I recently had to go to Wichita for business. While there, I was able to check out some good eats (of course).
As our conference hotel was in Old Towne, I focused most of my foodie quests in that area.
Might I recommend?…
Sabor (Latin food): I had the best roasted veggie/polenta “tower.” It sat in some spicy black bean puree with a jalapeno creme. YUM!
Luca (Italian food): From my conversation with the waiter, I found out that Luca is the name of the chef who was “discovered” in Aspen by an enterprising Wichita business person who brought Luca to town and built him a restaurant. The bread is fantastic as is the house salad and this wonderful ravioli. Service was wonderful.
Caffe Moderne (??): Is it a coffee house, a bistro, a bar, a gelato place? Yes. Had some sublime coconut gelato here.
Larkspur(Continental cuisine): Another conundrum here? Old time steak house with older gentleman playing baby grand throughout dinner—check. Lively bar atmosphere—check. Attentive staff—check. Phylis Diller art gallery—check. (Also, Elliot Gould was allegedly in the house as there was a film festival in town.)
Pumphouse (bar with great food): May be some of the best onion rings I have had in a while. All sorts of bar food is also good (and our group sampled them all): hot wings, fries, fried mozzarella, SW egg rolls, fried zucchini—yes, everything was fried!) Ooh–I forgot about the chili cheese queso dip. Burgers were pretty darn good too.
Beyond Napa (wine shop): Friendly and attentive staff that specializes in finding good small production wines. They also are always on the lookout for “fun” labels—Sweet Bitch, Mad Housewife, Gridlock, etc.
Who knew this foodie haven was here? (And, I never made it out of Old Towne!)
Oh, delicious! Whenever I visit a new place….I truly judge it by the restaurants! Thanks!
Hey I’m in Wichita! Larkspur was a good choice! If you find yourself back & venture out of Old Town, go to Bella Luna too. 🙂
I will certainly add that to my list. Thanks!
What a trip! I live in Wichita! And sadly I have not explored our restaurants as much as I would like. In fact, the only restaurant you mentioned that even sounds familiar is Larkspur. And yes, I’ve lived her my whole life. A great new find is the Bagatelle Bakery, which is a French restaurant & bakery. I actually do not like their desserts very much, if at all, but I adore the food! They have some great Lebanese food and the prices are outrageously low. I’m going to write all the restaurants you mentioned on our “to try” list so that next time we’re trying to think of a new place, we won’t have to.
I love local places like this. I will definitely add this to my list. I have some colleagues going next month and will give them this recommendation! Thanks.