The service was very good at first, but my waitress seemed to disappear about the time I wanted a drink refill. It also took a rather long time to get the check. I thought the chili fries were reasonable at $7. The menu was is much shorter than it used to be.

The cheesy corn tasted OK had the texture that I associate with canned queso. The fries were crispy, but I would prefer them without the seasoning they add.

The experience suffers a little from the plastic utensils and food being served on paper lined trays. Hopefully that will change when they have more staff.

The burger was topped with sautéed mushrooms, Swiss cheese and truffle aioli. It was a little dry. The fries were much better.

The Rangoon was made with smoked cream cheese, brisket, and rib meet meat in a fired wonton with a side of sweet raspberry chili sauce. I didn't really notice the taste of meat in the Rangoon, but mainly a smoky flavor which reminded me of liquid smoke. The $9 appetizers was half price before 6 PM.

As we drove up, I was afraid that they weren't open, as there were no cars in the lot and the tinted windows looked pretty dark, but was relieved to find that they were open. We were seated by the front window.

The owner, Rudolf Demeter, asked if we had been there before. We he learned that we had not, he apologized that they were missing several items because of supply chain issues. He didn't say which ones they were. He also said that staffing has been difficult for the new restaurant.

We ordered two shrimp dishes, Camarones Al Mojo De Ajo and Camarones A La Diabla. They had the shrimp for the first dish, but not for the second. I decided to try the Dip Trio appetizer instead, asking for it to come out at the same time as the entree.

The Dip Trio still came out first, but that was no issue. It consisted of fresh fried tortilla chips served with homemade salsa, queso and guacamole. I preferred the queso and guacamole, but all three the dips were good. For $10.99. the dip servings were a little small, but a larger serving of your favorite dip is available for $6.99.

The $16.99 Camarones Al Mojo De Ajo comes with Mexican rice, black beans, lettuce, sliced avocado, and a choice of flour or corn tortillas, but was missing the beans and tortillas when it came out. The owner apologized for how long it had taken, though it seemed to us that both dishes had been quick. The garlic butter on the sautéed shrimp tasted great. The flour tortillas came out a little later. warm and very good. The beans came out near the end of the meal, but neither of us a big black bean fans anyway.

The owner apologized profusely for the way that the food had come out, saying that they were missing staff in the kitchen. We didn't feel that it was that big a deal, but he insisted that we not pay for the entree and we were only charged for the appetizer.

I look forward to eating there again. The seafood tower crafted with layers of scallops, shrimp, octopus, calamari, and crab, tossed in El Maviri sauce sounds particularly attractive.

Dip Trio

We went to Big Mill in part because they have Detroit style pizza. I grew up in Michigan amnd lived & worked in Detroit for three years in the early 1980s, but had never heard of Detroit Pizza until the past 10 years.

The pizza is deep dish, baked in an automotive drip pan at a high temperature. I am much more a fan of thin crust pizza with lots of toppings, but still thought this was delicious. The pizzas were offered minimal toppings and we had Pepperoni Pizza with red sauce, and Wisconsin brick cheese. The pepperoni had much more flavor than the thin slices on many pizzas and the sauce had a rich flavor as well.

I came planning to have the Fish 'N Chips Basket (beer battered walleye, fries, tarragon and malt vinegar mayo), which sounded good in online reviews, but found several other items that looked good, particularly the Crispy Smoked Wings with jalapeno bleu cheese. Then I spotted the name "The Lafayette," described only as beef chili, mustard and onion.

I am a big fan of Detroit style Coney Island hot dogs. They are Detroit's signature dish. The two most famous places were started by brothers in 1919 on Lafayette Street, downtown. American Coney Island quickly became an institution. In the 1930s, the brothers split and one of them opened Lafayette Coney Island next door. They are still open today and I try to dine at both of them when I am in Detroit. The proper way to have them is with mustard and onion only, (no cheese) so that short description suggested the real thing.

I got both the fish & chips (taking half home) and The |Lafayette. The fish and chips was a generous serving and good, but I would much rather have tartar sauce than their vinegar mayo. The coney was right on! A rich, slightly sweet chili with no beans. I requested crushed red pepper to pep it up. I'm anxious to tell friends about this place!

While we were in the neighborhood, we took a walk up the street to photograph the location where Joe's Bakery served the most popular donuts in Lawrence for 50 years. 

On the way out of town we also photographed the new LFK on Fire Mural on the Side of Mass Street Music.

Coney Island, Walleye & Detroit style pizza
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

LFK on Fire

Following lunch we stopped by White Lakes Center, which was a mall from 1964 to 2007. Demolition began in early March and we got some pictures to post to our Facebook page.