A few weeks ago, I told you thatPimiento, the Mexican restaurant that opened last summer in the former Quizno’s space at 738 N. Waco, had been sold to Hector Hernandez of McPherson.
Hernandez now has a new sign up at the restaurant, and he hopes to open it on Friday with its new name, Jalapeno’s.
He had a restaurant in Dodge City called Jalapeno’s from 2007 to 2010, and it was known for its giant hamburgers. Hernandez will offer the same menu here and also will serve tacos, burritos and other Mexican dishes.
The hours will be 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Once open, Jalapeno’s can be reached by calling 316-425-5189.
They’ve even paired up to create a local mega brew, which both will serve on Friday.
River City’s observance of the week includes daily beer and food specials. Each day, the restaurant will feature a different beer from its collection and sell glasses — normally $4 — for $1.50. The food special will incorporate the beer of the day into the recipe. For example, today’s beer is the Old Town Brown, which was used to make the rich cheese sauce on today’s Philly cheese steak sandwich.
Wichita Brewing Co. & Pizzeria also is offering beer specials all week. Today, it has $2 Porter pints (normally $4), and on Wednesday, IPA pints will be $2.
On Friday, both breweries will offer a beer called ICT Conspiracy, which they teamed up up to create. It’s a mixture of River City’s Belgian Triple and Wichita Brewing Co.’s IPA that’s described as light in color but very hoppy.
OH, and if you want a free koozie (and who doesn’t?) all you have to do is stop into River City today and sign theDeclaration of Beer Independence,which demands life, liberty and the pursuit of hops.
A few weeks ago, my daughter and I were in the Dillon’s at 21st and Maize when something caught our eye. A guy in a little booth was not only wearing a hairnet over his super-long heavy metal beard, but he also was creating a whole lot of racket.
He was making Kim’s Magic Pop, an interesting low-calorie snack thingy being made and sold in several of Wichita’s fancier Dillons. The little Magic Pop booths sit in the deli departments, and watching them being made is pretty entertaining.
Also entertaining: Trying to figure out why these snacks are so addictive. We’ve gotten on a little Magic Pop kick here at The Eagle, which amuses us because they don’t really taste all that good, and yet we can’t stop eating them.
Magic Pop booth comes from a company in New Jersey. Their finished products are intended to mimic a snack famous in Korea. They taste sorta like rice cakes, eat sorta like pork rinds and are so light, they’re almost negative calories. One pop, about as big as a tea saucer, has about 20 calories.
They come in several flavors, including cinnamon, onion and strawberry. I like the way they disintegrate on your tongue, and several of my coworkers say they like to top them with things such as cream cheese, peanut butter and powdered sugar.
It’s also fun to watch them being made. The machine spits them out with a kinetic intesity that’s hard to ignore. Watch the video my colleague Julie captured this weekend at the Dillon’s at Central and Rock.
Magic Pop machines are also in Dillon’s at Harry and Webb, Central and Maize, 21st and Maize, 37th and Woodlawn, 31st and S. Seneca, Harry and Edgemoor.
As of Saturday, all of the ice cream goodness of Paleteria La Reyna — the ice cream and Mexican food place at 2925 N. Arkansas — is more accessible to west siders.
Gabriela Velasquez, the daughter of Paleteria La Reyna’s owners, opened Hamburgesas y Helados: La Reyna 2, on Saturday. The restaurant is in the old Sonic building recently vacated bySloppy Joe’s at 803 N. West St., which closed in January after six months in business.
It’ll be different from the original in that it will specialize in hamburgers and hot dogs, available topped with pico de gallo for a Mexican twist. It’ll also serve Palateria La Reyna’s wonderful Mexican ice cream bars and homemade ice cream, of which I am a big fan.
There’s room for about 30 to sit inside.
Hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily except Wednesdays, when the restaurant is closed.
Andrew Gough visited and reviewed Lalo’s Express,a place I’ve wondered about for a long time.
Andrew Gough
It’s at Harry and Seneca and is one of those many, many mysterious south-side places I see when I drive on the south side and think to myself, ‘Why don’t I ever eat on the south side?”
After reading his review and looking at his mouth-watering photos, I’m definitely going to make it a point to cross Kellogg for lunch.
But about six months ago, The Friends of the Keeper stopped selling them.
They’ll make a return engagement this weekend only.
As part of a 38th anniverasry party the group is throwing for the Keeper of the Plains, Indian tacos will be served from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday at the center.
The tacos are huge and feature traditional taco toppings piled high on Indian fry bread.
Larkspur offers a brunch buffet only on Mother's Day each year.
I’ve rounded up my annual list of restaurants putting on special meals for moms on Sunday.
It has the usual list of hotel buffets and restaurants offering all manners of brunchy overindulgence.
I wrote the story when I was hungry, and I was most intrigued by the special Mother’s Day menus being offered at Bella Vita Bistro, which is offering dishes such as an andouille-stuffed pork loin and prosciutto and basil-wrapped chicken breast, and by the special brunch menu Sabor is serving up. Biscuits and chorizo gravy? Yes and yum.
Diners also will want to pay attention to the fact that Larkspur is offering a Mother’s Day buffet. This is the only time of year they join the holiday buffet foray.
Peruse my list and make your Mother’s Day reservations pronto.
The barbecue places seem to come and go on a fairly frequent basis. Which one is your favorite? Which one would you miss most if it evaporated like Bubba?
I liked Bubba, but I also have enjoyed many a meal at Pig In! Pig Out! at 1003 East 13th Street N. and When Pig’s Fly at 7011 W. Central.
Submit your barbecue favorites in the comments section below.
I hosed off the back of my house for this photo shoot, people!
I was asked to contribute my favorite grilling recipe for today’s cover story in WichiTalk.
The problem: I don’t write recipes. I just use them, but I have a huge collection of fabulous ones to draw from. I got permission from Cargill to use a recipe for smoky spice-rubbed pork loin with cilantro cream sauce that I picked up nearly a decade ago at the Midwest Winefest. It was authored by Tanya Tandoc, who at the time was working as a spokeswoman for Sterling Silver meats.
It’s one of my most beloved recipes, and somehow, I’ve managed not to lose the original card in the 10 years I’ve had it. That’s definitely not common for me.
The card is now pretty beat up and stained with chipotle sauce and crusty bits of dried cilantro. But the dish is both spicy and cool, and everyone I’ve ever served it to loves it.
The finished product
I have a lot of favorite grilling recipes in my stockpile. Another is this amazing but simple flank steak recipe, and nothing is more fun than grilling pizza.
Anyone out there have a can’t- miss grilling recipe to share?
We’re running a contest tied to the Wichita Ribfest that’s soliciting great recipes. The winner must submit one that’s original or highly adapted, and he or she will get tickets to see ole Bocephus at Intrust Bank Arena.
When Chef Miguel Larcher bought vegan restaurant d’Sozo from former owner Larry Cook back in December, his plans were to close it and reopen it with a new name.
He did — briefly. Larcher called the restaurant Miguel’s Eat-In Cafe, and he said he’d continue to operate at the original location at 1812 S. Seneca until he found a new location.
That didnt’ last, and he ended up closing to devote himself to the search. He thought he had a place picked out last week in downtown Wichita, but at the last minute, the deal fell through. Larcher now says he has a line on a few other spaces that look good. He hopes to be reopen by the end of this year.
In the meantime, Larcher is about to publish a new cookbook. It’s called “Three Olives – Of the Sea” and will be ready in July. It’ll feature vegan recipes and will be avaialable in local bookstores.
A few weeks ago, I told you that Pimiento, the Mexican restaurant that opened last summer in the former Quizno’s space at 738 N. Waco, had been sold to Hector Hernandez of McPherson.
