Smoke Sausage and Cheese: Not Your Typical Appetizer

this restaurant genre is The Monarch, located on the traffic circle in Delano.

The interior is spacious with plenty of seating both inside and out on the patio that faces Douglas. There is plenty of local artwork adorning the walls and the light fixtures made out of old bicycle rims are quite impressive. TVs, a pool table, and an internet juke box ensure that patrons will be able to keep themselves entertained during a night of partying.

The Monarch’s menu is small and focused, which is a nice departure from some bar and grills that offer a mind numbing array of food selections. I was also quite excited to see that the menu is built around in-house smoked meats. This allows The Monarch to offer some unique dishes,  although they do offer the obligatory Wichita restaurant appetizer, hummus.  At least it’s jazzed up with peppers and served with naan bread. The other apps include decadent items such as stuffed burnt end mushrooms, loaded sweet potato tots, and a smoked sausage and cheese tray. Sandwiches are the  focus of the main course menu, but a couple of soups and salads are available as well including a hardcore chef salad that comes with ham, brisket, turkey and duck bacon. Yes, you read that correctly, duck bacon. Calling this thing a salad probably violates some USDA guidelines, but I’m not going to turn them in for creating such a thing of beauty.

Not An Ordinary Brisket Sandwich

To start off our meal we ordered the sausage and cheese tray. I really wanted to order the stuffed ‘shrooms, but I was outvoted at our table. The tray included two types of sausage, cheddar and mozzarella cheese, and naan bread. The sausages were high quality with a good smoked flavor. I would have liked to see more exotic cheese selections, but overall it was a good appetizer. For our main dishes we were faced with several tantalizing sandwich choices, but eventually we decided on the The Monarch and Chicken Caprese. I went with a side of homemade potato chips and Steph ordered the sweet potato tots. The Monarch featured smoked brisket, sautéed onions and peppers, and provolone cheese served on a tasty baguette. The brisket was nicely done with good smoke flavor and fairly tender. Overall I really liked the sandwich, it was nice change from your typical brisket sandwich that consists of two slabs of white bread and BBQ sauce. Steph’s Caprese sandwich was an impressive combination of smoked chicken, pesto, tomatoes, and provolone. Oftentimes it is hard to keep a smoked meat like chicken moist for very long, but The Monarch did  a nice job of pulling it off. The homemade potato chips were spot on and the sweet potato tots were solid as well.

The Monarch is a nice addition to the Wichita dining scene, especially since they are one of the few places you can get good food late at night. Its unique, yet unpretentious food menu makes it an attractive place for causal American dining options. The only real issue was the fact they did not have any high chairs. I know its supposed to be a trendy bar and grill place, but you could at least have a high chair for those terrible parents such as myself who have no qualms taking their children to bars, albeit at reasonable hours of the day. Perhaps they could commission a local artists to make some out of old PBR cans?

The owners of Little Saigon have done a nice job of updating the interior with plenty of seating and a clean dining room. Unlike several of the Vietnamese restaurants in town, Little Saigon features a full service bar with daily specials.

Doughy Pork Goodness

The menu covers all the essential dishes expected at Vietnamese restaurants including several varieties of Pho, noodle dishes, and rice bowls. There are also some Chinese and Korean dishes as well as exotic smoothie flavors. On our visit one of the daily specials were steamed pork dumplings and being a person that finds it hard to pass up any pork containing food, we ordered some. For our main course I went with a Banh Mi sandwich and Steph ordered a noodle bowl with shrimp.

The pork dumplings were a doughy treat. Served with a sweet dipping sauce, they were quickly consumed. My Banh Mi was filled with thinly

The Banh Mi

sliced pork, cucumbers, cilantro and julienned carrot and was served on a generous half loaf of French bread. The meat was tender and well seasoned, while the veggies were crisp and fresh. My only complaint  was it seemed there could have been more sandwich fillings to compete with the thick loaf of bread. The noodle bowl was filled with thin rice noodles, stir fried veggies, and shrimp with crushed peanuts and a sweet and savory sauce topping it all off. The dish was simple yet satisfying, which is something that the Vietnamese cuisine excels at.

Noodle Bowl with Shrimp

Little Saigon is a solid and acceptable addition to the North Broadway dining scene. Since they are open seven days a week you can get your Vietnamese fix any time.

Don’t Worry It’s Safe To Go Inside

Everything about this place is a well calculated assault on your general expectations of what a restaurant should be. First of all, the name really has no bearing as to what goes on inside, as I saw no evidence of Jack nor anything resembling coffee on my visit. Most coffee shops have Wi-Fi and pastries, this one had an old bed frame and exposed electrical outlets. Jack’s has certainly taken the minimalist approach to interior design, which is evidenced by the concrete floor, mismatched furniture, unfinished plywood counter, non-existent light bulbs, and lack of paint. The exposed kitchen

Communal Bowl of Chips

concept leaves nothing to the imagination as everything from the generic hamburger buns to the small flat top grill is in plain sight. And in one corner sits an old bed frame and dresser. While waiting for our food, my party hypothesized as to the reasoning for having such furniture in an eating establishment. Possible explanations include: Covering up a hole in the wall, a prize for the 10,000th customer, or perhaps some type of tax loophole for a multi-purpose room. Anyway, this place is a dive and a damn good one at that. In fact it is probably the diviest dive I have had the pleasure to visit.

Our order was called in about 30 minutes prior to arrival, which is highly recommended as the large meat disks take some time to cook and the grill can only handle a few patties at a time. Don’t worry about forgetting the menu, your choices are hamburger or cheeseburger.  Upon taking a seat, a plastic bowl of communal potato chips were brought out to the table. A plastic tub of pickles and another with pickled jalapenos and carrots were also

Paper Plate Perfection

made available to us. I have to say that the  jalapeno and carrot combination was unexpected, but they proved to be tasty. When our burgers came out, I quickly understood why this place remains open. Before me was one massive cheeseburger and a bun that was woefully undersized to handle such ground beef girth. Our burgers also came with a paper plateful of grilled onions that were shared between the three of us. The only other fixings were generic bottles of ketchup and mustard. Armed only with a plastic fork, my strategy for consuming this burger was to attack the exposed flanks of meat first to get things more manageable before moving onto the bun covered section. Overall the burger was okay. It was

Tubs of Condiments

slightly overcooked and I don’t believe any seasoning was used on the patty. The two cheese slices and excellent grilled onions helped  balance out the meat. For the price this meal is hard to beat. You get copious amounts of chips, a 3/4 pound burger, and a drink all for $6.50. The pop selection varies from day to day, so be prepared to be flexible in case they are out of Pepsi Max.

For those who like to live out on the edge of the dining scene Jack’s is a place to check out. A lunch here is one of the most unique experiences in town. At this point I probably don’t need to mention it,  but they only accept cash.

The basement that houses Public is deceivingly roomy and nicely decorated. It feels like you have walked into someone’s upscale man cave.  There is a good sized bar, shuffle board table, and an area that has plush chairs and a large television.

Brisket Tacos: BBQ Meets Mexican

The menu at Public is small, but  packed full of unique offerings that utilize local food sources. Yoder Meats, Delano Bakery, and La Tradicion Tortilleria are a few of their suppliers. The appetizers include their house made pickles and black bean hummus, there are also several salads, upscale sandwiches, pizzas, and ribs. We tried to order the pickle plate, but unfortunately they were still brining, so we must wait until next time to taste the famous pickles.  For our lunch Steph went with the ultimate blue collar fusion food: brisket tacos. I decided to try the Prairie Sliders with a side of garlic and rosemary fries.

Two decent sized sliders greeted me when my plate was brought out along with an ample serving of fries. I was impressed with how delightfully juicy my burger was and upon further inspection

The Perfect Burger Plate

noticed something that I have not seen in a restaurant burger for quite some time: a nice pink center. Yes these particular burgers were perfectly cooked, something that is hard to find in this age of food borne illness hysteria. The patties had a nice supporting cast of cheese, onion, and bun that left me not wanting to add any other condiments. These were easily some of the best burgers I have had in a while. The crispy fries were good paired with the rosemary and garlic, although some the clumps of garlic were hard to stomach. The brisket

Here is What a Properly Cooked Burger Looks Like

tacos were fairly impressive in their own respect. Tender and moist brisket was piled onto two corn tortillas with cheese and cilantro on top. A nice smoky salsa was served on the side. The accompanying side of black beans was a nice change from the obligatory taco accompaniment, refried beans.

If you are in need of a cold beverage on your visit, Public has you covered. There are several signature cocktails as well as a small, but impressive list of craft beer choices.

Public has the perfect combination of atmosphere, food, and beverages that makes me wish I could live there or at least remodel my basement to resemble it. Whether you are looking for a happening place to get some dinner before hitting the town,  a place to watch sporting events, or just taking the family out to lunch, this is your place. I hear they also have a very good brunch on the weekends that features unique specials.

http://www.publicoldtown.com/

Wichita has many types of food in our city but there are still plenty of cuisines we are missing. Big B’s Beef is aiming to fill one of those voids by providing a Chicago style option.  Big B’s Beef , who just recently opened, is located close to 47^th and Seneca in SW Wichita and is owned and operated by a family that came to Wichita from the Windy City. The menu has traditional Chicago style food including Italian Beef and Sausage, a Chicago dog, and Gyros. Sides include hand-cut fries, onion rings, fried mushrooms, and a soup of the day. Big B’s sources all of their meats and breads either locally or from Chicago.

The “Beef” Sandwich

On our visit we decided to try the Poor Boy, the Italian Beef Sandwich, and the Chicago Dog with a side of fries. The Poor Boy is a 100% Angus beef patty on a grilled French Hoagie with garlic butter, B’s own red sauce, grilled onions, and provolone cheese. The sandwich was delicious. The meat had great flavor but was a bit over done. The red sauce was a great compliment to the meat and a nice break from ketchup. The Italian Beef sandwich also had great flavor and the beef was extremely tender. We however made the mistake of ordering it without peppers and the sandwich appeared to be too simple. Make sure to get the peppers. The star of our lunch was the Chicago dog which comes with a side of fries. It included an all beef Vienna dog in a poppy seed bun and topped with onion, mustard, green relish, tomato wedges, a pickle spear, sport peppers, and a dash of celery salt. This was probably the best hot dog I have ever eaten. The toppings were all fresh and accentuated the flavor of the beef hot dog. The bun also was great. A trip to Big B’s Beef requires a Chicago dog. The side of fries were hand-cut and thick but could have been more crispy.

The Perfect Hot Dog

Big B’s Beef has several tables set up for dining in but also has a drive-thru and will deliver to close-by businesses. The staff was friendly and we enjoyed the young girl who was eager to take our order and double checked to make sure she asked all of the right questions. We enjoyed our meal at Big B’s Beef and now we have a much shorter drive to enjoy some authentic Chicago style food.

http://www.bigbsbeef.com/

First there is the restaurant itself that is open M-F for lunch and Th-Sat for dinner. The restaurant features an open kitchen area, so diners can sit back and watch as their food is prepared. Secondly there is the “Ultimate Dining Experience”, a high-end and intimate monthly dinner with specialty themes and menus chosen by the Chef. Lastly is the “Chef’s Table”, which is a weekly five course meal with a menu chosen by the Chef, for 16 people or less. Taste and See also offers mixology and cooking classes.

Chicken Spring Roll with Tahini Peanut Sauce

We took advantage of a very good Groupon offer recently and booked ourselves two spots for the “Chef’s Table”. Finding Taste and See is a bit tricky if you aren’t paying attention, just look for a small banner hanging above the entrance.  Once inside we were ushered into a conference room, complete with large table and office chairs. At first I wasn’t sure if we were there for dinner or to watch a powerpoint presentation, but judging by the silverware and glasses I figured we were in the right place. After everyone was accounted for and had full glasses of wine, Chef Jason came in and briefed us as to how the evening would unfold. He explained his thoughts on cooking and his personal cuisine style. He also emphasized that he liked to serve small portions with big flavors, something that he thinks is missing from many restaurants in town(I tend to agree with him). On this night we would be served a five course dinner that highlighted his Latin Fusion cuisine. While he and his sous chefs prepared our meal, we would be able to watch the action thanks to a large projection screen in the conference/dining room.

The first course was a light chicken spring roll with chives and a Thai peanut sauce with tahini and pineapple juice. The

The Real Cubano=Real Good

spring roll was good, but what really made this dish was the wonderful peanut sauce. I love traditional Thai peanut sauce and was hesitant as to how this Latin version would compare, but there was no need for alarm, because it was very good. We were left hoping that the rest of the meal would be just as creative and tasty. The second course was a small portion of the restaurant’s popular Real Cubano. This version of a Cuban sandwich was taken to 11 with the thin and crispy bread, tender pork, ham, and tangy sauce.  Any sandwich that employs multiple pork products is pretty hard to mess up in my book. The third plate was actually served in a glass, and was one of the best things I have eaten at a restaurant recently. The dish was described as a  deconstructed maki roll with sushi rice, sesame-lime

Top Dish Honors for Deconstructed Maki Roll

marinated tuna, and plantain straws. It was the simplicity of this dish that I really enjoyed. Just three high quality main ingredients packed with flavor and texture. The “main” course was a small KC Strip with chimichuri sauce served over a bed of  plantain and black bean paste. The proverbial icing on the cake was the fried egg placed on top of the steak. This dish had several different flavor profiles and textures going on, but they complemented each other nicely when eaten together. The plantain paste was slightly sweet, while the

Not Your Typical Steak Dish

chimichuri sauce offered some heat to balance it out. This was another great dish that left me wanting a whole bowl of the plantain paste. And what kind of dessert would you serve to finish off this wonderful meal? How about the rich chocolatey kind featuring Brazilian chocolate sauce and a splash of Irish creme. It was another excellent dish that featured a smooth, pudding-like chocolate sauce with bits of cookie mixed in. Marshmallow creme and some Irish creme topped off the dessert. The only complaint I had was that it was served in a tall shot glass, which did not allow the diner the ability to lick it clean.

A Decadent Finish to Dinner

Being able to watch your food prepared for you was a neat experience, even if it was a bit uneventful. I kept waiting for the chef to walk in and fly into some type of Gordon Ramsay-esque tirade, but it was not to be on this night.  After our dinner Chef Jason came back to check on us and make a little small talk. He was very personable throughout the whole evening.

Steph and I were both very impressed with our dinner at Taste and See. The service and food were both excellent, and for the price I wouldn’t expect anything less. The whole dinning service lasted about two hours, but that is not uncommon for a multi-course dinner. If you don’t want spend $55 a person for this experience, the regular restaurant is always an option.

http://www.tasteandseeict.com/

Chiang Mai has flown under my restaurant radar for quite some time, but finally at the behest of a trusted friend, we headed down south to Hillside and 31st Street to see what it was all about. Judging by the bars on the windows, which in my experience is a good indicator of food quality, I expected a good meal. Inside we were unexpectedly greeted by a spacious and tidy dining room with pleasing hues of purple paint adorning the walls.

Duck Curry: Better than Whiskey on a Cold Day

While Chiang Mai is primarily a Thai restaurant, their lunch menu (11am-3pm) encompasses highlights from several Asian countries including Vietnam and China. All lunch specials come with your choice of salad, soup or egg roll, plus dessert. One of my favorite cold weather dishes is Thai curry so I ordered a spicy bowl of the roasted duck curry (Gaeng Phet Pet Yang, $6.95). My wife went with the mild version of Mussman curry ($6.50). For our appetizers I had the soup, while my wife tried the egg roll.

Hearty Potato and Chicken Curry

The clear broth soup was simple, but satisfying. It consisted of sliced green onions, small rice noodles, and wonderful toasted garlic. The egg roll was small compared to some behemoths you can pick up at buffets around town, but it was fresh and enjoyable. The duck curry included bamboo shoots, cherry tomatoes, basil, and tender pieces of duck bathed in a wonderfully creamy and spicy sauce. Although I ordered it “spicy” it was not overpowering. This was some of the best curry I have had in Wichita. The Mussman curry was comprised of chicken, chunks of potato, and peanuts in another very good curry sauce. For dessert we each got a freshly fried round doughnut that was most excellent.

Baby Approved Doughnut

The service at Chiang Mai was superb. Our waitresses were very friendly and took an immediate liking to our 10 month old son. He had a fried doughnut in front of him before we even had drinks at our table. If you are in a hurry, ordering online from their website is an option.

http://chiangmaithaiks.com/

The “White Delight” was Certainly a Delight

Ziggy’s Pizza is tucked away in Clifton Square Village on Douglas  between Hillside and Oliver. The tiny space has been a number of restaurants over the years, but it seems that after a year in business Ziggy’s has gained itself a loyal following. If you are claustrophobic or just haven’t bathed recently beware because it can get cramped inside the cozy restaurant. We visited during a WSU game and had to wait a few minutes for a table to open up. Luckily there are TVs on literally every wall, so you won’t miss a minute of the action. Outside they do have a nice shaded patio area that would be a good option when the weather allows.

The menu at Ziggy’s is fairly straightforward,

The Bacony Delight of “Meet Me at Ziggy’s”

besides pizzas they also have salads, toasted sandwiches, and generic appetizers. The only wrinkle is that the pizzas are served in one-size-fits-all rectangular form. They offer several specialty pies, plus the option to build your own. Each pizza is decent sized and could easily feed two adults. Ziggy’s also offers a small rotating list of craft beers on tap or for those that can’t handle the hard stuff there is Bud Light as well.

On our visit we ordered the White Delight and the Meet Me at Ziggy’s. The White Delight had a cream cheese base with plenty of mozzarella, green peppers, chicken, and bacon packed on top. The crust was nicely made and crispy, while the toppings all went well together. I especially liked the cream cheese layer, there was just enough to get the flavor without making the crust soggy. Meet Me at Ziggy’s is their version of the meat lovers and it came piled high with Canadian bacon, sausage, ground beef, pepperoni, and some lovely crispy bacon.  The only thing the pizza was lacking was enough sauce. I would have liked a bit more sauce to balance out the heavy-duty meatiness.

All in all we both enjoyed our pizzas at Ziggy’s. They are a solid addition to the pizza scene and their local-neighborhood-joint feel is another plus.

Great Buy One Get One Sushi!

A small dining area and soothing classical music offer a nice change of pace compared to other Sushi places in town.

On the lunch menu at Golden Bay is a non-overwhelming list of maki rolls, some sashimi, as well as other Japanese favorites including tempura veggies, noodle bowls, and bento boxes. If you are unfamiliar with a bento box, I strongly urge you to get to the nearest Japanese restaurant and order one of these magical boxes. While looking over the sushi choices on the lunch menu I noticed that all maki rolls were buy one get one free(I believe this is true for the dinner menu as well)! With this in mind we ordered one Kamikaze roll and one other roll that I forget the name of now. In addition we ordered a chicken teriyaki meal.

The sushi came with a tasty bowl of miso soup, while the lunch box was served with a small salad with a nice Asian style dressing. Both maki rolls that we ordered were very good. This fish and shrimp tasted fresh while the rice was firm and sticky. Covered with a sweet sauce, the fried Kamikaze roll was our favorite.  The teriyaki bento box was most impressive as well. The teriyaki sauce covering the chicken was a dark and gelatinous concoction sprinkled with sesame seeds. A true work of art that melded sweet and salty flavors perfectly. The rest of the goodies included steamed rice,

Top Notch Chicken Teriyake

various tempura veggies, a California roll, a couple of dumplings, and a nice slice of orange to top off a well balanced meal.

Although Golden Bay does not look like much from the outside, inside you will find some top notch sushi and Japanese food. I still think Kanai has the best sushi in Wichita, but Golden Bay is right up there. And for all you Cali roll junkies out there they offer a 10 roll deal for $26.

Our destination this day was  Pho Hien, located at Broadway and 17th St. On a side note, this particular stretch of Broadway is a “Murder’s Row” of great local places to check out, there is everything from a classic steak joint, to Mexican food trucks, to great Vietnamese and Asian venues.

Pho-king Amazing Pho

Pho Hien has a large and open dining room with plenty of seating for busy lunch time crowds. The menu consists of Pho, Pho, and more Pho. For those of you unfamiliar, Pho is a broth based Vietnamese rice noodle soup that features a protein(typically beef of some sort), onion, and garnishes of bean sprouts, basil, lime wedges, jalapeño,  hoisin, and hot sauce. There are several different variations of meat offered with the Pho. You can choose between thinly sliced steak, brisket, tendon, tripe, as well as pork balls, and some seafood variations. Feeling a bit bold I ordered my Pho with tendon, tripe, and thinly sliced steak. Looking around I noticed that some of the bowls coming out appeared to be about the size of a 10 gallon aquarium, so I wisely went with a medium/regular bowl. Less than 5 minutes after our order was placed we had good sized bowls of steaming Pho sitting at our table.

Our service was so fast that the thinly sliced steak was still medium rare in the middle as it came to the table. The meat was tender and unlike some Pho places, had its excess fat trimmed off. Due to some nice slow braising the tendon and tripe were both tender and did not require much chewing. The Pho broth had a wonderfully rich and complex flavor. With a little Hoisin and Sriracha it was some of the best I have had in Wichita.

If you are in the mood for some authentic Pho look for further than Pho Hien. Their high quality food is Pho-king delicious (its funny if you know how to pronounce Pho)  and at $7 for a medium bowl is a solid value as well. Make sure you bring some cold hard cash though, because none of that plastic stuff is taken here.