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Here's the last of it.

I live in Ben Lomond, in the mountains near Santa Cruz. In Santa Cruz, there
is a Chinese restaurant (although it's really kind of California/Chinese,
and is really good) on Route 1 (Mission Blvd) called O'Mei. The wait staff
are almost always very knowledgeable about the menu, or they will ask. The
wok sea bass is very good, and GF. This is the kind of a place where the
wait staff already knows that soy sauce has wheat in it. There are also some
good Thai restaurants in Santa Cruz, and I have good luck with Thai - many
dishes are naturally GF. Thai House on Ocean and the King and I on Pacific
are very good, as is Star of Siam in Soquel. On the wharf in Santa Cruz,
Carniglias is a good bet. They make everything fresh, and it's delicious (a
bit expensive, but not too terrible - a $$ type of place), and the chefs are
knowledgeable. They don't use much in the way of processed foods, so that
makes it simpler to sort out the gluten. There are a number of good sushi
places, if you bring your own soy sauce. Paradise Sushi in Capitola is my
favorite. Santa Cruz is also crawling with great health food stores. New
Leaf is a local chain, and Staff of Life has a good variety of GF stuff.
And, of course, there's Trader Joes. One thing I have found in general
living here is that they are used to people with "weird" eating issues, so
they are very accommodating. I have had very few bad experiences at the
restaurants here. Have fun!! Laura
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Hi, You shouldn't have trouble finding GF food in Carmel. In most places,
I've found that the focus is on fresh, simple cooking, and the staff is
helpful and knowledgeable. For casual dining, there's an Italian bistro
called Paolina's inside a shopping arcade downtown. They've been around
since the 1950's, and their food is delicious and very reasonably priced. I
was there earlier this week, and had the roast chicken with mashed potatoes
and roasted vegetables. It's served with a clear broth, instead of gravy.
They also have an assortment of salads, and an antipasto plate. I didn't ask
about the GF status of the ingredients (besides the broth), but it would be
worth calling them to check. Their number is (831) 624-5599. I have no
connection with this restaurant, except that I'm looking forward to stopping
there on my next trip to Carmel. :) Hope that helps, Eleanor
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We live in the Sacramento area, but have traveled to Monterey several times.
We found the Whole Foods Market. They have a bunch of gluten free items to
buy like gf waffles, etc. We took a gf toaster and other cooking-type things
so we could prepare our own gf meals when we needed to. I would guess that
Whole Foods could also give you detailed information on the delicious hot
deli foods they serve as well. I found them to be extremely helpful. Whole
Foods is in the Pacific Grove area of Monterey. Have a great trip! ~ jodie
in northern CA
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Three others
that were mentioned a few times are Chevys, Malterhorn, Rick and Ann's in
Berkeley and Sushi at Okazu Ya on Taaral St. uses real crab and will make
sushi without using vinegar. Hyde Street Bistro sounds very GF friendly.
Myas, or El Sotano for Mexican . Greens for vegetarian I know is good.
Restaurants in Chinatown, generally, seem to be willing to help us, (bring
your own soy sauce). Also Tai, and Japanese in general, (watch out for fake
crab). 

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