Monthly Archives: July 2012

Mariposa Bakeshop – San Francisco, USA

Posted by Glutenfreewheeler on July 29, 2012 None comments

OK gluten free peeps, if you find yourself in San Francisco, there is no way, I repeat, no way, you can consider not going to this place. I know that’s a bit intense, but trust me, it’s for your own good.

Mariposa is on the inside of the Ferry Building, their choc chip cookies were recommended to me by the wonderful michelle@spinningspoons.

About to fly out of the country with crapola United Airlines (no gf meals), I stocked up on a veritable hamper which kept me happy all flight long.

My picnic included a cream cheese bagel, a strawberry tart, some cookies and a coconut lemon square. The stand-out item was the strawberry tart – oh my god! Gluten free pastry?? It was, as they aim for at Mariposa, totally indistinguishable from top-notch gluten-full pastry. Perfect, robust consistency, the sweetest filling and just the right amount of icing squiggled on the top – and the pastry was not just a token effort, jammed into the base, it covered the entire piece. Check them out front and centre below;

The bagel was also great – held together fabulously without being dry or crumbly (on the poles, above right). The choc chip cookies (middle – back) were chewy – chewy! That’s soft and chewy, not can’t-get-teeth-through-it chewy. How often does that happen to any gluten free item? Perfect.

Not sure what these were above to be honest, but as with everything else, they’re perfectly presented.

There was also a stash of gluten free frozen goods – breads, pizza and the like.

Mariposa was started by a woman who couldn’t find the things she wanted to eat. I’m hoping it triggers a global franchise because they are onto a winner.

Mariposa
One Ferry Building
San Francisco, CA 94111

http://www.mariposabaking.com/

There is also a Mariposa bakery in Oakland – lucky sods.

 


Mariposa Bakeshop on Urbanspoon

The Cracked Egg – Las Vegas, Nevada USA

Posted by Glutenfreewheeler on July 19, 2012 None comments

If you’re starting a desert road trip from Las Vegas in Nevada, you absolutely must have brunch at The Cracked Egg before you go. Not just because the distances are huge and you’re likely to be setting off for a good few hours, but also because, as with most countries (with the exception of the excellent US National Parks), the further you get from the city, the less gluten free knowledge there is. It’s pretty much blank looks, salad and steak from now on in.

The Cracked Egg has a ‘gluten sensitive’ menu, below are sausages (funny shaped! It’s an American thing), a poached egg and hash browns – I was so excited to be able to eat hash browns, even if they didn’t look anything like what I was expecting.

The service was fantastic, though they were probably a bit bewildered by how enthusiastic I was. They even had gluten free pancakes, how often does that happen!?!

The berries can be served on the side or in the mix.

There are four Cracked Eggs in Las Vegas to choose from, I don’t think any of them are handy for the touristy areas which is great for price, quality and mingling with the less-spangley locals. Not so great if you don’t have a car or much time.

We visited the Henderson branch which was in the right direction for the open road, parking was easy and there was a huge ‘Smiths’ supermarket next door to stock up on essentials for the trip like water and gluten free snacks for the starving.

There were many occasions after we left Las Vegas when I wished I was back at The Cracked Egg.
It’s a treasure.

oh – and get there early on weekends when many, many eggs are cracked.

http://thecrackedegg.com/

 


Cracked Egg on Urbanspoon

Adama – Santa Barbara, California, USA

Posted by Glutenfreewheeler on July 16, 2012 4 comments

We toyed with the idea of going to Sea World in San Diego while we were in LA. It’s a big hike with terrible traffic – up to 4 hours each way. We thought about it and we love animals but I’m a bit uncomfortable with big creatures stuck in a small space. We looked at ‘Shamu’ the orca on the Sea World webcam from Sydney and jeez, there’s not of room in that tank. So I showed the girls ‘Free Willy’ and we decided that we’d rather go and see whales as they’re meant to be – put our money into a company that was promoting marine mammals in the ocean.

Excellent! We felt we’d made a noble and educated choice. But when the day came, it was a shocker – the 2 hour drive to Santa Barbara was terrible, the kids played up, we fought over directions like Mr & Mrs Incredible, took a few wrong turns and almost missed the boat. Then we set sail and the winds were stronger than forecast, the sea was choppy, the route was long and we saw nothing! Not a sausage!!! Four hours on a turbulent sea for naught. The little one stayed in the cabin, asleep on her Dad’s arm, I sat out on the bow, anxious about sea sickness which thankfully never arrived.

Back on shore in the early evening, disappointed, exhausted and hungry in an unfamiliar city, this place appeared like a vision:

Adama is in a quirky, historical building, chunky with character. It’s odd shapes, cosy booths and bench-top dining would suit any occasion. There’s local art on the walls and flowers on the tables – it’s cute!

Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, depending on the day, we were here for dinner and these nachos went down well;

We also tried the gluten free, vegan pizza and the chile verde enchiladas with cashew cream – there were lots of gf options on the menu and the staff sure know what they’re talking about so you’re in good hands. As with many Californian restaurants, there’s a Mexican influence in the menu – there were flavours in the food here that I’d never experienced before.

The bakery counter has a cracking assembly of rarely-seen gluten free + vegan baked goods  – only the cookies (bottom left) in this picture weren’t gluten free;

We tried the carrot cake and it was exceptional – super carroty with a beautiful squelchy consistency. The owner wasn’t amazed when I told her how wonderful the cake was, she’s been baking for many years – but vegan + gluten free does not always guarantee fabulous cake!

Blue whales were seen the days before and the days after we were in Santa Barbara, and literally thousands of dolphins. Despite it all, I would probably make the same choice again, and I know where I’ll be going for lunch.

Adama
428 Chapala Street,
Santa Barbara
805-560-1348

http://adamavegan.com/

 


Adama Vegan Comfort Cuisine on Urbanspoon

Santa Monica – Los Angeles, USA

Posted by Glutenfreewheeler on July 12, 2012 None comments

I had a moment of panic when I landed at the airport in America – what if I couldn’t eat anything at all????? Irrational I know, but I’m sure most coeliacs are familiar with that sensation. I’m still here though, and these are some of the places that sustained me in Santa Monica:

Wholefoods – If you’re near one of these (and there are a lot of them) you’re going to be ok. Not only do they have a hefty selection of gluten free grocery goods, including crackers, biscuits and cakes, but there are loads of hot foods to choose from – most of them with carefully detailed ingredients. It’s an open buffet so there may be a possibility of cross-contamination with the servers, but you’ll find something that you’re comfortable enough to eat. There are pre-prepared, individually contained gluten free desserts too. Sorted.

We also tried the True Food Kitchen in downtown Santa Monica. It’s a big, fresh-looking place and there are those fabulous ‘gf’s on the menu – hooray!

Here’s the strawberry, feta cheese & walnut salad I had (it may have had more strawberries on it before I snapped this – little fairies took them).

T

There was also gluten free pizza – here’s a kids mozzarella and organic tomato pizza;

If you do a google search for gluten free in Santa Monica – it comes up with a little bakery in Venice Beach – the Gluten Free Goddess Bakery (671 Rose Avenue, Venice), which sounds pretty alluring. Cookies are the exclusive product of the bakery and there are a range of flavours – you can buy these at the shop on Rose Avenue, but if it’s out of your way, they are also sold at the Venice Farmers Markets and distributed to all Groundwork coffee shops in the region. The shop is not a dedicated gluten free bakery outlet – it’s a standard non-gf food shop that leases the kitchen at the back to the good people who make these cookies:

That one was well-travelled and falling apart a little by the time I snapped it (as was the double chocolate brownie version, I had to try both!).

On a non-gf note, we booked a house through ‘Vacation Rental By Owner’ and it was absolutely fantastic – this was our Santa Monica pad.

So much nicer to have your own place (kitchen!) for a week than stay in a hotel – and for around the same price. We did get totally stung on car hire in LA – booking a hire car in the US for Australians is fraught and confusing. We booked our LA car rental through the qantas website and it was a disaster – as with many of the US car rental website options, it didn’t include insurance and the insurance, which is purchased on car pick-up, ended up costing substantially more than the car hire itself. We cancelled future US car hire bookings and re-booked through www.traveljigsaw.com.au which includes insurance in the total price (I believe this site works for Australians only). Also – turn your phone off or get a US sim on arrival – smart phones rack up the data at a phenomenal rate (even if you’re not looking at the downloads) and roaming ‘bill shock’ is not fun.

 


True Food Kitchen on Urbanspoon