Kansas
Travel Blog
Chronicling
changes to KansasTravel.org and Keith's exploration
& photographing Kansas restaurants, attractions, museums, festivals
and art. Contact him.
![Art Prints Art Prints](Blank.jpg)
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Friday
- April 5, 2024: We had lunch at Wolfepack BBQ. It is in Kansas City,
Missouri, but restaurants on both sides of the state line are included
in our Kansas City Barbeque Restaurant
Guide. Wolfepack opened in the Columbus Park neighborhood a few blocks
east of the City Market in August 2023. The building has two dinning areas
(one of which can be opened to the weather with garage doors and an outdoor
patio. A full service bar occupies a large part of one wall in the main
room.
Learning
that the beef burnt ends are only available on the weekend, we decided
to share a $30 three meat platter of pork ribs, pork belly burnt ends and
jalapeno cheddar sausage, which comes with the choice of 2 sides. We selected
French fries ad red onion rings ($1) up charge.
I
thought all three meets were great. Smoked and well seasoned with a sweet,
but slightly spicy rub. I didn't want to add sauce at all. The ribs were
my favorite, but I would be happy to have any of them again.
The
sides were only slightly less successful. I thought the battered fries
were better than most and enjoyed them slightly more as I ate more of them,
but I'm not really a battered fries fan. The red onion rings looked and
tasted slightly different than sweet onion rings, but were still fairly
good.
The
platter came with house made pickles and pickled red onion.
There
were two squeeze bottles of sauce on the table, Original BBQ & Spicy
BBQ. They were both tangy, dark and slightly sweet. Kind of like a slightly
thicker version of the sauce at Chef J BBQ. I wouldn't select it for most
meats, but think it might work well with beef brisket.
Service
was friendly & good and we were given go-cups of our soft drinks.
Wolfepack
uses a combination of oak and hickory wood in their oven.
We
planned to have supper at Jong's Thai Kitchen in Topeka, Kansas, but learned
that they are carry out only on Friday and Saturday evenings. It is the
second time I have failed to dine here. The previous time they were closed
with no sign or notice on Facebook.
I
didn't really have a back up restaurant and those places I would have wanted
to go to tonight would have needed reservations.
We
decided on the fly to have a meal at The Pennant in downtown Topeka. We
dined here at the second floor bar about 5 years ago, but this time we
ate on the first floor where there are four lanes of bowling.
We
ordered a half apple walnut salad for $7 and a bourbonater (1/2 lb. Black
Angus beef, smoky Gouda cheese, bourbon caramelized onions, and house made
bourbon bacon jam on a butter toasted brioche bun) for $12 with no sides.
The salad wasn't particularly attractive or tasty. The burger was a little
better, but not something I would choose again.
I
had planned to get a soft drink, but looking at the drink menu discovered
that a could order a vanilla shake with peanut butter whiskey for only
$7.50. It was a real treat!
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Wolfepack BBQ
Dining room
Three meat platter
The Pennant
Peanut Butter Whiskey Milkshake
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Saturday
- April 6, 2024: We are having lunch in Topeka today and this time
I happened to have a couple of possible places to try that were near each
other.
Our
first stop was New Orleans Style Daiquiri's & More. There was little
information available about it online, but I had seen a photo of New Orleans
style grilled chicken (skin on) and red beans and rice which looked wonderful.
We arrived to find that is a small shack with no inside seating.
Walking
in, the nice young lady told us that they only have food at some point
in summer. That chef also cooks at a fraternity in Lawrence.
Before
we left, she offered us free samples of their premade frozen drinks. We
shared small samples of the pina colada and tornado (dark & light run
and peach schnapps). They both tasted very good.
The
other spot was a little over a block away, Terry's Bar & Grill. This
downtown place closed a year ago after 47 years, but was reopened about
6 months later. It is is a large place occupying two large storefronts
and I liked everything about it except the men's room.
The
men's room is literally 4' wide by about 10 feet deep. The small space
has two urinals, a sink and toilet stool squeezed in with nothing separating
them. You literally cannot get past a person at any of those. Also the
door has no lock, so if you sit on the toilet you are right there by everyone.
Many
items on the menu were unavailable, including Chicken fried steak, pork
tenderloin and mashed potatoes. We ended up with fried chicken with French
fries and Pork ribs with onion rings. In general the food was good. I started
to say better than it looks, but that sound like a put down.
The
chicken had a heavy batter, but I enjoyed its taste. I do wish it had been
cut up. The wing was the one part that was separate and it was hard splitting
up the remaining half chicken. The fries were well prepared for previously
frozen crinkle cut.
The
chef/owner came around to see how our meal had been and we learned that
he is Mike Babb, who my spouse remembered from the 1977 State Champion
Highland Park boys basket ball team and the 1976 Grand State Basketball
championship team. 1976 was the one year that the state champion teams
from each division played each other for a Grand Champion.
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New Orleans Style Daiquiri's & More
Terry's Bar & Grill
Fried chicken
Mike Babb
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Sunday
- April 7, 2024: I added new page devoted to (Hell)
Razor Roadhouse in Harveyville, Kansas.
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Monday
- April 8, 2024: We had lunch at Bradley's Corner Cafe in North Topeka.
This was the third consecutive poor experience I have had here. The over
all food has been average in the past but I used to love the pies. Sadly,
the pie has not been very good when we have been there recently.
The
last time I had been to Bradley's, the only pie available was pumpkin.
When my slice was brought to the table, it looked rather sad, kind of shrunken.
The filling was less than half the height I expected. The taste was just
OK. The server obviously knew that it wasn't right. I was charged $2, rather
than the usual $4.29.
Today
we didn't care for the catfish or club sandwich we had as main dishes,
but were still looking forward to the pie. They were out of m y favorite
(sour cream & raisin), and we ended up with rhubarb and chocolate peanut
butter. Both were disappointing. They tasted like they had been sitting
around for days and the meringue on the chocolate peanut butter pie had
shriveled up.
It
hurts to do this, but I am removing Bradley's from our guide to Unique
Kansas Restaurants.
One
fun thing about our visit. It was during the total eclipse. We could overhear
the employees trying to figure out how they could get glasses to watch
the eclipse, but they were having no luck. After I paid for our meal, I
got a couple of pairs of solar eclipse glasses from our car and brought
them in. As we were pulling away, a couple of the younger employees were
standing on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant looking at the sun.
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Club sandwich
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Friday
- April 12, 2024: I added a new page devoted to the Cheyenne
County Museum in St. Francis, Kansas.
I
had lunch at Johnny's BBQ in Olathe, Kansas. The original Johnny's BBQ
in Mission closed 4 years ago when Johnny & Linda White retired, but
their son, Eric had kept the Olathe restaurant open. About a year ago he
sold and the early reports on the restaurant since the change were not
very possitive. This was my first visit under the new owners.
Arriving
about 11:30, I was surprised to find no line for ordering. Friday has long
been a popular day because of the pork rib special. It is currently 4 large
ribs served with fries, bread, pickle, and regular drink for $12.69. The
counter service was polite and the food looked and tasted much like it
had when the White's operated the restaurant.
Much
like before, the meat came heavily slathered in BBQ sauce. I would have
enjoyed my meal more if I had requested that they serve it without sauce.
It is a particularly ketchup like sauce and I like the hot version with
fries. The fries are standard crinkle cut, not crispy. They need a topping.
By
11:45 the line waiting to order led nearly to the door.
Following
lunch, I drove through downtown Olathe. I worked in Olathe for 30 years
and lived there for 16 years, but spend little time there these days and
it has been three years since I was downtown. The area looks quite a bit
different with a new courthouse and library.
The
principle reason for visiting Olathe today was to revisit the museum across
from the Kansas School for the Deaf. I first visited the museum in 2007,
but in 2017 the name was changed to Museum of Deaf History, Arts &
Culture. The museum is devoted to advancing and preserving knowledge about
deaf people, their languages, cultures, and experiences in the United States
and around the world.
We
had supper at Quentin's BBQ & Sides which opened just over 2 years
ago in Bonner Springs, Kansas. It one of several places sharing an old
building called Olde Mill Properties. You order at a counter outside and
then can eat anywhere in the building. They give you an old license plate
to set at your table and they use it to find you when the food is ready.
We
ordered a 1/4 pound each of burnt ends, sliced brisket, jalapeno cheddar
sausage, a half slab of pork ribs and an order of onion rings. After we
sat down, I noticed that the ribs had been left off the order, and returned
outside to order them again and pay for them.
The
meats were all reasonably good, with the beef burnt ends being the only
ones I would make a point of getting again. The sausage had very little
flavor. The other meats all had a decent flavor from the smoking. The ribs
were somewhat tough. The onion rings were OK.
There
were three sauces in squeeze bottles on the table: sweet, hot and original.
All were thin, slightly tangy and similar to each other.
The
far end of the building contains a private club - The Fuel House, which
calls itself an Automotive Country Club. Membership includes vehicle storage,
lounge, cigar lounge, gum, indoor car was and a members work area with
a lift.
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Rib special
Museum of Deaf History, Arts & Culture
Quentin's BBQ & Sides
The Fuel House
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Tuesday
- April 16, 2024: I drove to the Lawrence Visitors Center on Mass in
downtown Lawrence, Kansas to pick up printed guides to next month's Big
Kansas Road Trip.
Before
leaving the neighborhood, I shopped at Weaver's Department Store, a rare
locally owned department store which has been in business since 1857. I
specifically went looking for Kansas Jayhawk apparel and found a fairly
large selection that had different items than I am used to seeing at area
stores. Unfortunately the nicer apparel ran $115 to $160, much like other
stores. The nice thing was finding one rack of clearance items which were
a little more reasonable.
Lunch
was at Big Mill, a few blocks away. I had "The Lafayette," a Detroit style
Coney Island with fries. Although it was a proper coney (a hot dog with
chili, onion and mustard), it had only a little sauce and the sauce has
less taste than I remember from the first time, two years ago. The French
fries were covered with something white. I'm not sure what it was, but
didn't improve them.
Next
stop was the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics on the University of
Kansas west campus. It was an extremely windy day and a crew was working
on the glass front door which broke earlier in the wind. Our page devoted
to the institute is all pictures from 2006 and I want to freshen up the
page. It actually look like most of the exhibits are unchanged, though
today it was set up for a presentation by journalist Bill Kurtis this evening.
Since his passing in 2021, there are no longer cards by the guest register
to leave a message for the Senator.
Also
on the west side of Lawrence, I took a few photos at the 1858 stone Grover
barn. For a number of years the building housed Lawrence Fire Station No.
4, but now appears to be just used for municipal storage. The building
is attractive and was used by formerly enslaved people on their passage
with John Brown, but there is little to do here but take a couple of photos.
On
the east side of Lawrence, I've long wanted to visit the Haskell Cultural
Center and Museum on the campus of Haskell Indian Nations University. The
center's operating grant expired five years ago and I just learned that
it is open again. The museum tells the tragic and often infuriating story
of the school's continuing journey from United States Indian Industrial
Training School, to Haskell Institute. Haskell Indian Junior College and
more recently the University. So much have that time was devoted to removing
native children from their families and assimilating them in white America.
My
final stop was at Haskell Indian Nations University cemetery where 103
students are buried. Since my last visit, the fence has been padlocked
and also roped off to keep visitors even farther from the cemetery.
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The Lafayette
Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics
Letters from Native Americans trying to recover their children
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Friday
- April 19, 2024: I had a second meal at Wolfepack BBQ in Kansas City,
Missouri. This time I had smoked wings (3 for $10) and Thai peanut sweet
potato salad. The wings were nicely smoky and finishing in the fryer gave
the skin a nice texture. After consulting with the server I went Buffalo
sauce and I was with the dish. It is a special, rather than on the menu,
but they have been available both times I have dined there.
I
only had three bites of the sweet potato. It was served cold and the sweet
potato was either uncooked or very slightly cooked. The potato was not
at all tender and the flavor did not appeal to me. Still struggling to
find a go to side dish here.
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Jumbo wings |
Sunday
- April 21, 2024: We have a new page devoted to Family
Food Store in Sawyer, Kansas. It is a combination bakery, deli, specialty
food store operated by the Wolf family, who are members of the Old German
Baptist Brethren.
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Thursday
- April 25, 2024: I made a second visit to Johnny's
BBQ in Olathe, Kansas since the new owners took over a year ago. This
time I had my other favorite item from the previous item. A half chicken
dinner with French fries, coleslaw & baked beans for $16.99. I though
the chicken pieces were a little smaller than before and a little dryer.
They still finish the smoked chicken in the deep fryer and I think those
who enjoyed it when the White family had Johnny's will still enjoy it.
I ordered it with the sauce on the side, which I receomend everyone do,
since otherwise the meats come with a lot of sauce.
The
BBQ beans have a fair amount of smoked meat mixed in with them.
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Half smoked chicken |
Saturday
- April 27, 2024: We went with family to Barnyard Babies Family Festival
at the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame in Bonner Springs,
Kansas. I hadn't been there since 2007, but having a grandchild to take
made today sound like a good day to go.
Admission
for the event was $10 for adults & $5 over 2 years old. It included
all the buildings (though it looked like there were very few people going
to the Hall of Fame or museum. Farm Town USA was busy with baby chicks,
live bee displays and products for sale. Many area businesses and farms
brought exhibits, farm animals, and food trucks. Unless you have a significant
interest in agriculture, the regular exhibits are a bit dry, but this was
a fun event.
Admission
included rides on hay wagons a and narrow gauge train. The wait to ride
the train was a half hour or longer.
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Barnyard Babies Family Festival
![My granddaughter with lambs](blog240427bl.JPG)
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Tuesday
- April 30, 2024: I returned to Olathe to have lunch at Vader's Bar
& Deli. When I worked in Olathe, this restaurant was in my regular
mix, but I hadn't been back in about 4 years. This Kansas State University
bar was Dub V's when I first dined there in 2018. The owner was an attorney
who didn't want his name associated with a bar. After Willie Vader sold
the business to his son, the was free to put his name on the building.
My
favorite dish from before was the chili dog, but Vader's has removed all
the specialty hot dogs from the menu. A little at a loss for what to get,
I went with the Patty Melt, which is described as 6 ounce fresh ground
chuck cooked medium and served with grilled onions, swiss & American
and homemade 1000 Island on either grilled sourdough or rye. I was surprised
at how good it was, one of the best burgers I have had in metropolitan
Kansas City. Cooked just right, with a nice combination of toppings and
I thought the mild rye bread worked perfectly.
The
burger came with the choice of a side for $13.99. I'm not usually a fan
of seasoned fries, but these were great!
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Vader's Bar & Deli
Vader's Patty Melt
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