Official Foodie Thread

[ShockTalk]

So, do any of you utilize the Spice Merchant?

[SubGod22]

I like it and I hope it works out.

KSN - Carpe Diem Cafe opens after hiring those with special needs

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Carpe Diem Cafe, 8643 W. Central, opened its doors in Wichita Saturday, but the shop is more than just coffee. It employs people with special needs.

Founder Perry Warden says it began when he started working to help them find jobs and discovered that many employers would not hire them.

The cafe is also open to hiring people in special circumstances.

[SubGod22]

One of our favorite foodies is back! Denise Neil may be my favorite at the Eagle after Taylor. She's had a scary battle and has conquered cancer.

Eagle - It's been a long and often scary five months away, but Dining with Denise is back

As I write this today, I’m back at work after nearly five months away. I signed off just before my surgery for tongue cancer in mid-November, and I’ve been gone ever since. What a strange ride it’s been.

Surgery was the first step, and that happened on Nov. 17 at KU Medical Center. I was lucky in that I lost only a small section of my tongue on the left side and that the reports from the surgery were good. The cancer had not spread to my lymph nodes and was removed with “clear margins.” But there was one marker in my surgical pathology that made me a possible candidate for radiation.

Surgery was the first step, and that happened on Nov. 17 at KU Medical Center. I was lucky in that I lost only a small section of my tongue on the left side and that the reports from the surgery were good. The cancer had not spread to my lymph nodes and was removed with “clear margins.” But there was one marker in my surgical pathology that made me a possible candidate for radiation.

My doctors at KU Med were on the fence about whether I should or shouldn’t have radiation, so — at my sister’s insistence — I went to MD Anderson in Houston for a second opinion. MD Anderson is considered one of if not the best cancer treatment centers in the country, so when the doctors there told me that I should go forward with radiation, I took their advice. Thankfully, I was able to stay at a friend’s apartment in downtown Houston, and I started six weeks of radiation on Jan. 3.

Radiation in your mouth is beyond brutal, but I did pretty well throughout treatment. I had a different friend or relative come stay with me every week I was there, and they kept my spirits up and forced me to do the exercising and eating required to keep me from losing my ability to swallow or worse. The doctors were impressed with how well I was able to continue eating, which I attributed to my love of food. I wasn’t going down easily.

My last treatment in Houston was on Feb. 10, when I “banged the gong,” something radiation patients get to do to celebrate the end. My gong banging was so enthusiastic and loud that I got a small round of applause from the people in the adjoining waiting room when I exited. I came home the following week.

[SubGod22]

Road construction kills restaurant in Bel Aire. I'm not surprised. I haven't been there since it was a Bob & Luigi's, but that's generally the route I take to go to City Bites, which I haven't been to in quite some time either. Last time I went to City Bites, I wasn't aware of the construction on Woodlawn or how bad it was. I'd just happened to be in the area of City Bites and then took off down Woodlawn to 254 as normal. Normally I use Woodlawn to get to City Bites as well. Anyway, the construction there was an absolute pain in the ass and based on the location of Los Compas, I'm not surprised that business fell off to the point where they had to give up. I hate seeing businesses fail because of things outside of their control.

Eagle - Restaurant that battled road construction for a year and a half has given up and closed

The owners of a restaurant that has been fighting road construction practically from the day it opened have finally given up and closed the place, they announced on Facebook on Thursday.

But they say they hope to eventually find a new space and reopen.

Fernando Aguirre and his brother-in-law Hector Onate opened Los Compas under the name Los Cunados at 4559 N. Woodlawn in July of 2021 — just two months before the City of Bel Aire launched the massive Woodlawn Expansion Project. Pretty quickly, customers were having a hard time finding their way to the parking lot of the restaurant, which operates in the space that was home to Bob & Luigi’s for 18 years.

I'm not sure if Bel Aire could have handled construction differently. I know a lot of times when there is massive road work, they try to at least do it to where it's the least disruptive that they can be to lessen the impact on businesses along the way.

[WuDrWu]

I can't believe they lasted as long as they did. The bad part about it is the food was really good. My family and I ate their a few times but we even live near there and it's beyond painful to navigate that area. You just stay away. I feel awful for them. Someone like that deserves a better outcome.

And I too was disappointed when B&L left as I picked up a pie (at least) once a week. Tremendous pizza.

[SubGod22]

I'm thankful the B&L in Andover. I pick up pizza more than I probably should. Them and Gambino's Towanda are the best. Very similar pizza between those two if you ask me. Though I do of course also love WBC pizza, but I stopped being able to get that delivered and I'm almost never in the area to pick it up myself.

If Los Compas ever re-opens somewhere I'll have to give it a go. This food talk has me thinking maybe I'll order Connie's to pick up on my way home from work tomorrow.

[Eric]

Ok Doc, we are trying Vora tomorrow night!

[Kung Wu]

40A9412D-8CAB-49B2-83F4-3D41EC4A005F.jpeg A homemade foodie post. Slow smoked some ribs on my new grill yesterday.

Chicken breasts ... throw a good chicken rub on 'em, then smoke 'em at 225 until probe hits 160 (about an hour). Cover with a kitchen towel and rest for 5 minutes. Should be juicy and awesome. And healthy, so it'll get your wife off your back!

[Eric]

Ok. Found a 7 lb skin on pork belly at Sam’s. This is the next grill project. 5FB0CA4F-5728-4B95-85AE-A19E7A1D0FCF.jpeg

[SubGod22]

Eagle - Wichita will add this popular East Coast pizza chain in exactly one week

Many Wichitans have been eagerly awaiting the opening day for Grimaldi’s Pizzeria, a popular pizza chain that originated in Brooklyn and serves authentic New York-style pizza.

Now, opening day is exactly one week away.

The restaurant, which is taking over the former Zoe’s Kitchen space in the Waterfront Plaza at 13th and Webb, will officially open to the public on Thursday, April 27. (Passers-by might notice some activity the night before as the restaurant puts on its invite-only VIP soft opening.)

One week

[Eric]

IMG_7719.jpegThe porchetta turned out well!

[SubGod22]

Yahoo! - Beloved Wichita Mexican restaurant will mark 60 years with weekend celebration

On Saturday, Connie’s Mexico Cafe at 2227 N. Broadway will celebrate its 60th birthday. The restaurant — known for its big beef burritos, fried ground beef tacos with peas and potatoes — has been around since April 1963, when Ralph and Connie Lopez opened the doors. Their daughter Carmen, a 15-year-old at the time, was to roll homemade tortilla dough into balls. She would take over the restaurant when her parents retired then eventually died.

Now, Connie’s is in the hands of the family’s third generation, run by Carmen Rosales’ daughters, and they’re ready to celebrate their popular family restaurant, which just keeps evolving. Just after the pandemic, sisters Adele Garcia and CiCi Garcia, who now run the day-to-day of Connie’s, updated the restaurant’s exterior and interior, adding new booths, a mural and even an outdoor patio.

The family celebrates the restaurant’s birthday every year, but this one is a big one, and the owners hope that customers visit on Saturday to help them celebrate the big 6-0. Several special activities are planned: At noon, Ballet Folkloriko dancers will perform at the restaurant, and the day will also include door prizes, cake, live music and drink specials.

For more information about Connie’s, visit or read about its history at https://www.kansas.com/entertainment...le1114215.html or at www.kshs.org/kansapedia/connie-s-mexico-cafe/10292

There's a cool timeline for Connie's at the bottom of the article.

First, I'm a fan of Connie's and am planning on picking up dinner there tonight after work. Second, I love seeing homegrown restaurants like this survive and advance. We've seen some family owned restaurants close because there either weren't buyers or the offspring aren't involved or don't want to run the business into the future (DeFazio's). I have no ill will towards national chains and such, but there's something special about your local joints that thrive. Businesses that care about their community because they're a part of it. Businesses that thrive because they offer good food and good service. I love these success stories and I hope Connie's continues for many years to come.

[WstateU]

Yahoo! - Beloved Wichita Mexican restaurant will mark 60 years with weekend celebration



There's a cool timeline for Connie's at the bottom of the article.

First, I'm a fan of Connie's and am planning on picking up dinner there tonight after work. Second, I love seeing homegrown restaurants like this survive and advance. We've seen some family owned restaurants close because there either weren't buyers or the offspring aren't involved or don't want to run the business into the future (DeFazio's). I have no ill will towards national chains and such, but there's something special about your local joints that thrive. Businesses that care about their community because they're a part of it. Businesses that thrive because they offer good food and good service. I love these success stories and I hope Connie's continues for many years to come.

Connie’s is one of my all-time Wichita favorites… I’ve been eating there since they opened in the early 60’s and have always ordered the ‘Single Combination’. My taste buds might have changed through the years, but it’s not quite what it was when the first generation operated it, but the second and third generations have done well continuing her legacy. I’m getting hungry thinking about it...

[SubGod22]

My go to is the deluxe chorizo burrito. I haven't done the friend ice cream in a long time, but damn it was good last time I had it.

I don't eat here as much as I'd like, but I'm pretty sure it's my favorite Mexican joint in town. Though I am open to trying others if people have recommendations. I do get a breakfast burrito quite often from Rene's. Haven't done much there for lunch and do know I have had a drunken night of friend taco's there in the past. Lina's does some good tacos, but I haven't been there in a while. El Gordo does some pretty good and massive burritos for a fast food option. Haven't been there in a while either. But Connie's is the goat for the area for me when it comes to Mexican for sure. I know there are some other places I've seen people mention in the past but I can't think of the names.

[WstateU]

My go to is the deluxe chorizo burrito. I haven't done the friend ice cream in a long time, but damn it was good last time I had it.

I don't eat here as much as I'd like, but I'm pretty sure it's my favorite Mexican joint in town. Though I am open to trying others if people have recommendations. I do get a breakfast burrito quite often from Rene's. Haven't done much there for lunch and do know I have had a drunken night of friend taco's there in the past. Lina's does some good tacos, but I haven't been there in a while. El Gordo does some pretty good and massive burritos for a fast food option. Haven't been there in a while either. But Connie's is the goat for the area for me when it comes to Mexican for sure. I know there are some other places I've seen people mention in the past but I can't think of the names.

To me it's 'hands down' the best Mexican food in Wichita.