[eat] Unforgettable Wichita Food
When it comes to dining out, Wichitans have food envy. We scour signs at new construction sites for a hint at what fabulous new restaurant or fast food joint could be “coming soon.” When we travel, we barely get beyond the state line before we start anticipating all those highway signs beckoning new, different and exciting food. Sure, it’s fun to shake it up and try something new, but maybe we don’t realize how good we’ve got it and how much we need to appreciate all the little burger stands and diners that have become staples for all of us.
The idea for this article came to me one day after a conversation with my best friend Angela, who was lamenting about a craving for Dog-N-Shake crinkle fries and a Spangles Gourmet Supreme. Being the dutiful girlfriend I am, I offered to deliver lunch and then added, “I’ll see you in five hours.” As Angela lives in Springfield, Missouri, she was not amused. As a former ICT resident, she has reminded me on more than one occasion how lucky I am to have these local burger favorites, as well as that ice cream royalty, the Dairy Queen.
Food is often more than sustenance – it’s nostalgia. When people move away, they feel comfort in knowing some things will stay the same. Mom may have turned your bedroom into a scrapbooking haven when you left for college, but you can still belly up to the original Nu Way Cafe counter on Douglas for a loose meat sandwich and chocolate malt. For my sister Tracy, who has lived in Kansas City for nearly four years, coming home means a visit to Taco Tico. In KC she has access to restaurants on The Plaza and blocks of famous barbecue, but Taco Tico is the food of our youth; it’s not just a meal, it’s a memory. She also misses DeFazio’s Italian restaurant and tries to fit it in to the weekend tour of favorites when she’s in town.
As a lifelong resident of Wichita, I admit I’m guilty of wanderlust. Before my kids were born and my roots were set deep, I often wondered what it would be like to live in another city. I wouldn’t miss Kellogg traffic, endless road construction or the creepy Tallianos Clown waving on the corner of 13th Street, but ohhh, how I would miss green chili from Old Mill Tasty Shop, a tostada from Chico’s Mexican restaurant, greasy burgers from Bionic Burger and pancakes with my Pappy at Village Inn, to name a few.
We want our city to grow, and it’s OK to be excited by new food like Five Guys and Jose Pepper’s, but we can’t neglect the countless classic Wichita restaurants we grew up with that make up the culinary foundation of our city.
Now I know you’re looking at the screen right now thinking, “Wait, Dani, you forgot about ___,” and I probably did. So I’m curious, tell me, what food do you associate with Wichita? If you left tomorrow, what would your taste buds miss? What burger, burrito or other menu item makes you close your eyes and think, “mmm, this tastes like home?”
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This does not qualify at all as a restaurant but when I travel i know I’m almost home at the first sighting of a Quik Trip.
I did not grow up in ICT so my restaurant memories of my youth include Vista and Buck’s Drive In, both long gone. I lived in Lawrence for a number of years and I yearn for Free State Brewery almost daily, especially in the spring and fall when their patio is supreme, but when I leave Wichita I will definitely miss The Anchor. That place is about as close to Free State as ICT can get and it is pretty damn awesome!
I think it’s problematic that so much of our cultural currency in this town centers around eating. We’re inheriting a culture where there’s no space to gather publically that doesn’t involve buying and consuming more food than we should rightly eat!
On the other hand, over-eating probably keeps me in a job . . .
That said, DeFazio’s is definitely on my list, as is Bionic Burger. Taco Shop is another one; their all-you-can eat tacos figured prominently in the Monday nights of my childhood. Quality has gone down considerably in the last 10 years, though, and it’s not the same without a trip to Four Flags after dinner. For those not in the know, Four Flags was a shop that dealt in such specialties as genuine buckskin, black powder weaponry, and tomahawks. What would you call a place like that? A frontier store? Anyway, the building was right across from the Taco Shop at Pawnee and Hydraulic; it collapsed years ago.
Ooh! How about La Galette? That’s one place I truly missed when I moved away from Wichita.
I used to spend almost every Saturday night with my grandpa after my grandma died when I was 7. We would have dinner and play dominoes on Saturday night. Sunday mornings he’d fix me the same breakfast of oatmeal and cinnamon toast every week before church. After church was almost ALWAYS lunch at the original NuWay on Douglas.
That lunch counter is as big a part of my childhood as any place. I have so many memories of conversations there. Spinning around on the stools. The time he sat back and watched as I mistakenly put Tobasco on my sandwich instead of ketchup and laughed hysterically when I realized my mistake. (And then bought me a new sandwich!)
My grandpa, “Papa” as I called him, was a huge influence on my life. He’s been gone for nearly 20 years now. Yet every time I step into the tiny little NuWay on Douglas I swear I can still feel him there at the lunch counter. THAT is comfort food!
Jennifer, that’s EXACTLY the point of this piece. What restaurants have surpassed more than just a meal? What restaurants feed our soul? Thanks for sharing the story about your Papa. Aaaand now I need to find a Kleenex.
Margarita’s Cantina! This was the 1st place I ever ate in Wichita when we moved here almost 2 years ago and it’s absolutely one of my favorite Wichita places! Every time I go to a mexican place anywhere else, I’m comparing it to Margarita’s.
Mead’s Corner is another one. Every time I go to a new town the 1st thing I do is look for a local coffee house. I used to compare all coffee houses to The Raven Cafe in Port Huron, MI, now it’s Mead’s Corner right here in Wichita!
I grew up in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and Taco Bueno was home for me. I moved to Kansas 19 years ago and always had to hit that when I went home. I was happy when they moved to Wichita several years ago and was so disappointed when they began closing these almost new locations. Luckily a few remain to remind me of home. *Kleenex*
When I think uniquely Wichita, I think of Nu Way and Spangles.
BTW, creepy clown??? Wha?
First off, it’s not OK to get excited about Jose Peppers.
Second, as a native Wichitan who goes back rarely, the only 2 places in town I miss regularly are Taco Tico and Nu Way. I hated Spangles when I lived there, but, my wife, a Nebraskan, loves it. So we hit the one on Harry next to the Nu Way so I can get my loose meat on and she can get a Western burger.
I’ll never get the hubbub over DeFazio’s. It’s awful. I ate there many many times because I worked right by there and every time it was awful. Wichitans need to get over DeFazio’s. Better Italian food exists and should be sought out, you’re not going to find it at DeFazio’s.
I’m pretty sure it is, in actuality, someone’s right (like, constitutionally) to get excited about Jose Pepper’s.
[...] while back, Dani wrote an article about unforgettable Wichita food. Well, is it possible to say that for a long time, I forgot about one of these unforgettable [...]
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