Gluten Free: Hartford

Tracking down gluten free foods has become a real focus for me when I travel.  I have found other people's blogs so helpful that I finally decided I ought to make a record of my gluten free travel experience to share with others!

I was in Hartford for a week and found a few great gluten free places.  I forgot to take pictures of my delicious food though : (

Max Burger
124 LaSalle Rd
West Hartford, CT
I love anywhere that offers a gluten free bun because it's still a huge luxury to me.  The burger was delicious!  Max Burger has all natural burgers and a kind of upscale burger joint feel.  It's in the "Main Street" area of West Hartford and there are lots of shops and other restaurants around.  Two thumbs up!  Max Burger is one of several restaurants that are owned by the Max Restaurant Group and they all had gluten free menus.

Agave Grill
100 Allyn St
Hartford, CT
There wasn't a specific gluten free menu, but Mexican restaurants are usually pretty easy for accommodating a gluten free person.  I loved the tableside guacamole making, and my tacos were tasty.

The Market at Hartford 21
230 Asylum St
Hartford, CT
This is a wonderful little grocery store right downtown.  They've got the basics, gourmet items, and most importantly, some gluten free things!  They even had little gf frozen pizzas.

Dee's One Smart Cookie
398 Hebron Avenue
Glastonbury, CT
Absolutely worth the drive!!  Our waiter at MaxBurger told us that Dee's is where their gf hamburger buns came from.  Naturally, I had to go check it out!  She has all manner of gluten free goodies... cookies, cakes, bread, pastries, etc.   I got hamburger buns and hot dog buns to take home and freeze (and months later they're still tasty!).  This pink house is next to Dee's and is a great landmark (we drove right past Dee's shop and turned around here)

Catching Up: Chicago

My two week trip to Chicago (back at the beginning of August) was absolutely fantastic.  I really like Chicago because it's easy to get around in, both by walking and public transit.  Both times I've been, we were lucky enough to be staying in the loop area.  One of my favorite things is that there's a chocolate factory just across the river, so sometimes the city smells like chocolate - it's magical!

Over the two weeks, I did a lot of the architectural walking tours.  I love the buildings so much that I realized I needed to make a separate post about them.  We did a great riverboat cruise, ate lots of good food, and played Whirly Ball twice.  Whirly Ball is fun mix of bumper cars, basketball, and lacrosse.  We also made it out to the Frank Lloyd Wright house and studio and did the neighborhood walking tour.  

a park in Printer's Row

view from one of the many bridges

Oz Park

Oz Park

Oz Park

The Bean!  (officially named Cloud Gate)

a rare view of bird prints in concrete

Whirly Ball!  

The Aragon Ballroom is the coolest music venue ever.