Red Robin

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My visit to Red Robin in Wichita was an extra special one for me as the #FoodieBuddy joining me was my nephew, Griff (the Wichita Donut Kid).

We went to the Red Robin location in northeastern Wichita off of 13th street north.

#GoogleLocalGuide

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The interior was nice. Lots of decorations to look at. The lighting was nice. We found a booth and our waitress, Whitney, arrived promptly. Whitney brought us menus, water and our first serving of bottomless steak fries. She answered all my questions and checked on us often. Excellent service!

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  Bottomless Steak Fries

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  Pretzel Bites

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  Fried Pickle Nickels

The appetizers

The appetizer round started early with a free basket of steak fries. The fries at Red Robin are unlimited. They were served with ranch and campfire sauce (a bbq mayo blend).

The fries are thick cut steak fries with a nice seasoning on them. The ranch was ok, but the campire sauce was the standout hit of the appetizer round.

The Pretzel Bites were pretty decent, but the cheese sauce was only average. Perhaps I had my hopes set too high, but I was expecting a good beer cheese dip for the pretzels. Maybe I just spent too much time at German restaurants this summer.

The Fried Pickle Nickles were average. They went well with ranch. Griff liked dipping them in the Campfire sauce. Granted, Griff dipped everything in the Campfire sauce. I think it’s safe to say the Campfire sauce was Griff’s favorite part of this culinary adventure.

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Royal Red Robin Burger

The appetizers (and bottomless steak fries) really filled us up, so we just ordered one burger to share. The Royal Red Robin Burger was a nice, thick patty with american cheese, bacon, tomato, lettuce, mayo and a fried egg on a sesame seed bun.

The most satisfying part was slicing the burger in half and watching the yolk run down the burger. It was a good bacon cheeseburger. Griff was a bit jealous that my half ended up with more egg yolk on it. Delicious, but messy.

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Cinnamon Sugar Doh! Rings

For dessert, we tried the tower of cinnamin sugar mini donuts (small size). It came with two dips: chocolate (Griff’s fav) and caramel (my fav). I was a big fan of this, but Griff was unimpressed. I guess it takes something a little more to impress the #WichitaDonutKid.

The staff at this location definitely made this experience a good one for both me and my nephew. We were very well taken care of while we enjoyed some quality eats. I recomend the Royal Red Robin Burger, and as for Griff, he absolutely recommends the Campfire sauce. Until next time, happy eating! 😁

#NatsJourneys #KCFoodie #CulinaryAdventures #ExploreYourCity #WichitaKS #Foodie #FoodieBuddy #FoodieFriday #WichitaDonutKid #RedRobin #Recommended

Prost: authentic German dining in Wichita, KS

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Prost 2721 East Central Avenue #102 Wichita, KS 67214

Prost is a restaurant that serves traditional German food and lots of Bier. It is located inside Revolutsia; a unique shopping district built out of old shipping containers.

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On left is just inside the door. The Bier stein wall is featured. On the right is looking up the stairs to the extra seating and gift shop.

The interior of Prost is made up of 2 shipping containers stacked on each other. The upstairs has extra seating and even a small gift shop and the downstairs is the restaurant/bier hall. It really looks and feels like you’re in Germany.

We have a good deal of German in my family’s history. My elder sister was even born there. My foodie buddies and I (me, my sister Hilary and my nephew Griff) ordered a variety of dishes in order to try a lot of flavors. Between the 3 of us we all got to try quite a few authentic German dishes.

Brotzeit Teller: platter of assorted meats and cheeses, radishes, dill pickles, bread and pretzel with a side of mustard and butter.

The Brotzeit Teller was a charcuterie platter. Several meats, cheeses, pickles, bread and a big pretzel. I ordered a side of Käse to go with it as German mustards are usually too strong for my tastebuds.

Hilary was the only one to eat the Leberwurst as Griff and I do not like the taste of liver. The Brotzeit Teller was OK, but not really all that impressive. We didn’t get all the way through it before the entrees arrived.

Jagerschnitzel: breaded and fried pork cutlet with creamy mushroom gravy served with homemade Spätzle.

Hilary ordered the Jagerschnitzel mit Spätzle. It was pretty standard as Jagerschnitzels go. Breaded pork smothered in mushroom gravy is always delicious. It was good, but didn’t really stand out from a Jagerschnitzel at any other German restaurant. The Spätzle was…..Spätzle. Spätzle is egg noodles. Bland on their own, but usually come in a variety of flavors (cheese, garlic herb, etc…). This one of course shared the mushroom gravy with the schnitzel. In general, most German food (like Spätzle) is delicious, heavy and filling.

Knockwurst mit Kartoffeln Salat und warm red cabbage

I ordered the Knockwurst (beef with garlic sausage) on a roll. It was a good Knockwurst. I know this meal looks simple, but it was packed with all the German flavors I was craving at the time. Since I plan on doing a series of German restaurant reviews, I chose wurst to be main dish I review. Wurst should be standard fare at German restaurants and they are cheaper than other traditional dishes likes Schnitzels.

It came with Kartoffeln Salat (German potato salad) and a warm red cabbage known as Rotkohl (or Blaukraut, depending what part of Germany you are from). I had seen the warm red cabbage on German menus before, but I had never ordered it. I’m glad I did this time! The warm red cabbage and spices made for a delicious side dish. I will definitely order this every time I see it on a menu from now on. 🤤

Bierock

Griff ordered the Bierock with Pommes (fries) and Kartoffeln Salat. I think he was a bit nervous to try unfamiliar flavors. He knows Bierocks because his mom and grandma both make them. And what kid doesn’t like fries and potato salad? Griff mentioned that he enjoyed the potato salad, quite different from our American version of the dish.

Overall, Prost was an excellent dining experience found in a place I never would have expected. If you live in or near Wichita, KS be sure to visit Prost for authentic German cuisine!

#NatsJourneys #KCFoodie #CulinaryAdventures #ExploreYourCity #WichitaKS #Foodie #FoodieBuddy #FoodieFriday #HighlyRecommended #RestaurantReview #Prost

Chosun Korean BBQ

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Chosun Korean BBQ
12611 Metcalf Ave Overland Park, KS

This was my first ever visit to a Korean BBQ restaurant. I had been wanting to go for a long time, but the high cost is prohibitive. My #FoodieBuddy, Nesfeder, had never been to one either, so we got together and tried it out.

View from inside the front door

The dining area goes back quite a ways and seats more people than you would expect after seeing the front of the store.

We came for the BBQ experience and were seated at a table with a built in grill.

The grill in our table

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The first meat on the grill was beef brisket

You cook the meat yourself in the center of the grill. The meat cooks in just a few seconds. You are only supposed to flip it once. Once cooked, you move the meat to the edge of the grill to keep it warm.

From top going clockwise: pork belly, thinly sliced seasoned beef rib eye, unseasoned beef rib eye cap, seasoned pork shoulder.

The meat selection was good. The seasoned meats were the best. The pork belly was pretty disappointing.

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The spread. We definitely ordered too much food!

They give you a LOT of items to eat with the meat (rice, salad, kimchi, sausage, seasoned cucumber, seasoned asparagus, fish cake, etc…) and several oils and dips to use as well. We didn’t realize how many things were included with the meats, so we ordered several side dishes as well.

Mul Naengmyeon: buckwheat noodles in a cold broth with sliced beef/cucumber/radish/boiled egg

The cold noodle dish was an excellent side dish. It was flavorful and the perfect balance to the hot grilled meats. The noodles are in a big ball in the middle of the broth. They include a big pair of scissors to cut the noodles with.

Haemul Pajeon: seafood and scallion pancake with mussel/squid/shrimp

The seafood pancake (which sounds disgusting) was incredible. This was a huge surprise to me. On a sad note, the leftover pancake does not reheat well.

Steamed Egg: steamed egg custard topped with scallion

The Steamed Egg is a hot dish that comes to your table boiling. It looks weird, but it was incredibly tasty.

“I could come to Chosun and eat nothing but the side dishes and still leave full and satisfied” #NesfederNotes

Korean BBQ is really expensive, but the meal was filled with excellent flavors I rarely get the opportunity to taste. From cooking your own meat, to the variety of flavors; dining at Chosun is more than a meal, it’s an experience. A true #CulinaryAdventure

#KCFoodie #CulinaryAdventures #ExploreYourCity #OverlandParkKS #FoodieBuddy #FoodieFriday #NatApproved #HighlyRecommended

Sandwich Bowl

I first heard about (and decided to visit) Sandwich Bowl when I saw an advertisement about their pickle sandwiches. The idea of replacing the bread on a sandwich with a hollowed out pickle intrigued me.

I had heard of these so called “picklewiches” before and had wanted to try them. Now a local establishment (ok, ok…an establishment a couple towns over from where I live) had decided to offer them for a limited time. I knew this was my chance!

A club picklewich

The picklewich was cut in half for easier eating

Bacon and turkey falling out the side

Several of their cold sandwiches were offered as picklewiches. I chose the club sandwich: ham, turkey, bacon, white cheddar, lettuce and tomato. As you can see by the pics, they really stuffed the meat and cheese into it. The bacon was so abundant it began to fall out side of the hollowed out pickle bun before I even took a bite.

The club picklewich was incredibly messy, but absolutely delicious! I was afraid the hollowed out pickle bun would override the other flavors, but thankfully I was wrong. It was a perfectly balanced sandwich.

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Beef stew

I ordered the soup of the day, beef stew, as a side. It was warm and tasty. A perfect side to go with my cold picklewich. Unfortunately it was mostly vegetables: potato, carrot, celery Only two pieces of beef were included in my cup of soup.

Better Than Sex cake

For dessert I ordered a piece of “Better Than Sex” cake. It was a chocolate cake base with fudge and chocolate chips and a whipped frosting and caramel. Definitely deliciously decadent, but I think the name is false advertising. 🤷‍♂️😂

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Interior decor

My culinary adventure to Sandwich Bowl in Lawrence was a pleasant experience. The staff was very friendly, the decor was interesting and the food was quite good. They had several other sandwiches that I would like to try, so I’ll be stopping by here again the next time I come through Lawrence, KS. Until next time “Happy Dining”!

#KCFoodie #CulinaryAdventures #ExploreYourCity #LawrenceKS #FoodieFridays #RestaurantReview #SaladBowl #NatApproved #Recommended

The Old Spaghetti Factory

I (and 2 of my closest #FoodieBuddies) recently visited The Old Spaghetti Factory in Wichita, KS. This location is in the northeastern part of Wichita in the Waterfront business center off East 13th Street North and North Webb Road. The Waterfront is home to lots of businesses and more good restaurants like Bonefish Grill, PF Chang’s and several others.

• North Waterfront Parkway

Bar dining room

As you enter the restaurant there is a beautifully decorated waiting area that looks out into the bar dining room. There are several dining rooms here including a large one that has a trolley car inside of it that you can dine in.

The restaurant is ornately designed with stained glass, old fashioned seats and chandelier lighting. It looks really fancy. We dined in a booth seated high above the floor with a horizontal metal bar to rest your feet on. Our booth even had curtains that we could close if we wanted for a private dining experience.

Regular menu

The menu was decent sized. They offered a drink menu and a lunch menu (with smaller portions) as well.

We were given fresh baked table bread and butter while we ordered drinks and looked over the menu. The bread was pretty basic. Very crumbly. I ordered a BlackBerry Italian Cream Soda in a collectable glass so I could take home a memento of my culinary adventure.

Blackberry Italian Cream Soda

Came in a collectable glass

Table bread and butter

My party all chose items from The Complete 3 Course Meal. This came with soup or salad, an entree, and a scoop of Spumoni ice cream for dessert. I ordered the soup (minstrone) and the Garlic Mizithra entree.

Minestrone

Garlic Mizithra: spaghetti with Mizithra cheese & browned butter with a delicious blend of garlic, bacon and mushrooms.

The Minstrone was decent, but not spectacular. The Garlic Mizithra; however, was absolutely amazing! It was packed with bacon crumbles and mushrooms. The browned butter coated every noodle allowing the Mizithra cheese to stick to the spaghetti.

Gourmet Jumbo Crab Ravioli: large ravioli stuffed with savory crab meat and ricotta cheese topped with a rich Pesto Alfredo sauce.

The Gourmet Jumbo Crab Ravioli was a disappointment. It had really large ravioli, but the taste was off. Perhaps it was a different kind of crab than I am accustomed to. The description said “savory” crab meat. Up to this point I had always found crab meat to be sweet. These ravioli left a fishy aftertaste. Luckily the Pesto Alfredo sauce was quite good!

Meat Lover’s Treat: Sicilian meatballs, Italian sausage and spaghetti with meat sauce.

The Meat Lover’s Treat was good. The Italian sausage was flavorful and not too spicy. The Sicilian meatballs were tasty and the meat sauce was hearty.

Spumoni

We finished off the meal with a scoop of Spumoni ice cream. Spumoni is a mix (like Neapolitan) of three ice cream flavors: cherry, chocolate and pistachio. A perfect way to top off a good meal.

Overall, The Old Spaghetti Factory made for an impressive culinary experience. There are several other recipes on the menu I want to try (spinach tortellini, spinach and cheese ravioli, etc…) so I plan on retutning some day.

The Old Spaghetti Factory rating: 92%

#KCFoodie #CulinaryAdventures #ExploreYourCity #WichitaKS #Foodie #FoodieFinds #TheOldSpaghettiFactory #Recommended #Mizithra #WichitaEats #NatsJourneys #GoogleLocalGuide

Hospital food in Wichita KS

It’s been a long time since I wrote a restaurant review blog. Now I’ll tell you why. I’ve been deep undercover doing research on hospital food in Wichita, KS. 😉

I recently spent a good deal of time in hospitals in Wichita. There are several hospitals, but Wesley and St. Francis are the biggest two. I spent time in both places trying out their food.

OK. I was in the hospitals for other reasons, but the food was the best part of those experiences (except for surviving to live awhile longer). Let’s take a look at them…

The Wesley menu. Specials change daily. Always two options for specials plus you can order anything else you want.

A simple sandwich.

Breakfast at Wesley. The pancakes are good. The turkey sausage is not. (order the pork sausage links)

Pot roast was good. Gravy was bland.

Asian chicken and rice. Not impressive.

Chicken breast with gravy, green beans, potato and bun. This was really good!

Cheeseburger! (in Wesley, not paradise) I’d order a side salad with most meals. The dessert selection is really good too.

Beef stroganoff. Decent, but not as good as my mother used to make.

The personal sausage pizza is really good (and filling)! I’d always save a slice for a midnight snack

Chicken parmesan with pesto noodles and cauliflower. Sounds impressive, but was lacking in flavor.

Ranch noddle and veggie dish was really good!

Chicken Pot Pie. A+

Meatloaf with gravy. The meatloaf was OK, not a fan of the gravy.

Chicken strips with mashed potatoes and country gravy. This was one of the best meals at Wesley. Simple yet packed with flavor. #ComfortFood

It was a mexi chicken dish with sour cream. Could’ve used more spices. Was far more bland than I expected.

I tried the salmon. Not recommended. The corn at Wesley always needed butter and pepper to make it taste decent. Luckily they provided that.

The St. Francis menu has a few pictures. It’s larger, but has no daily specials except soups.

Dinner at St. Francis differs from Wesley. Asparagus is a side item option (bonus points), but their white country gravy is disappointingly lacking in flavor.

Tried chicken tortilla soup at both hospitals. Wesleys looked and tasted homemade. Spicy and watery. St. Francis’ was thicker and full of chicken. Lots of protein in this one, and tasted great! #winnerwinnerchickentortillasoupdinner

Flat bread pizza you make yourself. I made a meat lovers supreme. This was an excellent food option!

Sesame chicken stir fry. Pretty good.

All in all, the food at both hospitals was pretty decent. I would never recommend staying in a hospital just to try the food. I’m a professional. Do not try this yourself. 😉

Foods I tried at both hospitals and the winners:

Chicken tortilla soup – St. Francis

Country gravy – Wesley

Pizza – St. Francis

Cheeseburger – Wesley

Pot roast – St. Francis

Meatloaf – Wesley

Both hospitals had their pluses and their minuses. Both had goid sized menues. Both had options within the dishes to make them to your taste (pizzas, burgers, sandwiches).

Due to the daily specials (2 for lunch, 2 for dinner), Wesley had more variety in their menu. I know St. Francis has an award winning menu, but for me, the winner was Wesley.

Have you ever been in a hospital with a unique or interesting food options? Let me know about them in the comments! 🙂

#HospitalFood #CulinaryAdventures #EveryDayisanAdventure

Larkburger review

100% grass fed, black Angus beef

Skin on French fries hand cut every day

Tomatoes fully ripened in store

Sushi grade tuna

All sauces and dressings made in store

This is Larkburger.

Larkburger is a small, regional chain hailing from Colorado. I went to the first location outside of Colorado at the Corbin Park shopping district in Overland Park, KS.

The store was clean and modern looking. It had a “bar” with individual seats with plug ins for your laptop or cell phone like seen in many mall food courts. There was a nice outside sitting area, draped with hanging lights though it was too cold to go out there.

Built in an newer, expanding shopping district called Corbin Park. The views were unimpressive as they were mostly the other stores (Dave & Busters, etc…) in the area. Larkburger sits on the far west side of Corbin Park.

The menu was a decent size, and the fountain drink selection included a few regional micro brew sodas. Prices were significantly higher than other burger joints. Larkburger is one of a growing trend of chef inspired burger chains. All the food is natural, fresh, organic and made to order. This leads to higher prices.

I ordered a well done, Larkburger (regular size $6.59) with Tillamook cheddar (cost $.79 extra) and a side of truffle & parmesan fries.

The burger was quite good. Black angus beef with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle and house sauce (a lemon aioli). A good burger with a crisp, clean taste. I don’t think it was quite worth the cost. Next time I’ll order the small size and during happy hour when it is significantly cheaper.

The truffle & parmesan fries ($2.99 for small $3.59 for regular) were absolutely delectable. Expensive but delicious! Skin on, shoestring, hand cut russet potatoes with grated parmesan, Italian parsley and black truffle sea salt.

From friendly staff to good food, I quite enjoyed this restaurant.

Total cost for my meal (including taxes) = $13.01

Individual dishes (1-10 scale):

Larkburger original = 7 Good

Truffle & parmesan fries = 8 Really Good

Restaurant score: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

#CulinaryAdventures #KCFoodie #LarkBurger #ExploreYourCity