GF & V Restaurant Roundup

Before I had to eliminate gluten from my diet I was on another diet of sorts, not by necessity but by choice. I was part time vegan full time vegetarian, eating mostly veggie meats, tofu, soy milk products and of course an array of grains, fruits and veggies. Once I realized I had to give up gluten I slowly started to incorporate real cheeses, white meat and even fish into my diet thinking that it would be impossibly challenging to be gluten free and vegetarian. Over the years while I have come to love my new diet (how did I live without real cheese before!?) I have also realized that being vegetarian or even vegan and gluten free is not the impossible task I once imagined it would be. While I am no longer vegetarian and have no immediate plans to go back to being one I am however selective about the meats and other animal products I do cook with and consume and would say about 75% of the meal I prepare and eat end up being vegetarian ones. I am also a big fan of eating vegetarian when dining out. Many restaurants are becoming more and more conscious of food allergies and alternative diets and changing their menus to accommodate the wants and needs of the dining public. Here are a few of my vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free friendly restaurant favorites as well as a few new finds.

Pizza Fusion

This was my second visit to the newish Pizza Fusion in Hillcrest and it was just as delicious as the first! This pizza place really does have something for everyone, gluten free crust, soy cheese, goat cheese, light mozzarella, free range meats, organic veggies and fake meats. My dear friend Natalie just happened to go on a Thursday which is gluten free night and each pie comes with two free toppings. We shared a gluten free crust pizza with tomato sauce, mozzarella, feta and half pepperonis for Nat and half tri color peppers for me.



I love that they offer a full sized gluten free pizza here! The thin crust is the perfect amount of bread as to not fill you up to fast or distract from the deliciousness of the topping ingredients.

Spread



The owners of this place use to have a shop called Nutters downtown that sold homemade peanut butter and peanut butter sandwiches. They still sell their swoon worthy peanut butters at the new place but they now also serve incredibly creative, fresh and delicious vegetarian dishes, some of which incorporate their peanut butters. They are open for dinner but I highly recommend going for Sunday brunch (if you go be sure to call first though because they travel for catering often and are sometimes closed on random days). Their menu changes daily depending upon what fresh and flavorful ingredients they find at the market and the owners are awesomely knowledgeable about food allergies and always recommend something delicious and gluten free for me. Be sure to pick up one of their decadent peanut butters before you leave, trust me you will not be disappointed.

Soltan Banoo

This is quite possibly my favorite restaurant in San Diego! If it was not so far from where I live I would be there once a week. Healthy and amazingly delicious Persian food served by the friendliest staff. The restaurant itself is incredibly cozy, gorgeously decorated with Persian rugs, paintings and furniture, and exudes the most welcoming ambiance. Their menu boasts an extensive selection of both vegan and vegetarian options and most dishes that include meat can be made with tofu instead. Even though it takes a bit longer to prepare one of my favorites is the Salmon Kebab Plate which comes with fresh grilled salmon, jasmine rice with dill, roasted veggies, and their delicious shiraz salad. Just be sure to order it without the pita if you are gluten free. Also equally yummy is the Zereshk Pollo which is jasmine rice speckled with barberries, orange peel and almonds and can be served with tofu instead of chicken if you are vegetarian.



If you can by chance get there on a Tuesday their daily special the Fesenjoon is the best I have ever tasted!



A scrumptious stew of pomegranate and walnut served with chicken or tofu alongside basmati rice, sooo yummy! They also have an extensive tea menu as well, the orange robious with soy on a cool evening is always a delicious way to end a scrumptious Persian meal.

Veggie Grill



This OC gem is a vegetarian and gluten free paradise! All of the salads and sandwiches on the menu are vegetarian and they also offer a supplemental gluten free menu which instructs you how to order some of their scrumptious offerings gluten free. For dinner I choose the Baja Fresh Salad and a Raspberry Strawberry Cooler.



The salad was packed full of fresh fruits and veggies like papaya, avocado, roasted corn salsa, cucumber and chopped romaine. Served atop a bed of quinoa and drizzled with a ginger papaya vinaigrette this scrumptious salad is not only vegan but completely gluten free.

Many of their sandwiches can be made gluten free as well by substituting tempeh for other fake meats and using kale in lieu of a bun. My only wish is that they could get a second fryer so they can make a gluten free version of their sweet potato fries as they are my favorite!

Hacienda De Vega



At the south end of Escondido there is a lovely placed right off of Center City Parkway called Hacienda de Vega. Almost all of their seating is outside surrounding a beautiful fountain and lush landscaping and their menu consists of flavorful and fresh home style Mexican dishes. On Friday nights they have live music and their Sunday brunch on a sunshiny day is always a treat. The boast a veggie menu called garden selections that have tasty offerings such as potato rolled tacos with black beans instead of refried. For gluten free diners obviously steer clear of any fried dishes and flour tortillas and mention to the server that you have food allergies and they are great about checking with the chef to make sure a dish is safe. Their Mahi Mahi Tacos are spiced to perfection and served with fresh and hot corn tortillas.



Of course I also love their fresh salsas and their muy grande mango margaritas.



Apertivo

This charming Italian tapas restaurant and wine bar in North Park is really great with food allergies and special diets and if you tell them you cannot have gluten or do not eat meat they will recommend a long list of delicious offerings that you can have. I love the chicken diablo, roasted baby carrots, crimini mushrooms, caprese salad, and the butternut squash when in season.

Ki’s

Located in North County coastal along the 101 in Cardiff is a vegetarian friendly place called Ki’s. They offer casual take out and dine in downstairs during the day and dinner upstairs in the evenings. When I worked in Solana Beach I use to frequent this place for their delicious salads on my lunch breaks. Dining upstairs in their indoor/outdoor patio in the evenings is the perfect spot to enjoy a beautiful San Diego sunset and some fresh seafood. I love the Baked Salmon in Parchment cooked with basil tomato and feta served with oven roasted potatoes and fresh veggies. Equally delish is the Mahi Mahi served atop wild rice and asparagus topped with a chunky mango salsa and macadamia nuts.



Inform the server if you cannot have gluten and they will let the chef know and make sure your food is prepared properly. If you are a fan of wine try to go on a Tuesday as they offer half priced bottles.

SpiritLand Bistro

If you happen to find yourself in or nearby the fabulous town of Santa Barbara you must find time to make your way to this delightful eatery which I reviewed last June. Everything on the menu is fresh, organic, made with love, and incredibly delicious. As if that was not enough every item is also labeled clearly as to which diet it is safe for (GF, V, Veg, SF, EF, DF, and Raw).

Blissful, Living Food and Juice

There use to be a chain of raw food restaurants in San Diego called Cilantro Live, sadly they all went out of business but the same owners have recently reopened a new place in Carlsbad called Blissful. I have yet to try this new restaurant but their menu seems to be fairly similar to what was offered at Cilantro. I like to go for raw food whenever I feel like I need something really healthy and nutritious (since everything there is!) and the best part is that every item on the menu is gluten free and vegan so you have plenty of options to choose from. As soon as I have a chance to visit this new place I will be sure to post a full review of my tastings!

One of my favorite things

One Sunny Sunday morning two years and some change ago a few of my dearest South Park friends took me for breakfast at one of their favorite neighborhood morning eateries, The Big Kitchen. Once we were seated I perused the vast menu for something that looked not only extraordinarily delicious but something that was more than likely gluten free as well. Now those that know me know I have never been a huge meat eater, especially when it comes to breakfast and there is no food in this world that I despise more than eggs (bleh!!). Add gluten to that list of breakfast nono’s and my options become extremely narrow. Lucky for me I live in San Diego and a good portion of breakfast places offer a selection of Mexican dishes on their menu. After much deliberation I decided upon the tofu rancheros. As we sat sipping our coffee, chatting and waiting for our orders to arrive I glanced over the collage of clippings that pleasantly cluttered the walls. A flyer for an upcoming art show, a signed photo of Whoopi Goldberg (who used to work there), and an article about Rachel Ray’s visit there during a taping of $40 a day, a visit in which she dined on the tofu rancheros no less (yay for Rachel’s with great taste!). At long last my tofu arrived fresh out of the pan and still sizzling on my plate. The tofu and bell peppers were cut into large chunks and served atop a corn tortilla and the whole thing was smothered in a layer of oooey gooey melty cheese. As I dined on my delicious dish, the array of textures and flavors mingled in my mouth and the wheels in my brain began to turn. There was no doubt in my mind that this meal was scrumptious but I could not help but think as I ate of slight changes that could be made to the recipe that would make it even more delectable to my palate.

A couple days and a trip to the grocery store later I was ready to put my ideas to the test and after an hour of draining, chopping, mincing and stir frying my culinary creation was complete and I found that not only had I cooked up a tasty Wednesday night dinner but that I had found my new favorite meal. I could eat this for dinner every day and in fact at first I did! A few years later it’s still one of my favorite, a weekly fixture in my diet and something that I still enjoy preparing just as much as I did that first time. I hope that cooking and eating this dish brings you as much joy as it did for me. I find its best served with a crisp white wine and shared with friends.

Extraordinarily Delicious Tofu and Pepper Tacos

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 3 medium to large sized bell peppers, chopped (you can use any combination you like of orange, red and yellow. Since these are going in a tortilla I like to chop the peppers pretty small, about ½ inch by ½ inch)
• 1 zucchini sliced into ¼ inch thick slices
• A little more than 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes (cut in halves or thirds, guts removed and discarded)
• 1 pack of extra firm tofu
• Chopped fresh cilantro leaves (as much as you like, I like a generous handful)
• 4 or 5 cloves of garlic (crushed or minced)
• Olive oil
• Tortillas (I like to serve mine with home made corn tortillas)
• Pepper jack cheese (I found Veggie Slices brand, pepper jack flavor work well in this dish because they are delicious when melted and they don’t get greasy when melted like real cheese)
• Season to taste with salt, pepper and Mexican Seasonings (I use a little under a tablespoon of a premade mix that is a combination of oregano, cumin, garlic, onion, chili, paprika and red pepper)

Optional ingredients (if you like it hot!)

• 1 or 2 teaspoons jalapeño pepper, minced (seeds and all)
• 2 or 3 shakes of chili pepper powder

Preparation

First thing you want to do is drain the liquid from the tofu container. Then using a clean cutting board or plate cut the tofu into ½ inch thick steaks. Tofu is like a sponge and at this point even though the water has been drained the tofu is still fully absorbed with liquid. Now you can’t just squeeze the tofu like you would a sponge to release the liquid (unless you are making a tofu scramble!). In order to release some of that liquid you need to let the tofu sit and drain a bit on another absorbent material such as paper towels. Make a stack of paper towels 5 or 6 sheets thick and place your tofu steaks on top. Then place another 2 or 3 towels on top. You can gently press down on the paper towel covered tofu and then let this sit for about 5 minutes. If you notice the towels are becoming saturated you can move the tofu to a dry spot on the towel or add another towel. If you were ever to make a recipe that involved marinating tofu you would want to let your tofu drain like this for 10 or 15 minutes with at least one towel change in between. By doing this you ensure that your tofu is able to properly absorb a marinade. If you were to just throw tofu into a marinade straight out of the container it came in it would not soak up the marinade (because it’s already fully absorbed with the liquid it came in) and your tofu would be pretty bland. In this recipe we are not marinating the tofu before we cook it so a 5 minute drain will allow enough of the liquid to drain out so the tofu will be able to adequately soak up the yummy spices you will be coking it with.

While your tofu is draining on the towels you can prepare your veggies. Chop the tomatoes, making sure to remove the guts and discard and place all the meaty tomato bits in a bowl. Add the crushed garlic and chopped cilantro to this bowl, give it a good stir to coat all the tomatoes with the garlic and cilantro then set this aside. Now you can chop your bell peppers and zucchini. By the time all your veggies are prepped your tofu should be properly drained. On a clean cutting board cut your tofu steaks into bite sized pieces, approximately ½ inch by ½ inch. I like to use a wok to cook this but if you don’t have one handy you can use a large sauce or frying pan. Pour a bit of olive oil in the pan and use a paper towel to make sure the surface of the pan is fully coated with oil, you don’t need a lot just enough so the tofu won’t stick. If you happen to have garlic flavored olive oil I have found that to be quite yummy with this dish. Once the pan is hot, toss in your tofu and shake the pan every 10 seconds or so to make sure the tofu is not sticking. If it does sprinkle the tofu with a bit more oil and toss in the pan (this shaking/tossing action is particularly fun with a wok!). After about 2 minutes the tofu should be past the phase where it wants to stick to the pan and you can let it sit and cook on its own for a bit longer. I typically end up cooking the tofu on medium high heat for about 10 or 12 minutes, flipping the little tofu squares ever minute or so to make sure all sides are getting cooked. The tofu is done when you notice that it is a light golden brown color on most sides. It’s a slightly tedious process flipping all the little squares but I find it’s a good way to get a nice slightly crispy on the outside tofu without using a lot of fatty oil or frying it. Once your tofu is browned to your desired color you can add the zucchini. I like to pile the tofu in the center of my wok and then surround it with the zucchini. This way the zucchinis are not crowded in the pan and have a chance to brown a bit on one side before they get mixed in with their tofu buddies. Let that cook as is for a minute or two, until you can flip one of the zucchinis and notice it has a little bit of browning on the cooked side. Then place the chopped bell peppers atop of the tofu, take a moment or two to admire how pretty this looks in the pan…

Then mix it all up using a spoon and/or tossing in the pan iron chef style. If you are making this spicy you can add your chopped jalapeño pepper at this time. Let this cook for 3 or 4 minutes and then add your tomato mixture. Stir this about, fully combining the tomato mix with the tofu mix and then lower your heat to medium low. Now you can add the salt, pepper, Mexican seasonings and if you like the chili pepper, give this a good stir and let it cook for one more minute or two and then your tofu pepper taco filling is complete. Serve in warm (preferably homemade) tortillas sprinkled with pepper jack or your preferred cheese of choice.