| Sunday
- March 31, 2023: We left at 12:30 for our first overnight Kansas exploration
of 2023. Just one night, so we can be home to celebrate Palm Sunday.
Lunch
was at Aunt Netters Cafe in Lecompton, Kansas, which is a breakfast and
lunch restaurant, serving supper only on Friday. We discovered Aunt Netters
in 2020 and added it to our listing of Unique Kansas Restaurants. but after
several visits that year had not been back.
We
ordered catfish with onion rings, One Hot Momma with French fries and peanut
butter chocolate pie. My favorite part of the meal was the onion rings,
though the fries were quite good as well. I think the fish was breaded
before freezing and I didn't care as much for it.
One
Hot Momma is a hamburger topped Pulled Pork, Ghost Pepper Cheese, and Sriracha
Mayo. Perhaps a 10 ounce burger with fries for $8.25. I liked it, but would
probably order one with my own selection of toppings the next time.
It
is the pies and other desserts which put this restaurant on our list and
I probably should have ordered more of them today. The pie was a disappointment.
The filling did little for me and I disliked the crust. First off, I would
have preferred a graham cracker crust on this one to a regular pie crust,
but more important, this crust was so tough a fork couldn't cut it. The
flavor did not seem fresh.
I
need to return soon to see if this was an aberration.
After
lunch we pushed hard to arrive at the Eisenhower Presidential Library &
Eisenhower Museum in Abilene, Kansas before 3:30PM, which is the last admission
time, before closing at 4:30. The museum closed for a complete remodeling
in May 2018, reopening in 2019 for just a few months before Covid shut
it down again.
It
is much more polished since the renovation and actually feels larger than
before, though I think that is just good design. Exhibits which I enjoyed
the most include World War 1, particularly D-Day, the early space race
and a small gallery devoted to his wife, Mamie. An hour was about the right
amount of time for me to spend there.
I
feel the $15/person charge is a little high, though we took advantage of
a 2 for 1 offer provided to sustaining members of Kansas Public Radio.
There is also a small discount for seniors.
The
Eisenhower boyhood home is currently being renovated and would have cost
another $5 (or $7 if visited on its own). Admission to the grounds, library,
gift shop and Place of Meditation (chapel and tomb) is free.
On
our way out of Abilene. we stopped to see the The large belt buckle in
Eisenhower Park, which was dedicated in December. The Abilene Convention
& Visitors Bureau is calling it the World's Largest Belt Buckle, but
it has not been certified as the World's Largest. The buckle stands out
side the Grand stand and will probably be popular during the annual Wild
Bill Hickok Rodeo, since the stairs taking visitors to the top of the buckle
provide a great view of the rodeo.
We
had supper at Barolo Grille in Salina, Kansas. Chef Kevin Obrien opened
the restaurant in 2020. The food was good when we tried them shortly after
the opening, but the service was excruciatingly bad. We hadn't had a chance
to try them again to now and I am pleased to say that the service was very
good. I particularly appreciated the detail in which our server (Cameron)
answered questions and the nice touch of putting some butter in with the
leftover rolls which we took with us.
I
had a gorgonzola salad to start the meal. Most bites of the salad just
tasted like romaine, but bites which included the salted caramel almonds,
dried cherries and gorgonzola dressing were very good. I would rather that
used a third as much lettuce and the same amount of other ingredients.
We
had a fillet and a rib eye with cabernet mushrooms. The rib eye was a perfectly
grilled medium and I enjoyed the mushroom sauce. The fillet was ordered
well done, which came out charred on the outside by not cooked as much
as my medium in the center. It was quite think and probably would have
benefited from being butterflied or cooked at a lower temperature.
Chef
Obrien had spotted my name on the reservation list and came out to meet
us near the end of the meal. I first met him 15 years ago when he had the
Renaissance Cafe in nearby Assaria. I had not see him in at least 5 years,
so speaking to Kevin was a treat, but by coincidence, he told us that he
was moving on and this was actually his final night at the restaurant.
He is staying in the area and I hope to try his future ventures.
We
drove south to McPherson where we spent the night at the Hampton Inn. On
the way, we stopped briefly at Coranado Heights a little before sunset
and drove through downtown Lindsborg where I photographed a new mural.
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