We love trying the local hidden gem restaurants whenever we visit somewhere new, but it can be a challenge when I take my daughter with Celiac disease. Recently, when we traveled to Bardstown, Kentucky, something magical happened; we found two restaurants that helped my daughter have a delicious meal without being “glutened.” Our first stop was lunch at Kurtz restaurant, started in 1937 by Merrill and Annette Kurtz. Now on its 3rd generation of being owned by the Kurtz family, they dish up Southern specialties and my favorite, delicious homemade desserts.
Brittany asked for the salad and sandwich meal, which she requested without the bread. The waitress didn’t even blink an eye as she delivered up the chicken salad, served with homemade chips and a pickle. I, not having to worry about gluten, had the soup and sandwich meal, beginning with a bowl of homemade French Onion soup and served with a roll.
My soup and sandwich was delicious, but I saved room for one of the homemade desserts, displayed in a pie safe in an adjoining room. I am glad I did! The lemon pie was recommended to me, and it was worth every calorie. Topped with a fluffy lightly lemon flavored meringue, the filling was the perfect combination of tart and sweet. I had forgotten how good homemade lemon meringue pie was, and left craving another piece.
For dinner, we visited the Harrison-Smith House, a restaurant my daughter wishes we lived close enough to visit often! Their menu features fresh, local ingredients from areas surrounding Bardstown. As luck would have it, we happened to visit on “fried chicken night,” which occurs each Wednesday. Brittany had not been able to eat fried chicken since she had been diagnosed with celiac, but the owners, Justin and Rachel, assured us they would prepare the fried chicken so she would be able to enjoy it. We both decided to have the three course chicken meal, which began with a salad, continued with a large portion of chicken served with potatoes and greens and ending with butterscotch pudding.
The chicken is available four ways; fried plan, with a light dusting of flour, fried smoked, with the chicken being smoked, then fried, Nashville Hot, featuring a blend of spices including paprika and cayenne pepper and Smoked Hot, where the smoked chicken is tossed with a light coating of flour and the Nashville hot spices. We opted for the Smoked Hot, without the light dusting of flour for Brittany. Before the meal was over, Brittany told me, our waiter and the owners, “This was the best chicken I’ve had since going gluten free.”
Neither Brittany nor I am a fan of butterscotch pudding, but it looked so pretty served in the Maker’s Mark glass we had to try it. We were both glad we did! It tasted nothing like the traditional boxed butterscotch puddings we had in the past. This one was smooth, creamy and flavorful with a rich taste. This is a restaurant I would visit for special occasions. It’s just that good!
Want to learn more about the history of Bardstown and their great restaurants? Visit the visitbardstown.com tourism site.
Pingback: Must Try Restaurants in Bardstown Kentucky
That lemon meringue pie has me droolin’! That chicken salad looks amazing too!! I need to visit this place some time!
Ahhh being a total foodie I so need to make a trip to Kentucky now! That chicken looks beyond delicious.
That butterscotch pudding looks delish! I love eating my way around town, you’ve actually just inspired a new blog post for me!!
I love any post that starts with ‘eating our way around’ LOL. The food looks lovely and the sweets look decadent.
That lemon dessert looks phenomenal! I’m glad you had such a good time – I’d love to visit sometime myself!
Xo,
Michelle
http://www.mash-elle.com
That is so awesome that you were able to find a couple of places that offered gluten-free meals. The food looks delicious!
Pretty sure that food might make me want to have an extended stay. 😉 Everything looks great, and oh that first building. It’s gorgeous!
Oh wow the food looks incredibly delicious! I love it when you have waitstaff that are willing to work with you so that you can get good eats without a ton of hassle – what a great find!
What a beautiful place. Your images are wonderful and I love how accommodating they are. I always order minus the bread. It makes a huge difference if the waitress is nice. I love Lemon Meringue so you left me craving. The sign of a great post and great review. Thank you.
YUM! The food looks amazing especially the pie! What a great meal after site seeing!
This restaurant is beautiful from the outside and the food looks incredible. I would love to try some of Kurtz lemon meringue pie!
It’s great when a waitress doesn’t blink an eye or give you the 3rd degree when you order something with a special request. I ordered a sandwich without bread once and the waitress let me have it about how unhealthy low carb was. Hey, I just didn’t want bread, honey! 🙂 All of those food photos look awesome!
This is great! I love that more and more restaurants are catering to those with celiac’s. My friend has celiac’s with an auto immune deficiency and she has to be oh so careful. She’s been hospitalized before.
That’s awesome that she could have the fried chicken there! Of course that butterscotch pudding is what wins over my heart. 🙂
I know how hard it is to find restaurants that cater to those with food allergies! Most often for me it is the smaller mom and pop places that will go out of their way to make sure you can enjoy a meal with them. Everything looks so delicious and I would love to have that butterscotch pudding recipe!
I live in SC, but I am originally from KY. I will have to try this out the next time I go back home for a visit. I think I’ve seen Kurtz’s before, but I am not sure. Thanks for showing me a little of “back home”. Have a great weekend!
You had me at homemade chips. I love those things and could eat them by the bowl full.