We're the best
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@nwhawkfan Just talked about Green Pepper pizzas to a friend here in SC today!
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Sadly, not much good (legit, top tier quality) pizza in Lawrence these days.
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I think there is a lot of potential with this thread… maybe someone spinoff a new thread and it’s a tourist guide to Lawrence? I bet we can all contribute and make one heck of a source for those traveling to Lawrence for a game!
Anyone else interested in doing this? A combination of all our histories and experiences in Lawrence… relating to places still open today, including some newer places worthwhile.
Thoughts?
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They just finished A best of Lawrence. http://www.lawrence.com/bestoflawrence/
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@DanR said in We're the best:
Sadly, not much good (legit, top tier quality) pizza in Lawrence these days.
Never was. It was always the beer that made the pizza good. College towns aren’t exactly know for good taste - catering to a bunch of idiot teenagers - we all were one at some point and they know their market.
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I hardly recognized that list!
Fans need to know about places like The Wheel -
Go on in and meet the infamous “Knobbie!” Great place to go before games!
This place is full of history… once the employer of John Riggins, and his long-time hangout even after his pro career.
Many infamous stories of Riggins around Lawrence, like at The Wheel… hauling full beer kegs over his shoulder, up the hill, carrying all the way from The Hawk.
You don’t become an official “Wheel member” until you’ve had too much alcohol on an icy evening and slip down the concrete stairs.
https://www.facebook.com/thewagonwheel/
Riggins -
https://vault.si.com/vault/1983/09/01/they-bought-his-act-hook-line-and-sinker
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@drgnslayr said in We're the best:
I hardly recognized that list!
Fans need to know about places like The Wheel -
Go on in and meet the infamous “Knobbie!” Great place to go before games!
This place is full of history… once the employer of John Riggins, and his long-time hangout even after his pro career.
Many infamous stories of Riggins around Lawrence, like at The Wheel… hauling full beer kegs over his shoulder, up the hill, carrying all the way from The Hawk.
You don’t become an official “Wheel member” until you’ve had too much alcohol on an icy evening and slip down the concrete stairs.
https://www.facebook.com/thewagonwheel/
Riggins -
https://vault.si.com/vault/1983/09/01/they-bought-his-act-hook-line-and-sinker
I remember visiting there and going downstairs, where they had a pool table. There were 5 or 6 people down there, and somebody lit up a joint. I couldn’t believe it. This would’ve been 1979. I went right back upstairs- didn’t want to get busted!
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I still hit up Yellow Sub if I’m in town (last time was pre-Covid)
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I’ve had latchkey the last 2 times I was there, love it! I also love Terrebonne. They moved or are moving to mass. I like yellow sub too!
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Somehow I never warmed up to The Wheel. Spent a lot of time and money at Harbour Lights and The Hawk, but my favorite drinking spot was The Stables & The Sanctuary on West 7th, near Louise’s West. (At first The Sanctuary was the upstairs “private club” before it took the name of the entire building.) The Stables had a horseshoe-shaped bar, and I think it was the first place in Lawrence with a Pong machine. They tore it down in the '80s to build an apartment complex
https://www2.ljworld.com/news/2012/nov/07/25-years-ago-owner-reminisces-about-sanctuarys-pas/
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Gosh there’s so much to say here! Don’t shoot me, but my older sister went to KSU so I spent some time in Manhattan back when. They also have a Pizza Shuttle! Great shout @wissox
I used to live on 6th and Iowa, right up the hill from Louise’s. Great times watching some games there when I was too lazy to trek down to AFH (it got cold okay).
I moved to 18th and Ohio (really the best location in terms of walking to both AFH and Memorial) so had plenty of Pyramid. Was very sad to see it close. Cream cheese and bacon allllll day. Usually had it after schooner night at the downtown Louise’s. 30 Oz. of Shiner Bock for .75 is a heck of a deal.
Also like a 3 block walk to the barmuda triangle as we called it then. Loved The Wheel. And yes, have a small scar on my knee from leaving. @drgnslayr you might have one in a similar location…
Also spent a good amount of time at Bullwinkles back then. Sorority girls loved the red moose bowls.
The Red Lyon was always my jam. Always had great tap selection and the popcorn topped with Tobasco always hit the spot. Fun story. Once I was there with my sister and her then boyfriend playing darts. One drunk yelled at me, “hit the bullseye and I’ll suck your d***!” Well as luck would have it I drilled it. I politely turned down the fellatio but did get him to buy us a round.
A few other joints I highly recommend: The Roost for breakfast (I think it’s better than Milton’s tbh), Burger Stand at the Casbah, Merchant (great happy hour specials and dinner there is clutch), and R Bar. If you’re in west Lawrence around 6th it’s a great sports bar. Has terrific smoked whole wings for cheap.
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@FarmerJayhawk Never intended for this post to turn into a bar review page!! As a teetotaler growing up (I’m still afraid my parents will see me having a glass of wine!) I didn’t do the bars at all, shocking I know, but it’s all kind of foreign to me. Congrats on the bullseye and for the prize!
My only experience with KU party life was mostly negative as delivering pizzas to drunken fraternities at 1AM was not always very pleasant, it was actually quite repulsive to me and still tell stories to my friends about the things I saw. Therapy not needed for me and these flashbacks, but it was a real eye opener!
I loved gamedays. We’d arrive hours before to get seats behind the goal on the north end of the court. Those seats were really close and no barriers separated us from the action as it appears it is now. Larry Brown was watching shoot around from a folding chair down by us and I happened to have my camera that day and went and took his picture. Good memories. Go home and local public TV would play a replay of the game we just witnessed! Of course we watched it. Saturdays were also game after game of pickup ball at Robinson gym and watch the Jayhawks either at home or on TV. It’s a wonder we learned anything!
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Boy, this thread made me homesick and nostalgic like no other. Thank you all for taking me back to the good ole days!
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I have more than one scar from the Wheel. lol One from a fall. Those steps were pure ice!
Thanks for your post! Brought back some memories… Louise’s was one of my spots, too. I lived at 23rd and Alabama… other side of campus.
My school days go back to the 70s… but I have had experiences there ever since.
I’m now thinking of that Mexican place on Iowa in the old Pizza Hut with the HUGE margaritas! They never carded kids so may have been closed down.
And that late-night bakery on 6th… open late… necessary stop for munchies!
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I guess my negative take on The Wheel comes mainly from one particular night in '76. I was there to watch the Royals play the Yankees in the final game of the ALCS. The lead kept going back and forth, with the crowd hanging on every pitch. One particularly obnoxious Yankee fan in the place was giving the Royals fans a lot of crap all game long. Finally, Chris Chambliss hit a walkoff home run to win the game for New York. Never went back again…too many bad memories.
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When were you all living in Lawrence? I was here in 1990-96 (I commuted to work in KC while my wife got her PhD). We got here as 25 year olds, and left at 31, and kind of avoided the hardcore student bars since my wife taught and didn’t like to run into her students. We had our own favorite places that had more of a local/grad student vibe and hit the other bars early enough to avoid the kids. Moved back in 2010 to present.
Beer was cheaper in the 90s, but there sure was a lot more second-hand smoke!
Anyone ever go to the Outhouse east of town for “music”?
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@drgnslayr is it El Mez? It was open last time I was in town a couple years ago. It also definitely had that reputation as late as when I was in grad school at KU around 2014
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It’s now called Pueblo Mexican Restaurant… but I think it changed names and ownership a while back because of being busted so many times for selling to minors.
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@nwhawkfan I obviously have given up allegiances to the pinstripes, but I was a boy growing up outside of NYC and became a Mets and Yankees fan. Great memories of that series, but the all time great team 76 Reds absolutely smoked the Yankees in the Series. Somehow that Reds team went from 102 wins to 88 the next season and didn’t even have the chance for the 3-peat.
LOL, I did a little digging into the history of that era and the Royals in 1981 made the playoffs with a losing record. They split the season into two halves because of the strike and you had to win the first half and or the 2nd half to make an 8 team tournament. The Royals were really bad in the 1st half and then won their division in the 2nd half but made the playoffs with a 50-53 record. Meanwhile the Reds played great in both halves and had the best record in baseball but didn’t make the playoffs because they didn’t win their division in either half. Amazing!
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What a thread!
Way back when I was at KU in the 80s…
I have two main food memories:
— Late night Pyramid Pizza delivery to the dorm.
— Yellow Sub. Dang were those subs good. Crunchy on the outside. I want one now!
As far as bars, my group of friends mostly hung out at The Hawk. The best ever was fill up your Hawk glass nights for a buck or whatever. Man, I’m remembering stumbling home across campus from The Hawk. No clue how we made it up and down the hill without major injury!
Occasional treks to Johnny’s for a burger and brew.
Cogburns / The Bottleneck was a great place to see live music.
For KU games, Me and my buddy would grab last row seats behind the basket so we could lean against the rail, stand. Didn’t have to camp out back then. Great view of the action underneath the hoop. And a great spot to watch Ron Kellogg hit “3s” before they were 3s from the corner.
Memories!
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I have to underscore what an institution Joe’s Donuts was.
Of all the awesome culinary memories, my fondest is of late night study sessions that were punctuated with a trek to Joe’s. For those that don’t know (and God rest your soul), that is the place that started making fresh glazed for the next day around 12:30 am and attracted a line of students (tired, drunk, or both) out the door even before the first batch were out of the oven… all jonesing for some hot donuts that were otherworldly.
The hot glazed melted in your mouth. I’ve never found another place that could be compared to it.
So good, that I share my stories whenever I get donuts with my kids. They have no idea what I’m talking about… but I do it anyway. It’s probably my futile attempt to keep those donuts ‘alive’ forever.
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@bskeet said in We're the best:
Joe’s Donuts
Oh shizzzz! That’s the name of the late night bakery. Joe’s Donuts. On 9th Street, right? Do you remember the cross street… was it Indiana? Mmmmmm… hot glazed!
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@drgnslayr said in We're the best:
@bskeet said in We're the best:
Joe’s Donuts
Oh shizzzz! That’s the name of the late night bakery. Joe’s Donuts. On 9th Street, right? Do you remember the cross street… was it Indiana? Mmmmmm… hot glazed!
Yup. that’s the address. So good…
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It was sad to see Joe’s Donuts close a few years back, but noticed a couple mentions about yello sub… they are still rockin’ it. Call ahead cuz they’re made fresh and take about 20 minutes but are worth it.
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Joes was an institution.
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I don’t remember Joe’s. Was it there in the 90s? My late night donut place of choice was Munchers. I visited Lawrence last weekend and did the round of Pizza Shuttle, Munchers, and Yellow Sub. Pizza Shuttle is now $6 for 10" and a coke. I think it used to be 2.99 or 3.99 in the 90s.
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I’m making the 1900-mile drive back to KC next week for a reunion and plan to spend some time in Larryville. Appreciate all the dining suggestions. Runza is still there, right ?
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@nwhawkfan did u read that best of Lawrence? Kinda depends on what you prefer. @DanR lives there. My youngest sister and her hubby likes runza, I think there’s so many better places.
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Runza is still here at 27th and Iowa, but no way would I drive 1900 miles to eat there. They definitely have their fans though… gal that cuts my hair is from Lincoln, Nebraska, where Runza is headquartered, and boy oh boy does she like to talk about Runza.
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This post is deleted!
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@Jethro said in We're the best:
Joes was an institution.
Totally agree. It was so much of an institution that I wish the university had a way to buy them out and keep it running. I know that might not have made business sense, but it would have been a good move from a campus culture perspective.
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@DanR Not saying I’d drive all that way just for a Runza. It was just something that caught my taste buds when I was there a few years ago. Had never had one before that…shoot, I hadn’t even heard of a runza before then. Guess it’s a Nebraska thing.
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My 11pm Pizza Shuttle orders ($3.99 from '94-'98) didn’t help my waistline, but man were they good
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I was in Lawrence this past weekend and noticed this artwork at a friend’s house -
