Tuesday, July 15, 2008

A Gluten Free Santa Fe and Albuquerque

Traveling this summer has taken me many of places. Abroad, road tripping the US and to my final destination of Santa Fe, NM. Heading to Santa Fe is exciting because I love the food, culture and feel of the city. Mexican food is mostly GDF except for a few flour tortillas and cheese fillings here and there. I mostly eat mostly Mexican themed meals at home so heading down gives me new ideas to spice up my meals. Googling "Santa Fe Gluten Free" did not return with many hits. I was surprised with this health minded town. But I decided not to worry because I can just eat mexican food anyways. I kept my eyes open around town. When I visited in the spring I went to this great cafe/yoga studio called Body. The cafe has a great atmosphere. I went for Friday dinner and there was a solo guitarist playing in the background. The menu was marked with vegan, vegetarian, macrobiotic and gluten free entries. I had a great gluten free vegan burger. Who know that was possible! Highly recommended! I also want to try the yoga..... The next two places I ran into accidentally. Attending the Santa Fe International Folk Art Festival, I was overwhelmed with the amount of crafts and more or less crap these people trek across the world to sell for hundreds of dollars. But considering how many people were there, maybe I'm missing something.... Already upset because I did not grab an emergency granola bar and a sweatshirt for a potential monsoon, I was not prepared for the crowds. Thumbing through the program while my mom looks around I think to look at the map for the food area. International food was well represented. I thought, oh great they'll never understand my english questions. Meanwhile, walking around I run into this booth with, wait big breath, chocolate! Just what I need. Knowing that some chocolateirs use flour, I politely ask for an ingredient list. They say it's on the items and ask what I can't have. I say gluten, and it turns out the lady I was chatting with also gluten free. She exclaimed that all of their chocolate products (chocolates, brownies, drinks) is wheat free with much gluten free. (I saw alternatives to milk used as well) Needless to say I was thrilled. I bought a GF chile brownie and chocolate pack. The brownie had some kick at the end. But not too much to burn your tongue. I have yet to try the chocolates though. The shop is called Kakawa Chocolate House. Highly recommended as well!

Well finally I'm so hungry and decided to be brave. I push threw the crowds, I start scanning the food booths for something somewhat safe and easy. The second one is Indian. Not being a huge eater of Indian food, but knowing it is mostly gluten and dairy free, I find myself a spot in the extensive line and squint to read the menu. The few entries actually seem pretty good. Rice with chickpeas, kale, carrots and broccoli. A big YUM. And it was. I saw they also have gluten free cookies and such at the restaurant in both Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Much to be tested out on my next visit. The place is Annapurna's World Vegetarian Cafe.Lastly, my mom and I spent sometime in Albuquerque. Googling this city I actually turned up with a few hits. Mainly looking for pizza because I hadn't had it in a while. I found an Italian restaurant with pretty much everything with a gluten free option. We arrived at Paisano's early on a weekday night. The first customers, the service was great. And the food was out fast. The pizza was very good (probably rice flour), very puffy, it felt like normal pizza. It was nice because my mom could get regular flour pizza (she said it was fine) and I could get my special food. I tried a new kind of pizza. Green Chiles! They put that on everything here. Never seen that on a menu so I had to try it. Let me say it pretty much put my mouth on fire. So be warned! I have a moderate to low tolerance of heat though. Anyways I imagine the place fills up nicely on the weekends. Recommended of course! Cheers to being GDF and traveling and not eating rice cakes and granola bars the whole time!