We’re Celebrating Pride Week with Roanna Canete of North Park’s Gluten Free Baking Co.

Happy Pride Week! Our special guest is Roanna Canete, owner of The Gluten Free Baking Company in North Park. Roanna founded the company in 2015 when her son was diagnosed with a gluten allergy and she started baking for him—that led to formally studying cooking and baking, and starting the business. The storefront opened on 30th Street in the spring of 2020 and offers donuts, brownies, bagels, and pastries that are all gluten free; they can also make wedding cakes and gingerbread houses. In honor of Pride Week, Roanna created a menu of cupcakes and a special Pride rainbow cake, and she’s donating 20 percent of the sales to The National Black Justice Coalition, a civil rights organization focused on empowering the Black LGBTQ+ community. We talk with Roanna about the importance of allyship, and how business owners can get involved in social justice issues and help make a difference, even in small ways.

In Hot Plates, the founding chef of Dija Mara is opening a new Southeast Asian restaurant in North Park. Buona Forchetta opened another pizzeria, its eighth restaurant in the county, in San Marcos. Attention Top Chef fans! Animae and Unplated are hosting a charity dinner on August 1 featuring four chefs from the most recent season, filmed in Portland, Oregon, and the proceeds are going to the nonprofit World Central Kitchen.

For Two People, $50, Roanna’s pick is the tangerine chicken at Plumeria Vegetarian Restaurant, and she’s also a fan of Meráki Café in University Heights. Troy recommends the Morroccan spiced lamb at the newly opened Verbena Kitchen in North Park. David tried the bone-in ribeye at Rare Society, and Marie visited White Elephant (a new Thai restaurant in Hillcrest) for the crispy duck salad.

Thank you for listening! As always, we want to hear from our listeners. Need a restaurant recommendation? Is there a guest you want us to book on the show? Let us know! You can call us at 619-744-0535 and leave a voicemail, or if you’re too shy, you can email us at [email protected]. See you next week!