Chopped steak smothered in onion, mushrooms and green pepper. The best part of the meal was the vegetable of the day - green bean casserole. The meat was well done, rather than the medium rare I had requested, but checking the bill at the end, I saw that the waitress had written down medium well.

Our third meal of the new year was at Garozzo's Ristorante in Olathe. The service has improved the past few times, but so much of the meal is now À la carte, that the price points are a bit high. The $8.95 stuffed artichoke stuffed with Italian bread crumbs & topped with garlic butter was very good. 

Garozzo's is known for its signature spiedini di pollo - marinated chicken breast, rolled in Italian bread crumbs, skewered & grilled. We had the $19 Garozzo topped with Amogio, a blend of olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and herbs and the $20 Gabriella served on fettuccine in our spicy Diablo sauce. The Garozzo came with side pasta and both had the choice of one other side. The best part of the meal was the broccoli cooked with garlic.

I am fond of the lunch buffet, which is an incredible bargain at $7.50 including tax and beverage! The selection is smaller than most of the Chinese buffets in Olathe, but that means that the items turn over quickly and everything is fresh. I particularly like the appetizer items.

Supper was at the Snack Shack on Santa Fe, in Overland Park. One of their newer items is a very good pork tenderloin sandwich. All of the meats served at the Snack Shack are from Bichelmeyer Meats in Kansas City, Kansas. Really, all the dishes on the fairly limited menu are good.

The small dining area tends to be too hot in hot weather and too cold in cold weather.

Snack Shack on Santa Fe

On the way back to KC, we stopped for supper at the Salty Iguana in Olathe. The Salty Iguana is a small Lawrence based chain of Mexican restaurants which advertises heavily at KU games and on the radio broadcasts of the games. I had checked this restaurant out shortly after it opened (about 3 years ago). I was not impressed with the food at that time, but both the fajitas and fajita salad were pretty good.

Rosedale Barbeque's chicken is pretty good with a crispy skin from a bit of deep frying at the end of the smoking process. The sweet, slightly spicy chili has only a few beans, which sit at the bottom of the bowl where they can be ignored or mixed in, depending on your preference. 

The sausage and burnt ends are OK, but the pork ribs ribs are better and the pulled pork is a standout with great flavor & texture. The servings are modest, but so are the prices. New review of Smokey's on the Blvd BBQ.

I thought that the best part of the meal was the desserts: goat cheese beignets with caramel soup & whipped cream; and and chocolate terrine with tart cherry sauce, spiced pistachios and semifreddo. The spiced pistachios were a nice touch.

The Cafe offers three "meals" at lunch. For just $7.50, you can choose from chicken fried chicken, chicken fried steak, pork tender or a hamburger patty, along with mashed potatoes, gravy, roll and salad which you get for yourself from the buffet. The chicken fried steak was very good, tender and well flavored. It wasn't very large, but the price was only $7.50. Sommerset Hall Cafe is very reasonably priced.

Returning to Topeka, we visited the Yesterday's Museum, which shares a neat 1935 stone building with Henry's Grill and Topeka Harley-Davidson. The museum is devoted to motorcycles. It had been ignored by the owners for several years, but has been seeing some improvements in the past year. Work was being done on the small free museum, today.

The neatest place we visited, was the Kansas Children's Discovery Center in Topeka. You must be accompanied by a child to visit the year and a half old children's museum, but we received special dispensation. The hands on exhibits, camps, and daily programs in the 15,700 square foot building are very cool. There are also 4.5 wooded acres of obstacle courses, hiking trails, an enormous tree house, and bike paths. Tricycles are provided for children and adults at no additional cost.

We had supper at Boss Hawg's Barbeque & Catering Company in Topeka. Although it will not make the list of Unique Kansas Restaurants, I felt that both the food and service had improved since we last visited the restaurant in 2011. The best meats sampled were the smoked chicken and sausage (with cheese inside). The best side dishes were the creamy, sweet coleslaw and the steak fries.

The restaurant is fairly pricey for the style, type of food and serving size, with many meals running $17-20. Most appetizers are $9 and up.

Yesterday's Museum
 

Kansas Children's Discovery Center