Travelling California ... Food Edition

California is one of my favorite places to travel to and has some seriously amazing food vibes. Especially when on the hunt for gluten free, dairy free. Oh. My. Goodness.

Where to even begin … lets start with dessert!

DEAR BELLA CREAMERY – Los Angeles

When you walk into Dear Bella Creamery you basically have walked into ice cream heaven. The amount of flavors to choose from ... all free from dairy, with many gluten free and nut free options.

My fave flave was the Cookie Monsta – Cookie butter, cookie pieces in a coconut milk base. DELICIOUS.

They have a gluten free cone and so many flavours to choose from.

If you find yourself in the Hollywood area, do yourself a favour and grab yourself a scoop. You will not regret it.

DONUT FRIEND – Los Angeles

*they stopped making their gluten free donut March 2020, which BREAKS my heart! I’m still posting this as their entire menu is vegan, and maybe one day they will bring their gluten free donut back, because it was truly game changer. Enjoy this photo of these wonderful donuts in 2018 when their gluten free donut existed. The Boston Crème flavour was unreal! If you don’t have to avoid gluten I 100/10 recommend visiting their donut shop. 100% vegan. 100% delicious.

Trilogy Sanctuary - San Diego

100% Organic, vegan, gluten free, soy free, no refined sugar. Does it get any better than this? Absolutely not. This is everything I have ever wanted in a café. It’s not only a café, but also a yoga studio! The café is on the roof, with a roof top yoga studio! Seriously everything about this place fuels my soul. The food is nourishing and delicious and the environment has the most beautiful energy. I want to move to San Diego just to have access to this place every day! Their menu has everything from Eggz Benedict, pancakes, salad bowls, Mac n Cheeze, smoothies and desserts. Again, all gluten free, vegan and refined sugar free. It is truly so freeing to walk into a restaurant or café and just know that everything on the menu is totally safe to order as is. No need for substitutions and no awkward follow-up once you’ve received your order to confirm it truly is safe for you to eat. If you are in San Diego and want a truly beautiful experience, make sure to stop here once or twice.

Mariposas – San Francisco

Located in the Ferry Building, this GLUTEN FREE bakery will not disappoint. There are TONS of dairy free options including sandwiches, toasts, salads, empanadas, and a variety of baked goods. Everything we had from here was absolutely delicious. Finding a gluten free bakery is always at the top of my list whenever we travel. Their baked goods are on a rotation, so not everything is the same each time you visit. If the maple pecan bunt is available, just buy it and thank me later. Literally the most decadent thing that has every graced my lips.

Starry Lane Bakery – San Diego

100% top 10 allergen free: Gluten, Dairy, Tree Nuts, Soy, Egg, Peanut Free, Fish, Shellfish, Mustard and Sesame. This is tricky to find … and in a bakery! Their sugar cookies are sooooooo delicious. Fluffy, and literally everything you remember about a sugar cookie, just gf, df and you would never know. If you are a fan of a cupcake with a generous amount of delicious fluffy icing, these cupcakes are for you. With so many fun flavors like cookies and cream, carrot cake and grasshopper (chocolate mint). I’m a biscotti girl, and I was thoroughly ecstatic to see a biscotti I could enjoy and it did not disappoint. Their muffins were also an awesome breakfast option to have in the mornings.

The Taco Stand – San Diego

There really is nothing better than tacos, so you best believe I made time to visit some taco shops throughout California. The Taco Stand has multiple locations in San Diego, as well as Orange County, Las Vegas and Miami. I have only been to the La Jolla location and the tacos were absolute fire. There chips and guac will not disappoint either. If you’re looking for a classic taco shop, then this is the place.

Le Mediterrane – San Francisco

This Mediterranean restaurant was the absolute cutest aesthetic! Very authentic with cuisine and décor. There is a separate menu for gluten free and separate menu for vegan. With tons of options! I was genuinely shocked at the accommodations they had and felt my meal was sooo well rounded. I highly recommend checking this place out for some yummy Mediterranean dishes. The hummos … best hummos I have every tasted.

In n Out burger – California

I am not one to gravitate to fast food chain restaurants, but honestly this was a nice go to when we had a busy day and didn’t plan dinner. It was easy to just grab a burger and fries and honestly spend under $10 for the 2 of us. In n Out Burger does not have a gluten free bun for their burgers, but if you order it Protein Style, it comes as a lettuce wrap. Which is honestly quite delicious. Its nice to have quick fast food options for those moments where you just need some fuel and the options are limited.

*please always check with them in regards to cross contamination with the fryer and the fries. If this is of concern to you, always ask. Never assume.

*TRAVEL TIP* :

When Stephen and I travel, we travel for the food. Travelling for the food can get pricy, and even though we try and stick to our budget we will be the first to admit we have definitely splurged on one to many meals that unfortunately have been below subpar. What we

started to do that helps us truly enjoy some local small shops is we will go to a food shop and share a couple items to get an idea of its for us. We usually start with one item each (two very different items) and share. This helps us get an idea if it's worth trying some of the other products. It's always a gamble, but this has honestly worked more times than it hasn’t. If we are vibing with it, then we will order a couple more items that we are interested in (yes, we are those people and seriously have no shame). Then, if the shop offers items like cookies, muffins or sandwhich bread we will stock up on things we will want over the next couple days to help with snacks, breakfasts or lunches. Honestly the best way to do travel. This way you try tons of local places, and you really end up saving money in the end because you are not eating at a sit-down restaurant for each meal. We will always try and book a hotel room with a refrigerator so we have room to store perishable items. As well as a microwave in the room. Lots of times there is only a microwave in the main area of the hotel, and we will settle with that to offer warm meals in our hotel room. Sometimes we really just want to chill at the hotel and enjoy the city views so dinner in is always one of our favs.

Also, huge savings.

I hope you too have the opportunity to enjoy these amazing food finds! I wish I had more photos to share of these places. For the record I did ... but had an issue with my iCloud and lost MANY photos. I still get emotional about it. I'll update as I return to these places over the next little bit.

Tag me in your posts if you venture to the west coast. I would love to see you enjoying these places!

xo, Kait