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

Des Moines, Iowa

This past July, I wandered about the greater Des Moines Iowa metroplex. The metro is made up of several cities along I35 and I80 that all converge around the capital city of Des Moines. I stayed in a couple different hotels, drove around several popular areas, toured shopping districts, hang outs and (of course) restaurants. 😉

This city lies smack dab in the middle of Iowa. The population of the greater metro is around 700,000.

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#GoogleLocalGuide

SHOPPING: the Des Moines metro boasts several indoor malls: Jordan Creek Town Center (newest, biggest and best), Valley West Mall (used to be awesome) and Merle Hay mall (was cool in the 1970s). All three are still in operation. There are also multiple shopping districts around. These include retail, hotels, restaurants and even apartments (i.e. West Glen Town Center).

Jordan Creek

Valley West

Merle Hay

ENTERTAINMENT: DesMoines has no major league teams, but a ton of minor and club teams to watch (baseball, soccer, arena football, hockey, etc…). They host major tournaments for several sports.

Des Moines boasts a beautiful riverwalk, a biodome, a science center, several theaters, a thriving arts scene, a plethora of public parks (that includes the nation’s largest skate park) and even an amusement/water park called Adventureland.

As for me, I spent my time at the popular Smash Park. This large facility is a bar, restaurant and entertainment venue in the city of West Des Moines. It boasts many pickleball courts, as well as bocce ball, darts, cornhole, etc… They host gatherings, leagues and tournaments year round.

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Smash Park: pickleball, cornhole, darts, arcade games, bocceball, board games, giant Jenga and Connect 4 all built around a bar and restaurant.

DINING: Classic, local restaurant chains, like B’Bops (burgers, fries) and Tasty Tacos (Tex Mex fast food) can be found all over the cities.

Several local eateries have been making waves statewide and even nationally. Zombie Burger (2 locations) with their “Walking Ched” (a maccy cheesy burger with 2 breaded and fried mac and cheese cuts making up the bun. Also Fong’s Pizza (2 locations) with their Crab Rangoon pizza and Dragon Balls (cream cheese and jalepeno stuffed inside chicken wrapped in bacon)

Zombie Burger’s Walking Ched. It’s supposed to have a small serving of mac & cheese on it too, but I ate it separately (too messy)

Fong’s famous Crab Rangoon Pizza

Fong’s Dragon Balls

With low housing costs, growing industries and a growing arts and dining scene, people are flocking to Des Moines. If you’re looking for a new place to transplant to, or even just want to take a weekend vacation and explore; follow my advice and check out Des Moines. You won’t be disappointed!

#NatsJourneys #WanderingWednesdays #TastyTravels #ExploreYourCity #DesMoinesIA #CulinaryAdventures #HighlyRecommended

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

Chicken Strip Sauces and Dips

Since I moved to KC, I have seen lots of different chicken places come into the metro. Several chains from the south expanding their reach northwards. Each chain and local is vying for dominance. An important piece of this battle for chicken champion is the sauce.

Each establishment has a signature sauce for dipping your chicken strips/fingers/tenders in. For this piece, I gathered nine different sauces from popular KC metro chicken joints.

The contenders are:

Chick-fil-A sauce: Pre packaged. Savory. BBQ, mustard and garlic come through strongly here. The BBQ flavor is unique to the sauces I reviewed. 9 (side note: their Polynesian sauce is also really good)

Church’s Purple Pepper: Pre packaged. Sweet and spicy. A pretty purple color. It’s strongly sweet at first, but has a spicey burn at the end. 7

KFC’s Finger Lickin’ Good sauce: Savory. A unique mixture of spices. I taste the onion powder stronger than any other flavor. Nigh overwhelming. 2

Raising Cane’s sauce: Made fresh in store. Savory. The mustard and pepper stick out in this sauce. 8

Slim Chickens’ original Slim sauce: Out of the 17 options currently available at Slim Chickens, I choose their original sauce. Made fresh in store. A nice, sweet, balanced sauce that would go good as a dip for many foods. 10

Strip’s Secret sauce: Made fresh in house. Savory with a touch of sweetness. 8

Zax: Pre packaged. Savory. Vinegar and pepper stand out in this one. 7

S’awesome sauce: A decent dipping sauce that has hot sauce mixed into it. Not too spicy, but leaves a distinct bite at the end. 5

McDonald’s Signature sauce: A good, savory dip for their buttermilk chicken strips. 7

And the winner for best sauce is…..

What do you think? Have you tried all these sauces, and what is your favorite? Let me know in the comments below! 🙂

#CulinaryAdventures #KCfoodie #SlimChickens #ChickfilA #Strips #ChurchesChicken #RaisingCanes #Zaxbys #KFC #McDonalds #Wendys