here is to call ahead before you go to make sure your chosen store has Udi's in stock.

Move over Glutino, UDI's has arrived!!!!

Amazing GF buffet at the Four Seasons

The Four Seasons Aviara is now having a monthly gluten free buffet for $29. It is on the first Saturday of every month. The buffet includes an appetizer bar, a salad area, hot entrees, cold entrees and a fabulous dessert bar. EVERYTHING is gluten free (unless marked otherwise). When I went, there were just a couple of sandwiches that were marked as containing gluten, otherwise, everything else was gluten-free. The dessert bar must have had about twenty items on it ranging from flourless chocolate cake, to all kinds of cookies, to chocoloate-covered strawberries, to creme brulee and more! Go and bring your appetite, but not your thirst. A small bottle of coke will run you $5 with no refills!

7100 Four Seasons Point - the California Grill
Carlsbad, CA 92011
(760) 603-6800

http://www.fourseasons.com/aviara/

Yummy hot GF breakfast cereal

I have missed my morning oatmeal since I became GF. I'm pretty lazy so the little packets of oatmeal that just require adding water and microwaving are perfect for me. I found eco-planet's 7 Whole Grains Hot Cereal in Apple Cinnamon flavor at Whole Foods the other day and I am so glad I did. It tastes really good and is good for you. Unlike traditional pre-packaged oatmeal, it does not have too much sugar, only about 8g per serving and it has fiber and lots of other good things.

A box with 6 packets cost $5.69 at Whole Foods. You can order it online at various stores but the online prices seemed the same as Whole Foods or more expensive!

It also comes in original and Brown Sugar Maple varieties.

UPDATE: I was in Whole Foods in Hillcrest yesterday and could not find any of this great cereal - I couldn't even find the space on the shelf where it should be - I'm really hoping they haven't stopped carrying it!