Category Archives: Frozen treats

A Freddy’s/Panera combo for the west side

Oct. 4, 20102:41 p.m.

freddysMy esteemed colleague Carrie Rengers reported months ago that a Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Panera store both would open at Ridge Road and University (that’s near the intersection of Maple and Ridge.) Today, I got an update on the project from the Simon family.

Construction workers started moving dirt today on what will become the first ever Freddy’s/Panera in a single building. The building will contain about 7,500 square feet, with Panera taking 4,250 and some patio space and Freddy’s using nearly 3,200 feet with a patio and a drive through window.

The building should be done by the end of the year, and both restaurants should open in early 2011.

Other Panera news: Local stores will start serving chili with baked cornbread croutons in the middle of this month, and in the next couple of weeks, Freddy’s will bring back its famous fall treat — the pumpkin pie concrete.

By Denise Neil | Tags: , Filed under About-to-open, Burgers, Frozen treats, Sandwiches, Seasonal treats | Comments

Restaurant review sneak peek: Orange Leaf

Sept. 15, 20102:00 p.m.
orangeleafetc.jpg 001

Mmmm. Toppings.

You know the drill: You’re a loyal blog reader, so you don’t have to wait until Friday to read my Friday restaurant review.

This week, I had the very difficult task of reviewing  Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt, which has two locations  in Wichita now.

Okay, it wasn’t difficult at all. I love that stuff. Especially the peanut butter.

Anyone else have opinions about the place? Post below.

By Denise Neil | Tags: Filed under Frozen treats, Restaurant reviews | Comments

Fiesta at The Donut Whole

Aug. 18, 201010:46 a.m.

images-1The Donut Whole, the very hip and happenin’ donut shop and hangout at 1720 E. Douglas, is always doing someting to enhance its hipness and happeningness, and its latest additions are giving the shop a little flavor of Mexico.

For one, it’s started serving Mexican Coca Cola, which for those who have not had the pleasure of sampling it, tastes soooo much better than the American version. It’s sold in glass bottles and it’s made with real cane sugar (as opposed to high fructose corn syrup). And Mexican Coke isn’t the store’s only unique beverage. The Donut Whole keep a whole array of natural sodas in their cooler, as is evidenced in this video.

It’s also now serving paletas, which are delicious Mexican ice cream bars made with real fruit and cream. Paleteria La Reyna, a paleta maker at 2925 N. Arkansas, is supplying the Donut Whole with the goods, and it stocks 24 flavors, including coconut, lemon, mango, strawberry, banana and the very interesting sounding fruit and chili.

Fiesta!

By Denise Neil | Tags: , Filed under Donuts, Frozen treats | Comments

Blizzard brilliance

Aug. 13, 201011:27 a.m.

DQ-Mini-BlizzardFor YEARS, I’ve been trying to figure out a way I could eat a fabulous Dairy Queen Blizzard without packing on a zillion calories and suffering from days worth of food regret.

Back in the day, they’d make ‘em with frozen yogurt. I’m sure I was deluding myself, but it made me feel a little less sinful.

Now, Dairy Queen has come up with a MOST brilliant Blizzard idea: The mini-blizzard. They started selling them this month, and they’re about half the size of a small, weighing in at around 7 ounces.

Now that that problem’s solved, I just have to decide between Heath Bar and chocolate chip cookie dough. (Since they’re so small, I could probably eat two at a time, right?)

By Denise Neil | Filed under Frozen treats, Uncategorized | Comments

Ice, ice baby

July 29, 201010:06 a.m.
Sonic sells goooood chewin' ice.

Sonic sells goooood chewin' ice.

I’ve always been a big fan of crushed ice — the stuff that’s kind of watery and gives in easily when chomped. The kind that absorbs all the goodness of your vanilla diet Coke and allows you to munch on its sweet goodness even after it’s gone. My friend Alan used a term the other day that perfectly describes what I’m talking about: “Good chewin’ ice.”

BIG NEWS, PEOPLE: Sonic not only makes good chewin’ ice, they also sell it by the bag. Just drive up, press the button and tell them you want a bag of ice. (Or five, as I recently did.) It’s $1.69 a bag and worth every cent. I’ve been eating it for dessert every night this week.

(Update: I just found a Facebook group called “I Love Sonic Ice,” which has 3,188 members. I am now proud member No. 3,189.)

By Denise Neil | Tags: Filed under Frozen treats | Comments

Orange Leaf: Self-service fun

July 26, 201010:43 a.m.
A trio of Orange Leaf creations

A trio of Orange Leaf creations

This weekend I stopped into Orange Leaf, the new self-service frozen yogurt shop at 21st and Tyler, just to casually check it out.

Okay, who am I kidding? I’ve been panting over this place since the very first second I heard they’d have peanut butter flavored frozen yogurt.

It did not disappoint. I made a creation that included so many variations on the two-great-tastes-that-taste-great-together theme that my head nearly explodorageleafinteriored.

The place is fun to visit because customers walk in, pick up an oversized bowl, and then go to town filling the bowl from self-serve yogurt dispensers that offer 16 different flavors, from peanut butter to peach, cherry to cheesecake. The dispensers are low enough that kids can make their own, and the ones I saw were loving that feature.

Next, customers top their yogurt from a self-service bar that features all sorts of fruit, candy, cereal and other sweet treats. They place the finished product on a scale and then pay 39 cents an ounce. We got three pretty big servings for about $9, which doesn’t seem outrageous considering that a small gelato costs nearly $5 these days.

orangeleafmural

The seating area is mod and bright, with short white tables and space-ship looking chairs and orange couches. There’s also a very bright and interesting mural on the wall that depicts scenes from Wichita.

A second Orange Leaf is scheduled to open next month at 37th and Rock.

Orange you glad I told you?

By Denise Neil | Tags: Filed under Frozen treats, New restaurant, Uncategorized | Comments

Orange Leaf’s arrival

July 12, 20102:56 p.m.

orangeleaf.jpg 002 I was very excited over lunch today to drive past the little strip mall in front of the west side Warren Theatre at 21st and Tyler and see that Orange Leaf, a new self-serve frozen yogurt store, had put its sign on the building.

So I did what any self-respecting lover of peanut butter flavored frozen yogurt would do — I slammed on the brakes, zipped into the parking lot and demanded that the construction workers inside tell me when the place was going to open.

The young man buffing the floors looked up and told me they were shooting for the end of this week, though that seems optimistic. I have a call in to the person in charge, so as soon as he calls me back with a firm open date, I’ll update this post.

Orange Leaf will allow customers to serve themselves from several yogurt flavors (including peanut butter!) then add toppings themselves from a self-service bar. The self-made concoctions will be weighed to determine the price.

A second Orange Leaf is scheduled to open out east, near 37th and Rock, in August.

*UPDATE* I just spoke with the franchise owner, and he says the shop should definitely be open by this weekend. He’s hoping for Thursday, but that’s not for sure.

By Denise Neil | Filed under About-to-open, Frozen treats | Comments

Sneak peek: Frozen treats

June 30, 20102:00 p.m.
snowcone.jpg 008

A Tiger Blood snow cone from Heavenly Sno, which my co-worker Suzanne's son says "tastes like real tiger blood."

Earlier this week, I asked you kind blog readers to help me come up with a list of Wichita’s best frozen treats so that I could compile them into a Fourth of July story. You did, and as a reward, you get to read the story TWO WHOLE DAYS before it’s actually published in the Go! section.

Of course, if you’d sign up for my Wichita A La Carte newsletter, the main dining story would come straight to your e-mail  inbox TWO WHOLE DAYS before it’s actually published every week, but I’m not gonna tell you what to do.

By Denise Neil | Filed under Frozen treats | Comments

Orange Leaf = yogurty bliss

June 9, 201011:36 a.m.

orangeleafyougurt One of my very favorite summer (and winter, who are we kidding?) treats is frozen yogurt, especially the type made popular by shops such as Pinkberry on the west coast.

Wichita FINALLY is finally getting some Pinkberry knockoffs, including Froz, which opened earlier this year on the east side.

Now there’s news that Wichita is about to get two new Orange Leaf frozen yogurt shops, one on the east side and one on the west. Orange Leaf invites customers to fill their bowls themselves from a line of yogurt machines then top their creations themselves from a topping station overflowing with candies, fruits and other sweet things. Customers take their creations to the counter and pay based on weight. The bowl’s, not theirs.

This could be dangerous.

According to the Orange Leaf web site, the shop will offer 15 flavors, including my all-time favorite — peanut butter.

Yes, this could be dangerous.

By Denise Neil | Tags: , , , Filed under Frozen treats | Comments