Mr. Nice Guy's Hot Box

This article was originally published in seveneightfive magazine in August 2015.

I’ve found the perfect hangover food: a Philly from Mr. Nice Guy’s Hot Box in Oakland. After a night

out, this sandwich is what my stomach needs to recover quickly for the next day ahead.

A small, hole-in-the-wall at 2601 NE Sardou Avenue, Mr. Nice Guy’s Hot Box is just that, a little hot box. There are two large booths and one smaller one along one wall, and the ordering counter and kitchen on the other wall. That’s about it and I love it. Another local favorite.

I’ve only tried the Philly Guy once before and I got one measly bite. This time, I got the entire thing to myself, and that’s the only way to do it, I don’t like sharing. It comes with a bag of chips, but chips are chips, am I right? The sandwich is on a hoagie-style bun and overflowing with beef, peppers, onions, mushrooms and white cheese sauce. Just looking at it as the waitress brought it over I began salivating and I heard my tummy rumble. It was love at first sight, (ok second sight, but I still loved it the first time!) 

The cheesesteak is served with a fork, but I like getting my hands dirty so I threw aside the fork and ate it the way a sandwich is supposed to be enjoyed -- with my hands. The cheese melted down my fingers, but that didn’t stop me and added to the experience. I think by the end it was even running down my face. There are plenty of napkins for later, so I just dug in. The cheese melts throughout the sandwich and coats the meat and the veggies, but there’s enough that some stays on top, too. It’s ooey, gooey and messy but that’s part of the fun.

I must note that I normally order items like this without peppers or onions. The first time I tried a bite, the friend’s sandwich had both of those ingredients on it, and I found I didn’t mind them. I feel like, a true Philly Cheesesteak has to have peppers and onions on it, so I went ahead and ordered it the way it’s meant to be. The peppers were cooked just to the point where they are still tender but not crunchy, so that really helped. The flavor of the sauteed green peppers, onions and mushrooms complimented the sandwich and I was appreciative that I left them on.

After a night of drinking and eating greasy food, the Philly Guy is there to comfort you. It’s not greasy but it has lots of meat and cheese, all stuffed into a soft bun. And if a Philly isn’t something that suits your fancy, breakfast is served until 11 a.m. and they have all kinds of pulled pork and barbecue items on the menu. I have to say, though, I’ll probably stay faithful to the Philly Guy every time.

Cook's American Grill

A friend recommended Cook's American Grill, and I wasn't disappointed when I took her advice. I've driven past this place a million times and can't believe I've never stopped by.

I should've tried Cook's a long time ago.

I walked in and immediately could feel the down-home glow of the place, which I love. When I looked around I saw a lot of older couples eating lunch, families and working men on lunch break -- my kinda place. I felt at home and welcome in a place I'd never been.
 I ordered at the counter -- a chicken fried chicken with corn and mashed potatoes -- got my drink and silverware and found a spot to sit. Not long after, the waitress brought my meal.

The chicken fried chicken is breaded in-house and the mashed potatoes had chunks of potatoes in it so I'm assuming they are mashed in-house, too. It's hard to say on the gravy but either way it's creamy, peppery and tasty. The chicken is breaded just right and has a crispiness to it, while still being juicy and tender on the inside. I didn't even need a knife to cut into it.

I also liked the corn. Big, sweet kernels coated with butter and sprinkled with a little salt and pepper

Chicken Fried Chicken, mashed potatoes and corn

just like I like it. A roll was also served with the meal, but it was really just a plain dinner roll. It was good, but everything else was better.

Dessert is also available but I'll have to try that next time. I was way full because I ate my entire chicken fried chicken platter and drank a bunch of Dr. Pepper.

In addition to home-style dinners, Cook's offers deli sandwiches, hot sandwiches, hamburgers and salads. I also just saw on their menu some fried pickles and fried mushrooms. Those are in my future. There's also a breakfast menu and I want to try that soon. They aren't open on Sundays, though and that's the day I usually go to breakfast. I'll have to check them out on a Saturday sometime.

Also, if you can't get enough of Tasting Topeka, check out seveneightfive magazine, where I'll be extending my blog to print once a month. Those posts will be in the magazine first, then eventually they'll appear on my blog. Don't forget to pick your copy up at your local bar or restaurant around town. Give 'em a like on Facebook, too.

A Taste of Holton: Trails Cafe

 I grew up eating at Trails Cafe in Holton, but it's been quite awhile (and a change in ownership), since I've been there for dinner. Ryan wanted a catfish dinner and we were already visiting family in Mayetta, and we remembered

Catfish dinner

seeing a sign there for a catfish dinner a few weeks ago, so we went for it.

The hostess sat us in the main dining room as soon as we walked in. In the middle, there's a salad bar and a few other tables along the walls. One wall has Jackson County Fair posters from the past 20 plus years, which I thought was cool because it was like looking back over the years. The rest of the walls are covered with various posters with silly sayings on them, concert announcements and a lot of Three Stooges-inspired art. Mostly, the walls were the same since I was a kid, with a few new additions.

For an appetizer we ordered the bacon cheese fries. The fries were crispy, the cheese melty and the bacon smoky. This was served with a huge bowl of ranch -- I'm not kidding, there was enough ranch there to eat with my fries, dress mine and Ryan's salads and still have some left over. I just can't imagine eating that much ranch, but I know people do it. So all you ranch lovers out there, keep that in mind when visiting the Trails Cafe in Holton, Kansas. I liked this dish, and the size was just perfect for the two of us to enjoy.

I ordered the country fried steak dinner with mashed potatoes and a trip to the salad bar. The salad bar is good, fresh and you can find some good composed salads on it. I would skip the potato salad unless you just love dill. I like dill, but that's all I tasted when eating this particular potato salad. The macaroni salad reminded me of the stuff you can buy at the grocery store, and I love that stuff, so I got a generous portion of it. The salad greens was an iceberg mix, there were cucumbers, onions, green peppers, cheese and a variety of other toppings for salads. The only thing missing was tomatoes, but I don't think I remember there ever being tomatoes on that salad bar. The broccoli salad is always good -- it had raisins, bacon bits, sunflower seeds, all tossed in a creamy, apple-cidery vinaigrette.

The country fried steak was about what I'd expect most places -- a frozen patty, deep-fried and smothered with white gravy. I don't think they make their gravy from scratch, either, but it's still good. The mashed potatoes were whipped and fluffy, buttery and not lumpy, but that led me to believe they may be from a box, which, isn't a bad thing, just a note. The steak was cooked perfectly crispy and I loved dipping it in the creamy mashed potatoes and gravy.

Ryan's catfish dinner looked pretty amazing. He said it reminded him of fish fries he went to when he was a kid. He also said something about his only complaint being that it had bones in it and he couldn't eat those, (haha). But seriously, if you want catfish and you don't like the bones, Trails also has an option for boneless catfish.

Even though I was stuffed, I still ordered dessert, but to go. Since it's summer and strawberries are
everywhere, I thought I 'd give their strawberry shortcake a try. I wasn't disappointed. I ordered it to go, so I also asked the waiter if I could get the shortcake in a separate container and he was happy to oblige. When I got home and at my dessert, I was not let down. I'm pretty confident they whip their own whipped cream, no container whipped topping, and they sugar their own fresh strawberries, too. I don't think it's just bought whipped topping because by the time I made it home and put my dessert together, the cream had fallen just a bit and was more creamy than whip-creamy, which was fine because it still tasted amazing. The pound cake is bought, but it's a good product -- it held up to the strawberry syrup and still tasted sweet and firm, not mushy.

The menu features many different salads, soup, chili, sandwiches and various homestyle meals. You can find their menu on their website, http://www.trails-cafe.com/.

Like I said before, I've been going to Trails Cafe for years, so this won't be my last visit. I'm never let down, and the service is always friendly. If you're up north a ways, check it out.

A Taste of Lawrence: Terrebonne Po' Boys

I love Cajun food. If you love Cajun food, you should check out Terrebonne in Lawrence, you won't be disappointed.  It's located on Vermont street, one block west of Massachusetts Street, and 8th Street.

It's a small, hole-in-the-wall spot, with a few tables set up and a patio outside. The counter is where you order and there's a cooler with goodies like brownies and carrot cake, as well as deviled eggs and beer.

I ordered a deviled egg because they are only $0.50. I was not expecting the burst of spicy flavor I was greeted with when I chomped down on my deviled egg. It was peppery and cajun-y and maybe just a little too much for me in the way of spice. I shoved the other half in my husband's mouth and didn't warn him, but he likes hot/spicy food and loved the egg. I thought it was good, just spicy, of course. It had a good mustard flavor and what seemed to be a cajun seasoning to it. They also have wasabi deviled eggs, and those weren't as spicy as the first one I tried.

For dinner, I ordered the jambalaya, which comes with two hushpuppies. I also ordered a few other things to share: Red beans and rice with andouille sausage, some desserts, and an alligator po'boy.  (The po'boy was actually Ryan's dinner, but I tried it!)

The jambalaya was so good, I didn't want to share it. It was full of shrimp, shredded chicken and sausage, I was surprised at how much meat was in there. The shrimp was my favorite part, moist, spicy and not fishy or rubbery. The rice was cooked perfectly, the seasoning was just spicy enough, with a dominant oregano flavor, which I liked. There were chunks of celery and tomatoes, too, but kind of got lost behind all the other great stuff inside. It wasn't too greasy, which I appreciated. Sometimes jambalaya can be greasy because of the sausage but this wasn't bad.

The red beans and rice is another dish I want to order again. The beans were tender, the rice was fluffy and the andouille sausage was juicy and flavorful. The sausage was grilled and put on top -- you can order it with or without the sausage.

I tried the alligator po'boy, but only one bite. It was good, but I wanted to get back to my jambalaya. The alligator meat is fried and it seems a little chewy, but I hear alligator is chewy in nature, so that's normal. It was a good chewy, though, and the sauce they put on the sandwich was tangy and creamy. It comes with tomato, lettuce and onion, too if you want it. I liked the flavor, but it did just remind me of a fish sandwich.

Hushpuppies came with my jambalaya, and I was impressed. I just wish they wouldn't have been burnt. Not all of the hushpuppies were burnt, but a few of them were. I happened to get one that wasn't burnt and it was pretty amazing. It was pretty big, -- probably twice the size of the ones from Long John Silvers and maybe a bit bigger -- fluffy and crunchy on the outside. I enjoyed the chunks of corn inside the fluffy cornbread-textured filling, I'm not sure but it seems as if they may make their own hushpuppies.


I got some of the sweets, too of course. The chocolate brownie, carrot cake, and a peanut butter bar with chocolate. Everything was tasty but my favorite was the chocolate, gooey brownie. It was soft and ooey-gooey and I enjoyed the chocolate flavor. I ate this one the day after I went to the restaurant and it was still soft and fresh. The carrot cake bar was a little dry, but the cream cheese frosting in the middle helped. It was still pretty good. The peanut butter bar had crunchy rice pieces in the peanut butter part and the chocolate was a dark chocolate that was hard like a bar chocolate, whereas the peanut butter was soft and sticky. That one was my second favorite, and for $1.25 a bar, that's a score.

Everything I had was good and I would definitely return. The jambalaya was my favorite and I want more, but I'll have to wait until next time.  It was full of meat and just spicy enough. The hushpuppies were good, greasy, but good. I am ready to go back and try some of the other items on the menu.

Capital City Food Truck Festival -- Day 2

I returned for Day 2 and wasn't disappointed.

First, Visit Topeka fixed some of the initial problems by moving the food trucks apart and spacing

Pulled pork, Mr. Nice Guy's

everything out a bit more. There were also better markers indicating where the lines should go and end, so there was less confusion today. There were just as many people, though.

Topeka definitely turned out for this event, and organizers were not expecting the turnout. I heard over 4,000 people attended on Friday alone, and even more are coming out today, (Saturday). Some food trucks were running out of food, but that happens with food trucks. They only have a limited amount of space, so that happens.

Philly Cheesesteak, Mr. Nice Guy's

When Ryan and I first got there today, we jumped into Mr. Nice Guy's line, which didn't seem too long. We only waited about 30 minutes to order and a few more for our food which was acceptable. We got a pulled pork sandwich and a Philly cheesesteak. The pork sandwich was good, but nothing special. I think they roast the meat as opposed to smoking it, which is fine with me, it was still tender, juicy and good. My favorite barbecue sauce, Sweet Baby Ray's was available for smothering so that was a plus.

The Philly cheesesteak is what I'd write home about, though. I've heard people talk about how Mr. Nice Guy's, located in Oakland, has the best cheesesteak in town, and now I know they weren't lying. I don't even like green peppers but I could eat this sandwich without complaint. I tried a couple bites of Ryan's and couldn't get over the fact that the green peppers didn't bother me. The meat is tender, steaming hot and the melted cheese sauce makes it that much better. I would order it again, never mind the pulled pork.

Chocolate avocado smoothie,
photo courtesy of Bailey Mushok

Next, we tried the Purple Carrot Co-Op, where you can find vegan cuisine. Their line wasn't long but they always seemed to have one. We had to try one of their avocado chocolate smoothies because we kept hearing good things from other people. The smoothie was  definitely different, but still good. It was bright green with chunks of dark chocolate floating around in it. At first I wasn't sure about it, but after a few swigs I quickly realized I really liked it. I The chocolate chunks melted in your mouth and blended well with the strong avocado flavor and I thought the two flavors worked together.

As we were waiting for our shake, X-Marks the Spot showed up so I jumped in line to wait for them to open. We waited for about an hour because they were being inspected, (Blue Moose had the same thing before they could open), but then only waited about 10 minutes for our food to be cooked. I got a grilled chicken wrap and Ryan got the Wrigley Dog, which seemed like a Chicago dog just with a different name. It was a little different, but pretty much a Chicago dog.

I appreciated the chicken wrap because it featured salad greens instead of iceberg lettuce, which most

Grilled chicken wrap, X-Marks the Spot

places use. The chicken was juicy and hot, the mustard didn't overwhelm me and I liked the tomato bacon jam. It was sweet and smokey thanks to the bacon. The tortilla didn't rip and everything stayed together until the very end. I would order this wrap again, but I may try the veggie wrap next time.

X-Marks the Spot was not serving their pickle fries, (my favorite) but with good reason. The pickles were messing up the fryer and causing longer wait times I'm sure, because when you batter and fry things, much of the batter separates off and leaves little floating pieces of overcooked batter which sticks to other fried items, wreaking havoc on your fryer. I don't blame them for taking the pickles off the menu. Hopefully that is only for the festival and the pickle fries will be back on their regular, daily menu. I didn't ask.

The Wrigley Dog, X-Marks the Spot

The Wrigley Dog looked pretty amazing, probably about like an authentic Chicago dog. The only thing that stood out to me as way different was the bun. It seemed like they weren't as soft and yeasty as the buns I remember in Chicago, they were a little more dense, but that's not to say it was bad. It's not from Chicago, so of course it will be a little different.

Overall, I feel like the Capital City Food Truck Festival was a hit. New events always have kinks to be worked out, and as long as the event coordinators are open to suggestions, things will be better next year. Even this year I thought was a great turnout, good, tasty food and Topekans showed up to support the event.

Capital City Food Truck Festival -- Day 1

The hubs and I checked out the Capital City Food Truck Festival tonight. There were so many people, it was awesome! Now, if only the weather will be as beautiful tomorrow as it was tonight.

Before I headed out to the crowd, I checked the Facebook event page to see what people were saying. Some were complaining about the length of the food lines and others were complaining about finding the end of the line. I have to say, I didn't have an issue with either of those complaints.

First of all, it's dinner time and Topeka is hungry for food trucks, you're going to wait in line. Secondly, there were markers at the end of each line -- a piece of paper with "END OF LINE" then the food truck's name printed on it, indicated the end of each line. I thought it was a pretty clever idea. I just started at the beginning of the line and followed it to the end where I would find that lovely piece of paper. Here's an article by KSNT about how the organizers of the event are already planning improvements for tomorrow, Day 2.

The first truck we picked was called Big Boyz Gourmet out of St. Marys, Kansas.  There were a bunch of different tacos on the menu, so of course Ryan was down for that. Plus, the line wasn't as long as some of the others. We waited 25 minutes to order our food, and probably another 15-20 minutes for our order. (I actually ran over to CoffeeCake KC and got some coffee cake real quick because their line wasn't long). I ordered the chicken feta taco but only because they were out of all the rest of their tacos except the salmon, and I didn't want salmon. Ryan got one and he liked it a lot, I'm just not sure about smoked salmon tacos. I went for the chicken.

Chicken Feta taco

It was warm, fresh and tasty. The grilled flour tortilla was topped with chopped chicken, feta,
cabbage, pico de gallo, chimichurri sauce and basil cream. The feta was a great contrast with the chimichurri and basil cream, but the pico seemed lost to me. I could have used a little more pico for my taste, but overall it was really good. Hopefully, tomorrow they will have their steak tacos back, and I just might try that. I liked their food and plan to check them out again in the future.

Each taco cost $5. They seemed a little small for $5, but there was a lot of meat and filling, so I got pretty full off of just one.

Coffee cake

CoffeeCake KC ran out of cookies and cupcakes, so I tried their coffee cake and a blended mocha drink. The coffee cake was sweet, moist and dense, just like I like it. I don't, however, like white icing, so I removed all of that, which there wasn't much. After that, it was delightful. The only thing I would like to have in addition is some kind of crumb-like topping. That's one of my favorite parts of coffee cake, but this was still good without it.

Each piece of coffee cake was $3. I thought the price was right for the size of piece that was served. The mocha was $4, about what you'd pay at any coffee shop.

 The blended mocha was creamy and chocolatey and ice cold. It would be great on a hot day, and it was still great tonight even though it was a cool 73 degrees. It reminded me of chocolate milk, only frozen. Yum.

I'm looking forward to returning tomorrow and trying a few more trucks. The festival is open from 11 am until 9 p.m. so, we are planning to go for lunch and dinner. There were lots of people tonight, and the lines were long, but I feel like it's a great event for Topeka. It was the first night and Visit Topeka, the organizers of the event, is already planning improvements for tomorrow, Day 2. It can only get better next year, and I plan to be there then, too. Hope to see ya there!

Food Truck #3: X-Marks The Spot

I was fortunate enough to make it to X-Marks the Spot, a food truck in downtown Topeka. It's usually
at the south west 10th and Topeka Blvd. from 11 a.m. until about 2 p.m.

I got to the truck around 12:15 p.m. on a Monday and there were a few people in front of me, and two or three who showed up after me. The wait was only about 8-10 minutes, which wasn't bad, considering I ordered a Black Angus cheeseburger, and they're a pretty good size. So, if you're in downtown Topeka for lunch, it doesn't take long to grab a bite to eat and make it back in time for that after-lunch meeting.

I ordered the regular cheeseburger and I asked them to add lettuce and tomato. It comes with thick-sliced Swiss cheese and garlic herb mayo on a pretzel bun. If you don't like pretzel buns they also have plain ol' regular ones, too. I liked the pretzel bun because it was soft, but it held up well to the burger and didn't mush up and tear apart like most buns. It looks like it would be hard, but it's just firm, but still fluffy inside. I asked for a medium-well cooked burger and that's what I got. If you don't specify, they will cook it to medium, so make sure you say if you want it otherwise.

The burger was juicy, thick and flavorful. It was cooked medium-well just like I like it, and just like I requested it. The garlic herb mayo was definitely garlicky, so be careful if you don't want garlic breath. It was creamy and good, and definitely worth it. I was glad I asked for tomato and lettuce because it added that texture I wanted.

Instead of getting French fries, I ordered the Fried Pickle Fries. I had never had them this way -- thin

sliced, julienne style -- and I enjoyed them. The pickle fries were thin and crispy, but there was enough of the pickle inside to know you were eating pickles. The batter reminded me of a tempura or beer batter, and it held up well to the pickles, so they didn't slide out of the fried case, like sometimes happens with the spears. I was scared the pickle taste would be lost in the fried batter, but the ratio was pleasing to the palate and they were salted well, too. The pickle fries were paired with what I think was chipotle-mango ranch sauce. It was sweet with a kick, and much better than just regular old ranch. I would recommend getting this and sharing it between a couple friends because there are a lot in this order.

I look forward to trying out some other menu items, such as one of the hotdogs, some onion rings and maybe another burger.

X-Marks the Spot is another food truck in Topeka I'd recommend checking out.

The Kansas Food Truck Festival

This past weekend, I attended the Second Annual Kansas Food Truck Festival in Lawrence, Kansas. I went with a few friends and my husband and we had a pretty good time.

Fifteen food trucks, cold beer, music and good company, we had a great time hanging out in lines and grubbin' down on some street food. Each food truck had about a 20-30 minute wait, but that's nothing compared to last year. Last year, there were only five trucks and the wait was more like an hour to an hour and a half. This year was better, at least, I thought so.

I'll start with my least favorite.

Mac and Cheese

The mac and cheese at Deco Street Eats was probably my least favorite dish, (even though they did have one of my favorite items, continue reading below). It's tied pretty close with the buffalo tots, but I know I don't like buffalo sauce, so that wasn't really a surprise. I was excited about some creamy, cheesy mac and cheese, but that's not what I got. What I got was a mushy mess, with hardly any cheese and far less than al dente pasta. There were parts that had cheese in it, but not enough for my taste. I like free-flowing mac and cheese -- cheesy and thick. This was neither. I think I was so disappointed because my hopes were so high. I saw "mac and cheese" and I jumped for joy. There were kids in line who were doing the same when I told them the hope-inspiring menu featured mac and cheese. I wonder if the kids were as disappointed as me?

Anyway, I mentioned buffalo tots. I got these at the Street Wings food truck. Basically, tater tots with

Buffalo tots

bacon, sour cream, blue cheese crumbles and buffalo sauce. I thought I'd give them a try, (the hubs ordered them, I'm not a fan of buffalo sauce, as stated earlier). I wasn't a big fan. Maybe if there had been less of that nasty buffalo sauce, like, if it had been more of an accent flavor instead of smothered thickly all over everything. That was all I tasted, so I only took a few bites. I suppose if you're a huge buffalo wings fan and like tater tots, this dish would have been for you. It did seem to me like the tots were a little mushy and couldn't been fried a little longer so they'd stand up to the smothering of sauce. Eh, I'm not a good judge of this dish, but my husband really liked it.

On to better items.

Pork street tacos

I got street tacos at Deco Street Eats, a bright red truck, 2 for $3, so the hubby ate one and I had the other. We wanted to try as many items as we could. Shredded pork topped with cabbage, fresh lime and cilantro stuffed into a flour tortilla, this was my second favorite menu item at the entire festival. If I were to return and get a meal from any of these food trucks tomorrow, I'd get a few of these tacos to fill me up. The taco was fresh, especially with the addition of the fresh-squeezed lime, the meat was tender and flavorful and the cilantro added a flavor that can't be replicated. The only thing that could have made it better would've been some fresh guacamole or just plain avocado.

I found some surprisingly amazing Swedish meatballs, at the same truck. The sauce was creamy, the meat was highly seasoned, but good, and the noodles were done just right. I don't understand why, but there were two different types of noodles in this dish, but, either way, it was good.

Look at all the nasty mustard!

I made a big mistake and ended up hating the last item I ordered at this year's food truck fest. I should have paid more attention to what I was ordering. I ordered a chili dog from Brock Hops Food Truck. I knew to tell them no raw onions, but did I say no mustard? Heck no. I totally forgot, or didn't notice, or something. When I got it, my heart immediately sank. I didn't want to return it, so I took one bite, all's I tasted was mustard, and then I let my hubs eat it. He likes that nasty yellow mustard crap. I don't mind dark mustard, grain mustard and stuff like that, but not yellow mustard. Yuck. So, that one was a bust.

Creme brulee

My favorite item of the night was the creme brulee. Torched Goodness was one of the trucks that featured only sweets, creme brulee, actually. Of course they had the regular, vanilla flavor, but they also featured specialty flavors such as cookies n' cream, S'mores, a coconut one and a couple others. I ordered the vanilla custard and my hubs ordered the S'mores ones. The top was hard, caramelized sugar, the inside was creamy, sweet, cold custard. It was worth the 30 minute wait. I only wish I'd have ordered the cookies n' cream one. The S'mores one was chocolate custard inside, with toasted marshmallows and Golden Grahams cereal on top of the "torched goodness". That one was to die for. The custard was a little less thick and creamy on this one, but it still sated that sweet tooth I have.

Overall, I'd say the Food Truck Festival was a success. The hubs and I returned home full, tired and ready for next year.

Critical notes: I do think there should have been more music. It seems like we spent most our time on the strip that went North-South, so we weren't close to the music, which was on the far, North side. There were speakers set up, but it seems like music only played sometimes, and it was intermittent.  I also wish there had been more art. Maybe I was missing something, but the one place I tried to enter to look at art, I was told it was a private event, so I had to leave. I thought I remembered last year when the warehouses were open to the public and we were allowed to walk though and enjoy art in between food trucks. I probably would have stayed longer if there was something like that to fill time in between trucks, then I would probably have spent more money on food.

Food Truck #2: Pacha's By The Pound

For my second food truck, I chose Pacha's By The Pound, currently found on 32nd and Topeka Blvd. I would follow their Facebook page, though, in case they move, which food trucks are known to do.

Pacha's can be found in the Gordmans' parking lot, and yes, there is plenty of parking. They do not, however, have any seating available. Plan to get your food to go, and don't forget to grab some napkins.

Featuring smoked meats, homemade pickles and sauce and some of the best candied bacon I've ever had, Pacha's By The Pound is some of the best bbq I've had in Topeka. Of course, I've only had the pulled pork so far, so I should say they have the best pulled pork I've had in town. I can't vouch for the other meats and items they have available.

I ordered the Piggly Wiggly, which I heard about from friends and my husband who've all said it's an amazing sandwich. A thick piece of toast topped with a large portion of tender, smoked pulled pork and crispy, sweet candied bacon -- you don't even need sauce. I still got some to try, but I'm not sure it really needed it. It was tender, sweet and juicy. The candied bacon tasted like cinnamon, sugar and maybe some brown sugar, oh and bacon goodness. The crispy-chewy sweet candied bacon was a great idea, I just wish there had been more. It paired well with the sauce, too, even though some may not think it would... oh but it does.

The Piggly Wiggly

On the counter, at the pick-up/order window, there are a variety of barbecue sauces. (You can also tip to help support the sauce.) I sampled the regular pork sauce and the all-purpose sauce. I especially enjoyed the pork barbecue sauce. It had a flavor of apples, vinegar and a slight spice to it, but nothing crazy, just enough so it's there but it's not actually hot. It's a nice blend and it pairs well with the pork -- almost like it's made to go with it! (note the sarcasm). The all-purpose sauce is named accordingly. It was a nice, thick sauce, with a sweet, smoky flavor. It was good, but the pork sauce was much better, at least with my dish.

I ordered some coleslaw and I thought it was a nice side item to accompany the Piggly Wiggly. It was apple-cidery, tangy and fresh with a slight kick. I thought it seemed to have a bit of a spice to it. It was a shredded-cabbage style coleslaw with a thin, mayo-based sauce. It seemed to be made fresh because the cabbage was still nice and crunchy.

Coleslaw. (I spilled it everywhere)

I also got some of their fresh-made chips. This was the only thing I didn't like. They tasted like they were fried in old grease, they were too think and most of them were chewy instead of crispy, like maybe the oil wasn't hot enough. The chips are sprinkled with what seems to be a Cajun or other spicy type of seasoning mix, which is good, I just wasn't happy with the the chips themselves. Skip those, go with the coleslaw or something else.

Make sure you go early because Pacha's is only open from 10 a.m. until they run out of food -- and that could be early, especially if you're thinking of a dinner date. I would go for lunch.

I payed $11 for the sandwich, the coleslaw and the chips. The sandwich was $8, coleslaw $2 and chips were $1. It seems to be a bit pricey for lunch, but the portion is huge and I couldn't eat all of what I got. You almost don't even need a side, but I like to try a few things when I go. I would say get one side if you have to have one, and maybe share with another person.

I'm excited to return and try other items on their menu and make sure they have the best barbecue in town.

A Taste of Carbondale: Pepper Patch

I decided to head south this week and try a Tex-Mex place I've heard many good things about: The Pepper Patch.

Recently I joined the Topeka Restaurants group on Facebook, and shared this blog. I received a message from someone and a few other recommendations to try the Pepper Patch in Carbondale. So, a friend and I decided to go check it out and see what it was all about.

chips and salsa

Locally owned and the only sit-down restaurant in Carbondale, you can't miss the bright orange building right on Topeka Avenue, the main drag. The inside is just as bright as the outside -- green, blue, orange. The dining room seemed small but there was a back area with more tables that I didn't get a real good look at.

We were served chips and salsa as soon as we sat down. The salsa was thick and chunky, with good flavor. It was fresh and zesty and I enjoyed it. I appreciated the thickness as opposed to some salsa that is thin and runny.

To start off I ordered some guacamole and my friend ordered some white queso. I thought both items were tasty, but must note that the guacamole has a little kick to it. I love guacamole and I was happy with this order because it was a little different than what I'm used to at most Mexican restaurants where it seems like it's just avocado with pico de gallo added. There were chunks of avocado and plenty of garlic.

Chalupa

I ordered the featured item of the day, the chalupa. I wasn't sure exactly what I was getting when I ordered it, and I was pretty surprised with the humongous portion of fried tortilla topped with refried beans, taco meat, lettuce, tomato, cheese, sour cream and guacamole. I added some of the salsa to mine, because, like I said, I really enjoyed their salsa. This dish reminded me of a huge tostada and it was really good. I just cut chunks off and ate them with my hands, like you would a tostada. Some parts I ate with my fork like a taco salad. Either way, really, works.

I enjoyed the taco meat because it wasn't greasy and didn't drip all over the place. It had a lot of flavor but it didn't end up all over me, that was a plus. The tortilla that was fried was obviously fried fresh because it was nice and crispy and held up well to the heavy toppings thrown on. Everything tasted freshly made and bold flavors.

Tres leche cake

Since everything was good so far, my friend and I ordered dessert, which seemed pretty cheap to us, too. I got the tres leche cake and she ordered the churros. We shared. That was probably a good idea. The cake was so rich, there's no way I could've eaten an entire piece to myself! The chocolate cake was soaked in Kahlua, three milks and topped with their homemade whipped cream, cream cheese frosting. The top was sprinkled with cinnamon and chocolate shavings. Whoa. It was scrumptious. It was pretty rich though, so make sure you have some water nearby while eating it. The cake was soaked so much, milk is left puddled on the plate when you're finished. But, it doesn't feel soggy to me, like they soak it just before serving it maybe? The creamy frosting was thick and soft and reminded me of a dream whip topping.

The churros were good, too, but I think I've had them before at other places. I think they were just the kind you buy frozen and fry yourself. They were covered with honey (maybe) and cinnamon-sugar, I think. They were good, but the cake was better. I would highly recommend the cake.

I enjoyed my experience and would recommend the 15 minute trek south for a taste of Tex-Mex. The service was good, our waitress was one of the owners of the restaurant. She was friendly and helpful and answered all of my questions. I enjoyed the local, small-town feel. I am excited to try the Spanish potatoes and the Mahi Mahi tacos or the chimichanga -- I love chimichangas.

Check out the menu by going to their Facebook page and clicking on "menu" and downloading the file.

Blind Tiger

I was invited to Blind Tiger for a friend's birthday dinner, so I decided I might as well do a review. Seemed like as good a time as any, plus, I could judge other people's food without having to order it, that's always a plus.

In case you don't already know, Blind Tiger is Topeka's one and only local microbrewery. It opened in 1995, so it's not historic or anything, it's just the only brewery in town. The building seems old, though, and I'm pretty sure it was a restaurant for years before becoming the Blind Tiger. Inside it's all wood, and when you walk into the main dining areas you will see stairs leading up to more dining nooks and other little areas. Up at the top you will find a banquet area for larger groups and parties. We sat in an area located at the back of the restaurant on the south side. The entire south wall is made up of large windows that over look a smoking balcony and the parking lot.

Fried pickles

I ordered some fried pickles and a pulled pork sandwich with seasoned French fries. A girl I sat next to ordered a sirloin, (I'm not sure the size) and another girl ordered the bacon cheese fries.

My fried pickles were pretty good. Here, they use the spears, but not your typical spears. These seemed to be like the hamburger slices that are long and thin. The breading was a little different than most places, which have an almost beer-batter coating to them. This coating was crumbly and more like an actual breading than a batter. The pickles held up well and the coating didn't slide off, leaving you with a hot pickle. These I was able to eat easily. The flavor was good, too, but the pickle did seem a little mushy and lost in the batter. I do with they were a little thicker, or maybe done a little less time in the fryer. Overall, I would order them again some time.

Side note: The fried pickles are NOT on the menu. I had to ask the waitress about them. The only place they appear on the menu is in the description for the Carolina-style pulled pork sandwich.

The girls next to me ordered some bacon cheese fries. All I really need to say about this monster is only order this if you have a large group, or you're ready to eat five people's worth of bacon cheese fries. This order is humongous, shaped by a bundt cake pan and fried, covered with cheese and bacon and served with ranch, this isn't for the faint of stomach. I wish I would have gotten a picture, but alas, I didn't. (If you have photo, please share.)

My pulled pork sandwich was dry. It was flavorful, and I enjoyed the sweet sauce, but I felt like I

Pulled pork sandwich with seasoned French fries

needed to add a lot of sauce because the meat lacked any juiciness on its own. I also ditched the wheat bun and ate the meat alone, so next time I should remember that. The sauce was sweet and reminded me of Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce -- that's my favorite bbq sauce, yum. I had to ask the waitress to bring me pickles and then all they had were the spears so I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't get dill pickle slices for my pulled pork sandwich. I lived, though, and settled for the spear. (It ended up working out because I didn't eat it like a sandwich after all.)

The French fries did not disappoint. Seasoned kind of like the curly fries from Hardee's only straight, they hit the spot. They were so crispy and tasty. I like dipping these kind in ranch dressing and they went well with the barbecue sauce, too. I was glad they brought two containers because I used a lot for my fries.

The service was pretty good. Our waitress took good care of all 15 of us, and was able to meet the demands of all of us, (at least from what I could tell, and I'm a pretty needy diner).  She got us refills when they were needed and she also turned my debit card in to the manager when I forgot it after signing my bill. She even promptly took back an undercooked sirloin for the girl I sat next to, although she ordered it well-done, it still came back around medium.

Blind Tiger is on the entire opposite side of town than I live, but if friends gather there I will return. I didn't have a real problem with any of my food, but none of it was out of the ordinary. I hear the beer is good, I'm just not much of a beer drinker. I do wish the pulled pork hadn't been so dry, but the pickles were pretty tasty.

El Mezcal - 21st & Fairlawn

Usually, I am truly happy with my experiences at El Mezcal, but this last visit, not so much.

For the most part, I go to the El Mezcal on 5th and Topeka Blvd., but this time was for a friend's celebration so we went to the one on 21st and Fairlawn. It was a busy Friday night, right at 7 o'clock.

Cold, still-shredded cheese inside :(

We were seated pretty quickly and served drinks and chips and salsa. We ordered and didn't have to wait that long for food. This was surprising because it was pretty busy and there weren't many open tables around the restaurant. The only thing we had to wait for awhile for was our checks.

Then, we got our food.

Mine was cold. All of it. And I don't think it was because it sat in the window and cooled off, (at least in the case of the quesadilla) I think it wasn't even cooked in the first place. I ordered ala carte because I wasn't very hungry. I got a cheese quesadilla with a side of sour cream, a small order of guacamole and a beef enchilada, which turned out to be two, not one like I thought.

The quesadilla consisted of cold shredded white cheese inside a cold, un-grilled tortilla. I mean, I opened it up and the cheese wasn't even melted, it was still in little shreds (pictured to your left). I also never got my sour cream. I sent the quesadilla back, though, and asked for them to grill it for a minute because it was cold. I got back an entire new quesadilla that was hot and melty, but the tortilla was still not grilled enough to my taste. At least this time the cheese was melted and the quesadilla was hot.

The enchiladas were not what I was expecting, but they weren't bad. They were beef enchiladas smothered in a white cheese sauce. I was expecting a red sauce but this was alright. But, it was cold, too. This, I think, may have sat in the window for a minute. I didn't ask for this to be warmed up, I just ate it.

I understand the place was busy, but getting cold food always sucks no matter the case. I chose to send one item back instead of both, mostly because I wanted something to eat while the rest of the table chowed down. I usually don't like to send items back, but the quesadilla was unacceptable.

I've been to El Mezcal many times over the years and this was probably my worst experience. That being said, the good have outnumbered the bad so I will be returning, just probably to the one on 5th street.

Burger Stand - Fish Sandwich

I've recently re-visited Burger Stand and I have to say, I wasn't impressed.

With it being Lent, I decided to go for the fish option to see what they had to offer.  I wasn't expecting anything spectacular, mostly because it's a burger joint, not a seafood restaurant. That being said, I was expecting it to be good. And that's all it really was, was good.



I ordered their regular French fries and the hubs ordered some onion rings with his burger so we could share. The fries were tasty as usual -- crispy, salty and not too greasy. The onion rings are probably frozen and fried on site, but they were good.

Now on to the fish sandwich.

The fish sandwich comes with a spicy remoulade sauce -- which I didn't find to be very hot -- tartar sauce, pickle relish, tomatoes and lettuce. It's served on one of their normal buns, which is soft and chewy, but crispy on the bottom where it was obviously grilled.

My problem with the fish sandwich is that the fish was two thin pieces of fish stacked on top of each other. It seems to me that there was more breading than fish. By the time I was halfway finished with my sandwich, the breading was mushy from the sauce and I felt like I was eating mushy-bread-tartar sauce. By the end of it, I could hardly find any fish, it was all breading and bun and sauce. Plus, it just didn't stay together well. It was a sliding mess.

My idea of a good fish sandwich is one that has lots of fish in it, and yeah, it can be breaded but I would hope there's less breading than actual meat. Maybe these fish planks would have been good, just not in a sandwich. The fish itself was good, I just don't think it was good for a sandwich.

Burger Stand is a great place to eat, I just wasn't happy with this particular sandwich. Every Monday is half price for Washburn Students and Wednesdays is half price for teachers. They have all kinds of events going on there throughout the week, especially during the Washburn semesters.

I plan to return, I just don't plan to ever get the fish sandwich again.

El Centenario

A really good hole-in-the-wall Mexican joint can be found on Kansas Avenue just south of Downtown Topeka around 13th street. It looks and feels like a hole in the wall, but it doesn't taste like one.

Small guacamole

I've been once before and it was exactly how I remembered it this time. Viva la Mexico plaques decorate the walls with sombreros and lighted signs. It was bright, open and airy.

One server, who was friendly and helpful, served the entire restaurant. Granted, it was like 3 p.m. but he was pouring drinks, serving, taking orders and busing his tables. He was a one man band. He was doing it all with a smile, too.

He brought us our chips and salsa and I ordered some guacamole. It was chunky, just spicy enough and seasoned well. I could taste lime juice, jalepeños, cilantro and garlic -- all the ingredients I personally enjoy in my guacamole. The chips were also warm when they came out, which added to the experience. The avocados were nice and ripe and almost melted in my mouth on the freshly fried tortilla chip. The salsa was comparable to other places in town. Nothing stood out about that.

From left: Enchilada, burrito, rice and beans.

For my entree I ordered the special that day -- a burrito, an enchilada, rice and beans. The menu is so big I had no idea what to get so I just went with the special. Plus, it was only $6.49.

The burrito and the enchilada seems like almost the same thing only the burrito had a flour tortilla and the enchilada had a corn tortilla with some sauce added to it.  The enchilada was also a little smaller than the burrito. They were both good, it just seemed like a lot of meat to me. I kind of wish I had some lettuce, tomato and sour cream with it. I definitely got my money's worth with as much ground beef was stuffed in those two tortillas. The rice was soft and spicy, but not overpowering. Spicy in a flavorful way, not a "hot" way. The beans were good too, refried, mashed beans.

My overall experience was pleasant. The food was good, the service was too. I didn't have anything to complain about at El Centenario.

Chow Time Buffet #8

The third time's the charm. Or so I'm sure the owners of Chow Time Buffet #8 hope. After two failed attempts at opening Asian buffets at 17th and Wanamaker, a third one is now open, under a new owner. The Topeka Capital-Journal reported that the owners are from Georgia where another Chow Time Buffet is located.

Many people I've talked to are skeptical about this third restaurant so I decided to check it out.

When I first walked in I noticed the new owners redecorated, but I did recognize some of same decor from the previous restaurant (just like the signs on the buffet, really). A couple walls were knocked
 out but the buffets were all in the same spots. Now, there is a chocolate fountain along with a variety of ice cream on the west side of the buffet. The hibachi grill is still on the north side of the room with the sushi across from it on the south side of the room. I noticed there was an entire buffet full of American-style food such as pizza, mac and cheese and meatloaf, if that's what you want. I didn't try any of that because I came for the Chinese food.

The sushi was about what you'd expect -- smaller portion sizes than if you ordered a roll at a sushi bar but fresh and tasty. They had a wide variety and a sushi chef actively building more sushi and making sure everything was fresh.

The cold bar had in-shell cold shrimp on ice and cocktail sauce, a variety of composed salads and a basic salad bar. The hot food had all your basics, kung-pao chicken, chicken and broccoli, white and fried rice, sauteed green beans, egg rolls and much more. One item that I found weird was this shiny roll-looking thing. When bit into it was kind of weird because it wasn't like the dinner rolls I'm used to, it was chewy and you could hear it. Inside was some kind of orange stuff, which I think was soy or something. Yeah, not gonna try that again.

My only complaint is that the crab Rangoon didn't seem to be fried long enough. The bottom part was kind of soggy and soft, and didn't seem to be cooked long enough for me. The egg roll was the generic kind you find at most Chinese restaurants, same with the sauteed green beans. The white rice was soft and fluffy, the chicken and broccoli was good. I appreciated that it was pretty fresh so the broccoli still had a bit of crunch left to it. Overall, I was satisfied with my meal.

My favorite part was the dessert. Most of the time, desserts at Chinese buffets aren't the best. I was impressed with their selection and with the quality of the products. In the photo to the right, you will see I tried a little bit of a few things. Starting with the donut on the left: It was caky and frosted and tasty. I was surprised that it was soft and sweet and not crumbly. The banana cream dessert right above that was good, too, with vanilla wafers in it and everything. I wasn't a fan of the apple salad next to it. The dressing wasn't sweet enough and didn't really add much to the flavor of the apples. To the right of that, I tried a large marshmallow dipped in the chocolate fountain. It was good, but I think I'd rather have a s'more. The fried Chinese donut below was typical of most buffets. Basically, it was fried biscuit dough tossed in sugar. Always one of my favorites. Last, on the bottom of the plate, is a mini cinnamon roll. It was cold, but it was still soft and good. I was surprised that I liked it. But, I was surprised that I liked as many desserts as I did. I usually end up wasting most of my desserts and this time I practically cleaned my plate.

The food was good, everything looked clean and the waitstaff was friendly. I hope this time the place lasts because I didn't find anything wrong about it, except for that weird roll. But hey, I saw another girl get one and she ate the whole thing, so who knows.