Family Get-together

It’s often difficult to find a time when my husband and I can get together with our daughters.  They both have very busy lives, so when there was an opportunity to have breakfast with them at the local Walker Bros., we jumped at the chance without even checking to see what gluten free options they offered.  Happy surprise!  There is a good GF menu at the restaurant.  Besides the egg dishes, they offer a number of GF pancakes and waffle delights.

Walker Bros has several locations in the greater Chicago area.   I had long been familiar with their original restaurant in Wilmette.  Besides their fine reputation for pancakes and similar food, the restaurants are well-known for their incredible stained glass windows and lighting fixtures.
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There is always something wonderful to look at while you are at Walker Bros.  You could say it is a feast for the eyes, as well as the stomach.  We ate at the Lake Zurich location.

Most of the GF pancake and waffle items included fruit – blueberry, strawberry, etc.  It had been a long time since I’d had a pecan waffle, so that was my choice, with a side of turkey sausage.

 

 

 

 

A whipped butter is provided, along with little jugs of syrup.  The table for our party of six (daughters, granddaughters, husband and I) had a number of these little pitchers, along with cream jugs.  It’s such a nice touch to be served fresh cream in a jug, rather than in a packaged plastic container!

My pecan waffles were wonderful.  They didn’t lose anything in the translation to gluten free.  Texture and taste were excellent.   My husband had French toast on challah, and he said it was also excellent.  For  your dining companions who are not gluten free, Walker Bros menu has many very tempting dishes.

Now that I’ve become aware of the great GF choices offered at Walker Bros, I’ll definitely be making a point of going there more often.

Walker Bros.
767 Rand Road
Lake Zurich, IL
847-550-0006
Daily hours are 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Paleo Pancakes at Egg Harbor

The Egg Harbor location in Barrington is a frequent eating destination for us.  It is close to where we live and has good gluten free menu options. For those not already familiar with Egg Harbor, it serves breakfast and lunch and has a number of locations in the Chicagoland area. On our most recent visit, they offered a Paleo Pancake.  Made with egg, almond butter and bananas, there is no flour whatsoever in this recipe.  The pancakes are offered with berries or nuts, and I chose blackberries with mine.

I liked them very much.  They aren’t quite as sturdy as a conventional pancake, but do hold together quite well.  The flavor is pretty balanced, with banana being a bit more prominent.  My guess is that the item was offered with the expectation that it would only be ordered by people on a paleo diet, since they didn’t bring butter or syrup until I requested them.  (I ordered them because they sounded interesting and were guten free, not because I’m on a paleo diet.)   The pancakes are a good choice, whether you are paleo, gluten free, or not.  (These pancakes are not listed on either their regular menu or their gluten free menu, but are listed on a small, perhaps seasonal, menu.)

Egg Harbor is also an excellent choice for lunch   Besides their excellent chicken salads and other menu options, they offer hamburgers and other sandwiches on a gluten free bun from Sweet Ali’s.

The hamburger buns are probably the best gluten free hamburger buns I’ve had.  They hold together very well.  The plate includes a generous serving of Harbor potatoes and a small green salad or fruit cup.  Altogether a very nice meal.

In thinking about my assessments of various gluten free dishes, an important measure is whether or not the item is something I’d look forward to eating, rather than just being something I am able to eat.  I can definitely look forward to Egg Harbor’s offerings.