Thursday, September 3, 2009
This ART is for you
Art, you would love every inch of the Q hotel (formerly know as the Quarterage hotel). From the sheer curtains that divides the lobby form internet/business center to every piece of furniture, carpet, wall paper, and light fixtures. Plus on top of all that the hotel is committed to going "green". You and I must come here come someday soon and check out the Q and KC. A real girls get away. MOM
BOBO's Drive In
EAT here at Bobo's, what a name. You either have to laugh or roll your eyes when you say it. But this was the first true drive in on our trip and we finally found it.
This was the place that I was looking forward to the most and it was almost everything that I expected. Yeah, almost. Guy said they were famous for the Spanish burger and their apple pie and I would agree. Everything else was Sonic grade and not so memorable. When we first pulled in it was a bit confusing on how we were supposed to order and be served. We pulled in to a long line of cars that were covered by an awning and has striped parking slots but no speakers or anything only a giant menu board that could be seen by all cars.
We were sitting in our spot trying to figure out what to do when suddenly a car hop walked up to us and put a plastic card with a number on it under our windshield wiper. I have no idea how they keep up with who is coming or going or how long they have been there but somehow they do. She asked us for our order and we ordered the daily special of a pork sandwich fries and a coke. We also ordered the Spanish burger, onion rings a root beer float and apple pie. When they give it to you it is on a tray that his hooked to your window like they did in the old days. No paper bags here! That is unless you order take out.
This was the place that I was looking forward to the most and it was almost everything that I expected. Yeah, almost. Guy said they were famous for the Spanish burger and their apple pie and I would agree. Everything else was Sonic grade and not so memorable. When we first pulled in it was a bit confusing on how we were supposed to order and be served. We pulled in to a long line of cars that were covered by an awning and has striped parking slots but no speakers or anything only a giant menu board that could be seen by all cars.
While we were waiting for our food I went snooping in the enclosed seating area:
And I found proof that Guy had actually been there. Yes he signed their light shade:
The pork sandwich was fine but it is really nothing to write home about nor could you really tell it was pork. The breading was so strong and the pork was so thin that there was no greasiness at all and the pork flavor was totally overpowered. You could fake out your Kosher friends and say "here eat this it tastes just like chicken" then when the chow down tell them "AH HAHAHA It's PORK. Got you!". OK maybe that would be a great trick but not such a nice one after all.
One of the stars of the show, the Spanish burger, was a plain ole burger with a very unique tomato based sauce that really made it taste great. Not hot just good. And it was just a burger onions, pickles, and the sauce on a bun but it was great. The other star was the apple pie. Truly home made with fresh apples and served on a real plate with a real metal fork while everything else was in paper and plastic. But it deserved the special treatment it was something special itself.
Would we go to BoBo's again? Yes.
If you get the chance to touch down in Topeka get to BoBo's and have a Spanish burger and buy a whole pie and bring us a slice or two.
EAT
Brint's Diner
Our first morning in Kansas (on this trip that is) we enjoyed the hotel it was one of those apartment type with a stove and fridge and all. Or at least I did. EAT was feeling all nostalgic for the shabby sheik of the Builtmore. Spend more money get a better place and she likes the decaying best of 60's construction, go figure. We made it to Brint's by 9 and it is just about what you would expect to see as the picture in the encyclopedia under “diner”.
Nothing unique on the menu so I went for the #4 which was 2 eggs poached, corned beef, hash browns, toast, and OJ. EAT got 1 egg over easy, bacon, hash browns, and dry whole wheat toast (her favorite, I think it reminds her of her infancy chewing Melba toast. Now THAT's comfort food), coffee and diet coke caffeine junkie that she is. We also ordered a ½ order of their biscuits and gravy just to try as that is their signature dish.
This place had on the front of their menu a description of when Guy visited them. They are actually in his book and were filmed before the DDD show actually started airing. That means they were one of the first. And for good reason. This was a great diner. All the decor was there down to the regulars and the characters.
The standout work done by the Chef were the eggs. The over-easy were perfectly done with a gentle hand and not over cooked in any way. The poached were also exactly right deep water poached (no circle egg gizmos here) to exactly the right done-ness. Poached eggs are normally served in a separate cup and one of my pet peeves is sometimes the cook will slop water into the cup and the eggs end up sitting in a little puddle. This cook did a great job of draining the eggs as there was no water in the cup. Bravo.
The biscuits were light and the gravy was great with the appropriate amount of sausage bits in it. I am afraid to say that they beat out “The Diner” on this one. But they lose out on the hash browns. Brint's hash browns had a mushy greasy consistency and while they had brown bits on the outside they appeared to be actually undercooked a tiny little bit. The bacon was good and crispy but the corned beef hash was canned.
But we enjoyed everything and in fact when we were winding down in a valiant act of kindness I pulled the remaining hash browns out of EAT's range saying “you have to save room we have a long day”. She agreed with me but kept stabbing her fork at this and that and taking little nibbles. It's going to be a long day.
Would we go back? Yes. For either more biscuits and gravy or to check out their lunch.
Nothing unique on the menu so I went for the #4 which was 2 eggs poached, corned beef, hash browns, toast, and OJ. EAT got 1 egg over easy, bacon, hash browns, and dry whole wheat toast (her favorite, I think it reminds her of her infancy chewing Melba toast. Now THAT's comfort food), coffee and diet coke caffeine junkie that she is. We also ordered a ½ order of their biscuits and gravy just to try as that is their signature dish.
This place had on the front of their menu a description of when Guy visited them. They are actually in his book and were filmed before the DDD show actually started airing. That means they were one of the first. And for good reason. This was a great diner. All the decor was there down to the regulars and the characters.
The biscuits were light and the gravy was great with the appropriate amount of sausage bits in it. I am afraid to say that they beat out “The Diner” on this one. But they lose out on the hash browns. Brint's hash browns had a mushy greasy consistency and while they had brown bits on the outside they appeared to be actually undercooked a tiny little bit. The bacon was good and crispy but the corned beef hash was canned.
But we enjoyed everything and in fact when we were winding down in a valiant act of kindness I pulled the remaining hash browns out of EAT's range saying “you have to save room we have a long day”. She agreed with me but kept stabbing her fork at this and that and taking little nibbles. It's going to be a long day.
Would we go back? Yes. For either more biscuits and gravy or to check out their lunch.
Savute's Italian Ristorante
So we begin the Kansas edition by visiting Savute's.
This restaurant was not on Guy's list. Perhaps he just has not got around to it yet because it certainly qualifies. It is billed as Wichita's oldest Italian restaurant it was opened in 1944 by Rose and Tom Simone and was bought by Rosie's brother and wife John and Mary Savute in 1950. Defiantly a family business. The family is still involved in fact I believe we had daughter Mattie Savute in the dining room on our trip.
Savute's has retained much of the 1940's charm with cheesy big band music in the background (don't get me wrong I'm a big fan of big band and actually play in one but I have heard Dino sing “When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie. one too many times) and a most pronounced World War 2 south pacific decor ever. The original guy must have been a pilot because there is an airplane theme all over. In fact the menu's back page is devoted to airplane trivia and a reproduction of the “Instrument of Surrender” signed of behalf emperor of Japan and the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers General Douglas Mac Arthur. That is on every menu, every day, for 60 years, these people are seriously stuck in the '40's!
The menu has all the usual suspects that you expect at an Italian restaurant, spaghetti with all the trimmings, ravioli, lasagne, but they also have a few surprises like a dish of anchovies for an appetizer, and beef scallopini, A La Provolone. EAT and I decided that given the events of the day before discretion is the better part of valor so we decided to basically split a single full course meal.
We got a combo platter of lasagne, spaghetti and meat ball, and beef scallopini for our main dish, a plate of anchovies and a standard garden salad for our salad, and an antipasto plate as the appetizer., then we finished it off with a tiramisu.
The salad had a home made Italian dressing on it that actually was a little sweet and good not to vinegary and not too oily. The antipasto plate was a good attempt given that these people have to shop in Wichita and I doubt they have much access to authentic cheeses and sausages. It seemed they just threw a bunch of stuff that they thought was exotic on the plate and put a few toothpicks with paper Italian flag in it. But what the heck it worked out well to pair with the anchovies. They probably know that people in Wichita won't eat Gorgonzola.
I did find that the menu had been corrupted with some local food like Kansas Rib-Eye steak and believe it or not fried chicken. But I cut them some slack because after 60 years they have to play to the local palate a little bit.
The tiramisu was not exciting, not the worst but not the best. It was a little strange that they managed to cut it in a wedge like a cake.
But I found the combo platter to the be the better features. Their sauce was a little bit sweet not like most modern restaurant sauces you get these days where they try to drive you out of our seat with the spices. It gave me a hint of “Chef Boyardee” canned sauce but is was obviously freshly made from an old recipe. I am thinking that this is just about what the Italian-American palate wanted in a spaghetti sauce in the 1940's. I think it us modern people who have changed our opinion of what a spaghetti sauce should be. So I give their sauce a thumbs up. And the meat ball was superb! Great seasoning and very finely ground. My only complaint there was that there was only one and I had to split it with EAT who wouldn't give up even a little sliver of her half!
The lasagne was good with the same sauce and a very good helping of good quality ricotta cheese. No complaints there. But the surprise was the beef scallopini. It is some low grade cuts of meat beaten into submission to about 3/16 of an inch thick and fast grilled on a flat top with again the sauce and vegetables and a glob of mozzarella. When I first bit into it I came across a flavor that took me quite a while to recognize, it was celery! The beef is truly something special.
Would we go back to Savute's? I would. I would like to try a full plate of spaghetti with extra meat balls. EAT on the other hand would not. She thought that for the money spent there was little delight. For the flavors she got she could do better all by herself at home. A split vote.
This restaurant was not on Guy's list. Perhaps he just has not got around to it yet because it certainly qualifies. It is billed as Wichita's oldest Italian restaurant it was opened in 1944 by Rose and Tom Simone and was bought by Rosie's brother and wife John and Mary Savute in 1950. Defiantly a family business. The family is still involved in fact I believe we had daughter Mattie Savute in the dining room on our trip.
Savute's has retained much of the 1940's charm with cheesy big band music in the background (don't get me wrong I'm a big fan of big band and actually play in one but I have heard Dino sing “When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie. one too many times) and a most pronounced World War 2 south pacific decor ever. The original guy must have been a pilot because there is an airplane theme all over. In fact the menu's back page is devoted to airplane trivia and a reproduction of the “Instrument of Surrender” signed of behalf emperor of Japan and the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers General Douglas Mac Arthur. That is on every menu, every day, for 60 years, these people are seriously stuck in the '40's!
The menu has all the usual suspects that you expect at an Italian restaurant, spaghetti with all the trimmings, ravioli, lasagne, but they also have a few surprises like a dish of anchovies for an appetizer, and beef scallopini, A La Provolone. EAT and I decided that given the events of the day before discretion is the better part of valor so we decided to basically split a single full course meal.
We got a combo platter of lasagne, spaghetti and meat ball, and beef scallopini for our main dish, a plate of anchovies and a standard garden salad for our salad, and an antipasto plate as the appetizer., then we finished it off with a tiramisu.
The salad had a home made Italian dressing on it that actually was a little sweet and good not to vinegary and not too oily. The antipasto plate was a good attempt given that these people have to shop in Wichita and I doubt they have much access to authentic cheeses and sausages. It seemed they just threw a bunch of stuff that they thought was exotic on the plate and put a few toothpicks with paper Italian flag in it. But what the heck it worked out well to pair with the anchovies. They probably know that people in Wichita won't eat Gorgonzola.
I did find that the menu had been corrupted with some local food like Kansas Rib-Eye steak and believe it or not fried chicken. But I cut them some slack because after 60 years they have to play to the local palate a little bit.
The tiramisu was not exciting, not the worst but not the best. It was a little strange that they managed to cut it in a wedge like a cake.
But I found the combo platter to the be the better features. Their sauce was a little bit sweet not like most modern restaurant sauces you get these days where they try to drive you out of our seat with the spices. It gave me a hint of “Chef Boyardee” canned sauce but is was obviously freshly made from an old recipe. I am thinking that this is just about what the Italian-American palate wanted in a spaghetti sauce in the 1940's. I think it us modern people who have changed our opinion of what a spaghetti sauce should be. So I give their sauce a thumbs up. And the meat ball was superb! Great seasoning and very finely ground. My only complaint there was that there was only one and I had to split it with EAT who wouldn't give up even a little sliver of her half!
The lasagne was good with the same sauce and a very good helping of good quality ricotta cheese. No complaints there. But the surprise was the beef scallopini. It is some low grade cuts of meat beaten into submission to about 3/16 of an inch thick and fast grilled on a flat top with again the sauce and vegetables and a glob of mozzarella. When I first bit into it I came across a flavor that took me quite a while to recognize, it was celery! The beef is truly something special.
Would we go back to Savute's? I would. I would like to try a full plate of spaghetti with extra meat balls. EAT on the other hand would not. She thought that for the money spent there was little delight. For the flavors she got she could do better all by herself at home. A split vote.
The things I see in the waiting room
EAT here. Here are some pictures of things that caught my eye during the car ride. SET has told you that I'm left brain and in a waiting room I would notice the colors and shapes and design, here are things that I made Set pull over for. A windmill on a Oklahoma farm, flowers along the roadside in Kansas. I especially like the bees on the purple thistles, the yellow sunflowers against a mid afternoon sky in August. Vote for your favorite.
And I didn't flip the truck over after all.
Mama E's afterthought
Ok we were not being totally upfront about our breakfast yesterday. We actually took leftovers from Mama E's because we felt compelled to "clean our plate" as to not make them feel bad. With everything else we got desserts with our meals. I got a slice of lemon pound cake and EAT got a slice of sweet potato pie. Let me tell you these guys know their sugar. The cake and pie were sweet, sweet, sweet! There was so much sugar that ambulances should carry a slice as a treatment for insulin shock:
"This patitent is in insulin shock, administer a half a slice of the sweet potato pie--- STAT"
Later after transporting to the hospital.
"But doctor we tried to keep the pie away from him but he gobbled the whole piece when we looked away.". Doctor, "That's alright don't worry we will just put him in intensive care and monitor his blood sugar levels until he stabilizes. But please watch that pie around the patients it's powerful stuff!".
Yes they were sweet but the sweet potato actually tastes like potato. Normally sweet potato tastes like pumpkin pie to me. And the lemon pound had little flakes of lemon in it to make it taste bright and lively in all the sweetness.
So would we go back to Mama E's? Yes, to get a pie.
"This patitent is in insulin shock, administer a half a slice of the sweet potato pie--- STAT"
Later after transporting to the hospital.
"But doctor we tried to keep the pie away from him but he gobbled the whole piece when we looked away.". Doctor, "That's alright don't worry we will just put him in intensive care and monitor his blood sugar levels until he stabilizes. But please watch that pie around the patients it's powerful stuff!".
Yes they were sweet but the sweet potato actually tastes like potato. Normally sweet potato tastes like pumpkin pie to me. And the lemon pound had little flakes of lemon in it to make it taste bright and lively in all the sweetness.
So would we go back to Mama E's? Yes, to get a pie.
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