We noticed a poster in the window which says that they now have all you can eat ribs with two sides on Wednesday evenings for $26.99. If only I was still a big eater!

With three of us we enjoyed sharing several small plates. We had Penny's Rangoon, Crispy Wings, Ka-nom-jeeb (dumplings), and Thai Garlic Riblets. All were good, with my favorites being the riblets.

We shared a Sweet Sticky Rice & Mango dessert. The sticky rice was SO good!

We watched and photographed the parade. Since it is in the middle of summer, some years there are no bands, but this year there were three: a Kansas National Guard Band, Louie Louie Band made up of Shawnee Mission West High School alumni, and the Osceola, Wisconsin High School Marching Chiefs who have traveled to Lenexa for the July 4 parade many times.

Following the parade, we made our way to the Lenexa VFW Hall for their annual BBQ. 

Community Days Parade

I decided to take a chance and drove to DeSoto. I found the parking for the event and took a shuttle bus to the Welcome Tent, but learned that all the people available for interviews & photos had left a little before. I did get a few photos. While they have reported that manufacturing began last week, it looks like there is a lot of construction remaining on the factory where this took place. There is also a large warehouse (this is the building you can see from K-10) which appears complete and there were a handful of trucks at the loading ramps.

Since I was in the area, I also photos graphed some some of the remaining structures from the old WW2 Sunflower Ammunition Plant which surrounds the property used for the EV battery plant. There was just one location, where someone came by and said that location was private property and photography is not permitted.

I also visited the 57 acre Sunflower Nature Park, a Johnson County Park wedged in between the two Panasonic facilities.

It was getting time for lunch and I checked for well reviewed restaurants in DeSoto. Everywhere was either closed on Monday or places I already knew, so I checked Eudora to the west and found a burger joint, D-dubs Bar And Grill, which moved into the former Anthony's Diner (a very goodItalian restaurant) location in 2014.

Since it is often described as a burger joint, I ordered Jesse's Double Cheddar Burger (1/2 pound burger topped with cheddar ale sauce, sliced cheddar and grilled onions). It comes with a side for $10. Although the photos I had seen didn't look that good, the online reviews had said good things about the onion rings.

The onion rings are better than they look and the Double Cheddar Burger was the best burger I have had in nearly 3 months.

The service was friendly and good. There was no notice that they charge extra for using a credit card, until the bill came. Still, I can't complain too much about paying an extra 56 cents at a place that is charging only $2 for Coke products and even offered a drink to go.

Before leaving Eudora, I photographed some of the historic downtown builldings and a few of the old churches and former churches.

Sunflower Ammunition Plant water towers
 
 
 
 
 
 

Double Cheddar Burger

The selection is more impressive than some places which call themselves car museums. Since this is a salesroom, there is no charge for visiting Wagner's Classic Cars and it is like visiting a car museum where you are allowed to touch the exhibits. 

At lunch, I revisited Quentin's BBQ & Sides which opened just over 3 years ago in Bonner Springs. We previously dined there in the spring of 2024. It is one of several places sharing an old building called Olde Mill Properties. You order at an outside counter 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. They gave me a personalized Maine license plate which says "Yummy."

I ordered the Falcon specialty sandwich. For $13.50 it is your choice of sliced brisket, chopped brisket or burnt ends on a toasted potato roll bun with a jalapeno cheddar link. For $4 more it became a combo with the choice of a side and a 20 ounce togo cup for Coke fountain products & 8 different iced teas. I got fries plus plus Fried Jalapeno Mac N Cheese Bites.

I liked everything about the food. The beef burnt ends were awesome! I'm not sure when I last had ones I enjoyed so much. The sausage and particularly the bun were also good. Friday is the one day they have crinkle cut fries and these were cooked just right, crispy on the outside with a softer interior. I assume they fry them twice or boil before frying. The rest of the week they have shoestring fries.

I had read good things about the Mac N Cheese Bites, but was a bit skeptical, but they were good as well.

There are three sauces in squeeze bottles on the table: sweet, hot and original. All are thin, slightly tangy and similar to each other. I didn't want to add sauce to the meats, but (although they didn't need it) tried some with the fries. At first I wasn't impressed with the sauce on the fries, but that was before I thought to try mixing the hot and sweet sauces. They went very well with the fries.

While crossing Wolf Creek on my way out of town, I noticed a deep ravine, almost a canyon. Walking back out on the bridge, I found rapids on both the upriver and down river sides of the bridge and took some photos and video. The angle wasn't the best for pictures, but it didn't appear there is an easy way to get better photos.

In downtown De Soto, Kansas, I took some exterior photos of the former Grandpa's Ford Garage, which is now Force of Nature Brewing. I have been wanting to try it out, but it has been closed when it would have been convenient for me to go there. There is also a neat new mural on the adjacent building, but it was blocked in part by a truck and trailer.

The final stop was a few blocks away at Steve's Meat Market, which opened in 1969. The second and third generations of the Prudden family work there today. Steve's isn't just a full service meat market and deer processor, they prepare many specialty meats, plus raw bones, cooked bones and hooves for pets.

Steve's doesn't produce as many products as they once did, but still produces bratwurst, breakfast sausage. specialty burgers and bombs. The bombs are ready to be grilled and contain items like meats, cheese, jalapenos, and pickles wrapped in bacon.

Common dining area at Olde Mill Properties
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Steve's Meat Market

The parking is a little unusual. There are limited spaces in front of the restaurant and much of that space is (understandably) handicapped parking. The majority of the lot is behind the restaurant, a whole story higher, with stairs down the hill and a walk around the restaurant.

I ordered the Bacon & Bleu (Swiss & bleu cheese crumbles, bacon, spring mix, tomato, caramelized onions on a pun bun). It is $15 including fries and I paid a $2 up charge to have parmesan garlic fries. They don't say the burger size on the menu, but it looked about 1/2 pound to me.

The menu says they cook burgers medium unless told otherwise and the server confirmed that when taking the order. This one came well done instead of medium. I was still satisfied with the burger, but decided to pull the spring mix and tomato off. It would have been nice to have more sautéed onions.

The fries were my favorite item. I tend to prefer my fries without seasoning, and the garlic & parmesan were loaded on, but were quite good.

Coke products are only $2.50 and the server was quick to replace the large glass. She also provided one to go.

On the drive to Mason Jar, I noticed a house with several skeletons in a front yard, and stopped to photograph it on the way back. 

Since it was nearby, I decided to revisit Jones BBQ on K-32. It was after 1 PM and over 90 degrees. There were no customers present and three of the staff were sitting in the outside seating area. I ordered a sausage sandwich to go and took a few photos. Their unique BBQ vending machine which I was tld was waiting on parts last October is still not working. I believe it has been broken a long time.

The exterior needs some love. Although it looked great after the TV makeover in 2018, the outside dining area (the only dining area) needs repair and sprucing up.

The sausage was still much like before. Smoky and a little spicy, course ground. It made a nice meal later.

Bacon & Bleu
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Jones BBQ