Lawrence restaurant recommendations?
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@JayHawkFanToo When was Salty Iguana in PV?
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The Prairie Village location is the original location in Corinth Square on Mission and 83rd and has been and is still there since the early 90s. I lived in Prairie Village since the mid-late 80s so I used to go there since it opened until 2000 when I moved to Olathe.
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@JayHawkFanToo I am sure I would have loved it. I left KC in 1982 and my mom moved from PV to OP a few years later.
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@Gorilla72 I live in Lawrence (1990-96/2010-present) and go out to eat a lot… I’ve pretty much tried every place in town. You’ll be comfortable and welcome in any of the local places, so don’t bother with the chains. Here’s my opinion, for what it’s worth:
Set 'em Up Jack’s on the east side (east 23rd) is my favorite sports bar (not many college kids) Great owners. Food is better and more variety on the menu than the other sports bars in town.
Johnny’s West on 6th and Wakarusa (over by salty iguana) is the best pizza if you like thin NY style. Some decent bar food too (burgers/fries/wings/apps etc), but has gone downhill a little bit recently. Minsky’s on Mass St. is good for fancy pizza. Roger Morningstar owns a new york pizza place too out near Johnny’s. Pizza is good, but I’ve only had it delivery. Honestly, any of the pizza places are good. Pizza Shuttle is the king if you need it cheap!
Johnny’s across the river has a different menu than West Johnnys. It smells like it’s been flooded a few times, but it’s OK too, and there’s a neat little bar across the alley called Gaslight Gardens if it’s nice enough to sit outside.
El Mezcal on 23rd near Iowa has the best mexican food, IMO. Some people like El Potro on S. Iowa better. La Familia closed up about three years ago. I personally thought that place was awful, but they had a very loyal clientele!
Breweries: Freestate Brewery… we usually just get whatever the specials are for the day, otherwise it’s basically the same menu they’ve had since they opened. Still solid. Not a good place to watch ball games though. Large/varied beer selection currently, leaning toward IPA’s.
There are a few good things at 23rd Street Brewery food-wise (some killer salads and a righteous turkey club). Three good beers (Bitter Professor, Chrimson Phog, and Wave the Wheat)
There’s a newer brewery – East Lawrence Brewery on Pennsylvania/East 9th which has great, interesting food, but limited menu. Beer is more experimental than the other breweries. Nice hip vibe, but gets crowded on weekends.
Henry T’s is still hanging in there on 6th street. They brew their own beer now which is decent, but the food isn’t the greatest. (Don’t order pizza)
Two new breweries are going to open soon, so I’m looking forward to that!
Downtown Local/Ethnic:
- Thai – Zen Zero on 8th/Mass (kind of a dive)
- Indian-- India Palace 10th St.
- Chinese – Encore
- Farm to Table – Lark A’ Fare (lower level of Town Place Suites hotel on 9th/NH) or 715.
Breakfast–Roost is the biggest place. Lady Bird, Miltons, or Wheatfield’s bakery are good but small and kind of intimate. Big Biscuit out west is OK.
BBQ… Biggs/Beimers/Hawg Wild … passable, but I go to KC for good BBQ.
Hope that helps. I guess I’m hungry! LOL
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@DanR what’s the sandwich place on Vermont?
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Roost closes at 3?
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@DanR All that just off the top of your head? I’m gonna print it out for my future AFH journey next season (first since 1979). Thx!
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@Crimsonorblue22 Hmm… Terrebonne (cajun Po’ Boys)? I actually tried that for the first time last night (their Gumbo and Jambalaya are really good!) Dempseys is the burger place by the post office. Wheatfields bakery has sandwiches too. That’s all I can think of on Vermont.
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mayjay said:
@DanR All that just off the top of your head?
Lawrence is really not a big town! I’ve been here for 14 years x 52 weeks x going out to eat a minimum of 3 times a week = 2,184 restaurant visits. (Sadly, that’s a very low estimate, I’m sure)
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@DanR That reminds me, LaFamilia was pretty good until one of the kids quit in the late nineties. Then it was hit or miss up until it closed. The Mexican food is better here (SW KS), but it better be with 1/2 the local population Mexican.
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@DanR my boys love the shrimp po’ boys. I usually get a club and a bite of theirs. Roost, formerly Milton’s? is a favorite for brunch. I loved the el mez on Wakarusa, we always ate there when I visited, but got really sick at the 23rd street one. We ate at set em up jacks when every place was full, was really good, but kinda far out. Cranky lil kids. Kinda depends what u r hungry for and how long u want to wait. I hate going somewhere and then eat at a chain.
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@DanR terrabonne
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Brunch: Roost and Milton’s are the best. I prefer the former since the family is from my neck of the woods Pizza: Minsky’s, Pizza Shuttle (cream cheese and pepperoni is my jam), or Pyramid (cream cheese and bacon). Wings: Jefferson’s on Mass, or R Bar on 6th has excellent whole smoked wings and good beer specials for the game. Great staff too. Burgers: either Burger Stand or Dempsey’s Beer: Free State, Lawrence Brewing Co, or Merchant (happy hours are incredible, also a really good dinner spot) BBQ: Biemer’s on Iowa. I used to live about 2 minutes from there and it was dangerous.
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-Encore for Chinese on Mass - this came after we moved from Lawrence but is a go to now. Can get a cocktail there too. And you have to check out the bathroom. Make sure you wash your hands (not maybe what you think)
-Papa Keno’s for NY style by the slice with a Free State beer also on Mass (story is this was a business student’s class project creating a business plan and then went and did it)
Free State - good food, good beer.
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All of you are making me feel bad that I am not able to make it back for a game this year.
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Every place y’all mentioned is full to over-flowing. Ended up at the Sandbar.with a bunch of Villanova jerks… uh, folks
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Gorilla72 said:
Every place y’all mentioned is full to over-flowing. Ended up at the Sandbar.with a bunch of Villanova jerks… uh, folks
I love the Sandbar! Weird there’s room for Nova types
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@Gorilla72 Ha I forgot about the sandbar lol, I’m surprised to see any Nova fools showed up. Be loud tomorrow my friend.
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Kcmatt7 said:
@FarSideHawk You’re not allowed to eat Pizza Shuttle until after 1:30 AM. Those are the rules.
Haha! True that, but still I survived on that $3.99 pizza for four years!
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Gorilla72 said:
Every place y’all mentioned is full to over-flowing. Ended up at the Sandbar.with a bunch of Villanova jerks… uh, folks
I don’t want to stereotype, but there were a lot of Villanova jerks in Detroit in 08 and in Louisville in 16…….they couldn’t keep their big mouths shut.
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HighEliteMajor said:
@FarSideHawk Man, where’d you come from? I don’t recall seeing that young Larry Brown avatar for quite a while.
Man, I’ve been on an expat assignment to Dubai for the last couple of years so it’s been hard keeping up with my Jayhawks. Makes up for a lot of really early mornings to watch the games. Still try to come on here once in a while to lurk and especially look for your game post-mortems.
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wissox said:
@FarSideHawk Ha, I drove for Pizza Shuttle one year. Crazy/fun job that destroyed my Chevy Chevette as I tore around Lawrence trying to make as many deliveries as i could to make more money!
Man, I worked in the kitchen for a couple of summers. I believe the summer of 95 and 96. Long hours but fun times.
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FarSideHawk said:
wissox said:
@FarSideHawk Ha, I drove for Pizza Shuttle one year. Crazy/fun job that destroyed my Chevy Chevette as I tore around Lawrence trying to make as many deliveries as i could to make more money!
Man, I worked in the kitchen for a couple of summers. I believe the summer of 95 and 96. Long hours but fun times.
I’ll never forget the ad. 8421212 call us now Pizza Shuttle
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A great pizza shuttle memory was waiting for the phone to ring during the end of game 6 of the 85 series, aka, the Don Dekinger game. Totally dead starting around the 8th inning which I didn’t mind. Don blows the call in the bottom of the 9th, game winning run comes around a couple of batters later, and then the phone started ringing like mad!
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Gorilla72 said:
Every place y’all mentioned is full to over-flowing. Ended up at the Sandbar.with a bunch of Villanova jerks… uh, folks
The Sandbar is usually a ton of fun. Love that place. I took a couple of friends there a couple years ago at around noon for their first trip. There where people dancing on the tables already. Good times had by all!
