Despite my state’s super high taxes and lousy roads, we have the golden opportunity to live a book lover’s dream. Some genius decided to combine the love of being a fat kid and the love of reading FREE books.

To be fair, most big chain book stores have cafes in their book stores, so there has been an established correlation between coffee, books, and snacks… but I’m talking a full service restaurant that has the look and feel of a library!!!!

Oh, and beer:

In less than an hour of finding out the existence of this wonderland, I had a road trip negotiated. In a caravan of two cars, the Allaire family joined forces with the awesome S. family and made the journey to Traveler’s Restaurant.

The article lied about people who buy meals getting a free book. The reality is that you now get THREE free books each meal! I have to say, other than being concerned about the insane amount of Freudian psychology books sprinkled into the selection, they had an eclectic range.

It was a bit awkward oogling books while people were trying to eat. Some of the selection is right above the tables, and since it is creepy having to look at those books, it’s likely where all the good books are.

I have to admit there were some personal boundaries crossed to get my three books.

Between a book about monsters of the mind and another with no name on the spine so it was clearly to be avoided, I saw a book penned by one of my favorite artists: Judy Chicago!

I was super psyched about Judy Chicago’s Through the Flower: my struggle as a woman artist because I had just finished a “History of Women in the Arts” course last fall. I was able to dazzle my table mates with facts of how awesome Judy Chicago was. Ironically, that was not the first time I had gushed about her feminine awesomeness, as I had included her in my final project about how women traditionally used needlepoint as a form of education AND activism.

I could go on and on about her, but I digress.

Mr. Allaire abstained from getting books, which felt incredibly sacrilege. How could I marry a man that doesn’t see what a gift this restaurant is?!

I’m glad that this did not rub off on our spawn. They were as equally eager as I was to find their own bounty. In fact, once they found out that there was a used book store in the basement, they went crazy. The two eldest were about to battle for the last Dean Koontz book.

I didn’t buy anything from the store, because nothing could top my Judy Chicago book. I was in love, and at least until we got home again, there was no other book for me. At least for the day. So, if you’re ever in Connecticut and need a buddy to dine with at Traveler’s restaurant… I am your lady.