Water Street Brewing- Wisconsin

Normally when we head up to Eagle, WI area we always head over to David Allen Allen Smokehouse for amazing BBQ. But one of the things we love about them is their outside patio they installed during Covid. It's a nice place to hang and eat with friends. On our recent trip up there it was a misty, rainy day and we were bummed, but thought we'd check Find Me Gluten Free and see what other options might be interesting, and we found Water Street Brewing Co. Now, I know some people have issues with FMGF and the accuracy of the options. But we always read reviews and look at the site before going to a new place. We've yet to be steered wrong, and have found some great places that even our non-gf friends end up frequenting. 

We looked up Water Street and saw they even listed the gluten free menu on their website, so we headed over there. There was a bunch of cute shops right there including Penzy Spices, which I had to stop to get spices from, since they're so gluten free friendly. 

This summer we've been checking out breweries and trying flights where we can, so this fit the bill of what we've been looking for all summer. I was excited at Water Street I could get a fancy grilled cheese with a salad as the side, along with some very tasty cocktails. I'd never thought of a rootbeer Old Fashioned being a thing, and honestly it was super tasty. The server was super knowledgeable and even did a double check on ingredients when I seemed concerned, mostly cause my bread was so large when I saw my sandwich. My husband was excited by the size of his flight and how big the pours were. 

The sandwich was so tasty and while salad is not my preferred side, it was actually a good tasting salad that was fresh and didn't taste processed. We actually ended up here a month later with my brother, who was impressed by the 'foodie' menu they had. Though he says he's not a foodie.... He tried one of the light beers, since we had a lot more stops in our day so he didn't want to get anything too heavy. I got a nicoise salad, I'll be honestly I can't pronounce it, but it was so good. I added beef short rib to it, which was just what it needed. 

Honestly, I'm ready to go back - Everything I've had was so good and the service and the people there are so nice. I give them 5 Dragonflies because the options, the taste and the service are all wonderful! 

 

 

 

American WildBurger - Going Strong

 It's been a hot second or more since I've gone to American WildBurger, but almost 10 years later, they're going strong. We happened in the area a couple times recently and opted to stop in and grab a bite. They have expanded their menu for their gluten free offerings. Now besides burgers and fries, they have wings, fried shrimp, fried chicken, and moved 1 location to their left! 

We were doing a BYOF to go to a brewery, so I was excited to get the fried shrimp and fries. Something so simple was so satisfying. This time they were out of shrimp, (we got there later in the evening) so I got the wings. The options for sauces were pretty nice, it wasn't the same 1-2 options everyone has. So I got the Garlic Parmesan wings. With another side of fries. I wasn't sure if 6 wings would be enough, but they're big enough, they're like Big Birds wings! They were more than plentiful for the serving size. 

They have options for alcoholic beverages as well as regular. There is ample seating if you're there with several people. I haven't had a burger recently so I can't comment on the burger bun, because previously I wasn't a fan of the latest bun they were using for the burgers. Over all I give them 4 dragonflies because while they have some fun side dishes, and salads, but I'd like a good grilled veggie or something fun like that as a side. 

 

Prairie Street Brewing Company

Prairie St Brewing Company - We’ve now been here a few times, not a huge place, definitely has more seating in the summer when you can sit on the patio and watch the water flowing of the Rock River. The menu is a bit hip for a brewery, they are definitely trying to compete with the Chicago microbreweries for Nuevo style foods. We saw one of the appetizers was a cheese board, with tortilla chips. It was a unique style idea. The cheeses were dip/spreadable cheeses. Such a simple idea, and so good. My loving Non GF Hubby kept raving about the Pimento cheese that I actually had to find a recipe and make it at home. Other cheeses included Buffalo cheese and jalapeno cream cheese. All super tasty. I honestly could come here and just eat this. Their beers are not gluten free, (though a review on Findmeglutenfree says they are, they’re not) but they offer several canned ciders. One being Schilling’s Pineapple Mango Cider. Super tasty and unique. I actually hit up Binny’s Beverage Depot and got a case. When I told the server I need to be gluten free, she even told me she’d confirm the cider was gluten free before bringing it out. Really awesome!

Look at this cheese board? Isn't it gorgeous??? 

I got the Taquito salad the first time we came. It was tasty and unique, but I think it was a bit too much Kimchi for my stomach. I didn’t have a gluten reaction, but it definitely left me hitting the bathroom a few times after eating it.

Second visit the menu with the daily specials caught my attention. I’m not a big meatloaf person, but it sounded so good! The ribs sounded good, but a bit to eccentric for me, so I was glad the Non-GF hubby got them so I could try a little but not make such a commitment to the meal. We totally filled up on the cheese board and tortillas, so we had left overs. The food was really good, the portions are hearty, but service is a bit sparse. Our server kept wandering off and we kept having to flag someone down to get what we needed.

  The meatloaf really hit the spot, there wasn't too much sauce and the potatoes were very rich. I love that so much of their food is farm to table and unique. 

I give them 5 Dragonflies for their unique but plentiful menu options and even having GF markings for the daily specials. 

 

We're working on finding another day to take some more friends back to check out what is on the new seasonal menu and hopefully get to sit out on the outside patio and take in some summer sun and beautiful weather.

Awesome Breakfast Egg Harbor Cafe

Some how, I've managed to not mention Egg Harbor Cafe, and I don't know how I've missed this post! This has got to be one of top 3 favorite places for breakfast, my motivation is the Sweet Ali's Cinnamon Roll. But really you can't go wrong with anything you order here. Our biggest joke is when we went to Door County, WI and were in Egg Harbor, there is no Egg Harbor Cafe! But being around the burbs of Chicago, there are several locations in popular parts of towns. 

They have a separate gluten free menu that is quite extensive. They do lunch options too, but to be honest, I have only ordered breakfast food with them, cause their eggs and harbor potatoes are super tasty, and their bacon is made just the way I like it. Their skillets are pretty tasty too. They have gotten in to some of the fancy coffee and tea drinks too, but a carafe of coffee at the table feels like in an older movie at the all day breakfast shop. 

I give Egg Harbor 5 Dragonflies (6 if it was an option), for quality, quantity of items of the menu and super attentive staff. 

Alchemy at Aldeen - Rockford

Alchemy at Aldeen – We found on accident, well with the help of Find Me Gluten Free. We were planning on hitting up Prairie Street Brewing, one of our favorite places in Rockford, but noticed the parking lot was beyond packed and nearby vacant lots and street parking were full also. Seeing that Prairie Street is also an event venue, we assumed something was going on, but decided the meal would be slow, long and may not even get a table for some time, but we were hungry and on our way to Wisconsin for the weekend. 

We found Alchemy and headed that direction, it wasn’t far, and happened to be at one of the local golf courses as the country club. The inside of the restaurant was super charming and cute, I felt a bit under dressed, but I don’t think it really mattered. Most people were chilling on the patio or at the bar.

The Gluten Free options on the menu were impressive and plentiful. Most things it felt like could be made gluten free. Their format for the winter months is to operate like a super club and have a fancy cocktail menu to match it.

My husband went with the 52 day barrel aged Old Fashioned and I got a daiquiri. His Old Fashioned was pretty tasty, not strong or harsh and went down smoothly. My Daiquiri was a bit like a margarita and super satisfying. 

For dinner I got the pasta bosco it was super interesting as it had chunks of beef, mushrooms and was in a broth style sauce. I have to try making this at home as it was so good and didn’t give me heartburn since it wasn’t a tomato sauce! The servers were very conscious to call out gluten free when repeating the order and bringing out the food. Which was good, cause the pasta was so good I honestly questioned if it was gluten free. 

The server told us they’d be starting their summer menu soon with handhelds and lighter far for enjoying on the patio. Hopefully that continues to be gluten free plentiful.

I give them 5 dragonflies – The food and drink were both amazing, the staff was attentive, and the ambiance was great. I would go here for a date night any time!

 

Arby’s Eating Dirty

While doing a roadtrip halfway across the country  during covid to visit my Sister-In-Law on the East coast, we got to talking about places to drive thru for options, and trying to find something different, as we got away from our Urban options who would have things like Chik-Fila, Jimmy Johns, Jersey Mikes…. And I questioned “Would an Arby’s beef sandwich be gluten free if served not on a bun?” My husband asked “Would you eat it like that, or on your own bun?” 

So we set off to the grocery store, found some BFree Pita’s and went to Arby’s and ordered a Double Beef and Cheddar in a bowl. We found a cute spot to park near a river by a park and pulled out our car trays and proceeded to have lunch. I built my beef and cheddar into the pita pocket while we laughed and had one of the best ‘dirty food’ meals I’d had in a long time. At the time they still did a side salad as an option so that and my beef and cheddar hit the spot and we cracked up that it took us 10 years to think of this as an idea! At the time Arby's still had a side salad option, which made a nice touch to the meal. Now they no longer have the salad sadly, but I'll survive.

Since than we've stopped at Arbys on more than a few occasions, for something different to eat.  I always make sure to have a bread option with me, or we just take it home to eat. It's such a simple concept, that is quite tasty too.

Elmhurst Brewing Company

I think I’ve spoiled myself by always going places with good defined gluten free menus. That when I go somewhere that just throws stuff together I have to try really hard not to roll my eyes at the menu. I’ve looked at Elmhurst Brewing Companies menu a few times the last year or so that we’ve had our Friday “Brew Crew”, and the menu does rotate seasonally and so do the gluten free options. It seems that they are becoming less and less. Which was a bit shocking since most cases I feel I eat better at most breweries than I do most sit down establishments. This one was a bit different. 

They had 1 flatbread option and 2 salads marked on the menu. I questioned a couple other items including their pimento dip, (Which seems to be a brewery staple, as that’s where I always seem to get it.).

1^st things first, they had cider from Right Bee, and an Old-Fashioned option. Their Old-Fashioned was ok. You had to stir the ice to melt it some to bring off the harsh edge on the drink. The Cider was great! I want to go do a tasting at Right Bee one of these days cause I think I’ll like the options. 

 

Not gluten free, but thought their taster paddle was cool.

I got the pimento cheese dip, they determined they could do cucumbers and celery instead of crackers and the beet and goat cheese salad. Had the wings been an option, I would have gone with them, my husband did, and said they were amazing! Our friend who got the Schintzel said it was better than the German restaurant we went to! 

The goat cheese salad had these cute little ‘goat balls’ as my husband called them rolled in pepper and placed sparsely on the salad. Their green goddess dressing was good. Overall the salad was OK, nothing I’d rave about, but it didn’t upset my stomach. The pimento dip tasted processed and fake. We joked that they ran across the street and got a container from the grocery store and plopped it on the plate. Not amazing, at all!

Overall, I’d give them 2 Dragonflies, while they nicely marked 3 items on the menu gluten free, it felt like they did so out of obligation, that they really wanted to make or serve anything gluten free. The ambiance was nice and if you eat gluten the food sounds like it’s good… Just not, the gluten free aspect.