Kansas
Travel Blog
Chronicling
changes to KansasTravel.org and Keith's exploration
& photographing Kansas restaurants, attractions, museums, festivals
and art. Contact him.
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Thursday
- January 4, 2024: I hadn't been back to Grandstand
Burgers in Overland Park, Kansas since early in 2020, so I returned
for lunch today. The main changes are the sandwich prices have gone up
up about 10-15% and the short counter where 2 or 3 people could stand and
eat is no longer available so there is no longer any inside dining. Business
was steady, with many orders called in, in advance.
I
got a fire burger and onion rings to eat in the car. The Fire Burger is
a pepper jack cheese burger topped with grilled jalapenos and covered in
buffalo sauce for $9.25. Both the burger is still very good and the and
rings are good for made from frozen.
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Grandstand Burgers |
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Friday
- January 12, 2024: This seems to be the month for revisiting restaurants
that I haven't been to for a while. Today's lunch was at Cronin's Bar &
Grill in Lenexa. It had been over three years since I last dined here.
Although Cronin's is more bar than grill, the kitchen does a great job.
At
lunch time the bartender is the only server. Table service can be eratic,
so it is much easier to dine at the bar. I ordered the 1/3 pound Basic
Burger and onion rings. The burger was great, much better than the one
from Grandstand Burger earlier this month. I got the onion rings because
I saw some on another customers plate and they looked great. They tasted
great as well.
It
was a cold snowy evening, but we went to supper at Buck Tui BBQ in Overland
Park. The weather didn't seem to be keeping business away and nearly every
table was full.
We
arrived during happy hour and decided to share the appetizers: Butterscotch
Wings, Chili Crunch Nachos, and Mini Garlic Ribs. At Happy Hour pricing
they came to only $29. I like these dishes, but it doesn't quite live up
to my expectations. The mini ribs were our favorite item.
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Basic burger & rings
Buck Tui BBQ |
Friday
- January 19, 2024: It is another cold, snowy night, but we drove to
Shawnee, Kansas to have supper at Wandering Vine at the Castle. We enjoyed
dining in this neat old stone farmhouse when it was Renee
Kelly's Harvest, but the restaurant closed in 2017. The building changed
hands in 2019 and this new restaurant opened in November of 2020.
The
food has been good, but the menu has been a bit limited and the entrees
which appeal to me have been combined with sides which did not appeal.
At those prices, I would rather that I select which items go together.
I'd reviewed the online menu again and found a couple of options which
I was willing to try.
I
ordered the $46 Cedar River Prime Flank Steak. It game with gigante beans,
charred red onions, roasted delicata quash, blistered peppers and mojo
verde sauce. The steak was good, but I didn't appreciate the sauce. I wish
there had been more of the onions & peppers and less of the beans,
which I actively disliked.
Linda
had the $38 Grilled Rainbow Trout. It was herb & citrus stuffed and
came with salt crusted farmer potatoes, braised fennel, Castelvetrano olives,
ridicchio and gribiche sauce. She was happier with the mix of dishes.
We
shared a caramel praline cheese cake which was quite good and a generous
serving.
Wandering
Vine prides itself on its wine selection and offers wine flights. I prefer
hard ciders - none were available and none of the cocktails on the menu
captured my fancy.
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Wandering Vine at the Castle
Flank steak & rainbow Trout |
Saturday
- January 20, 2024: We had lunch today at Jack Stack Barbecue in Lenexa.
This is the final weekend of Kansas City Restaurant Week and we decided
to do a restaurant week special Cue for two, $40. We chose Honey Glazed
Combo — 1/2 Chicken + ½ Slab Babyback Ribs, with the choice of three
regular sides and a choice of dessert.
It
was a lot of good food and we had plenty left to box and take home. We
got the Triple Chocolate Brownie to go.
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Jack Stack Barbecue |
Thursday
- January 25, 2024: We made another visit to Buck Tui BBQ in Overland
Park. I wanted to have another meal there before adding a page about this
restaurant to our Kansas City BBQ Restaurant Guide. We had Mini Garlic
Ribs. Brisket Rangoon and Red Curry Brisket Burnt End. The Rangoon are
my favorite dish there so far. The flavors of the smoked brisket and marinated
cream cheese work well together.
The
burnt ends had several positive comments in online reviews and I expected
to really enjoy them, but I would not get them again. The red curry tasted
good, but the burnt ends were tough and tasteless. I had to request steak
knife to cut the large cubes into bite size morsels. I really couldn't
taste the beef with it coated in the curry. Also $32 was too much for this
dish.
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Red Curry Brisket Burnt End |
Tuesday
- January 30, 2024: We had supper at Mad Greek in Lawrence. It had
been several years since I last dined here. I loved their weekend lunch
buffet, but it didn't return after being stopped during Covid in 2020.
I really enjoyed the souvlaki. The meat was flavored very well.
The
table really enjoyed the Tour of Greece, a sampling of 4 traditional dips:
hummus, spicy feta, melitzanosalata, & tzatziki, served with pita bread
for only $9.99.
After
dinner, we went to Allen Field House to watch Oklahoma State University
play the University of Kansas Jayhawks. We were surprised to learn that
star player Kevin McCullar Jr. was not suited up and playing tonight, but
he has had a bruised knee and it was a night when he probably wouldn't
be needed.
It
has been a tough year for the OSU Cowboys and KU lead the entire game,
winning by nearly 30 points. I'm sure it was hard for the television announcers
to find ways to keep the game interesting and I bet they appreciated the
Kansas City Chiefs offensive linemen attending the game. We learned later
that they also visited the team in the locker room.
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Tour of Greece
KU students holding up University Daily Kansan newspaper while ignoring
the introduction of OSU basketball players |
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