Dan's Longbranch Steakhouse

Tonight's entertainment: ZZ Not.

When Shaw told me the Wednesday night specials at Dan's Longbranch Steakhouse are $5 for a pound of wings with fries and $2 domestics, I thought that sounded like it was worth checking out. Cheap wings and cheap beers are a good combination. But I got really excited when I took a look at the restaurant's website and saw that Longbranch has a pinball machine. Cheap wings and cheap beers plus pinball is a combination that's unbeatable.

I didn't even care that the machine was a pinball version of Big Buck Hunter. I'm not really big into hunting, but with pinball becoming increasingly scarce, I'll play whatever table I can find -- even if bludgeoning your prey with a heavy silver ball does seem a little severe to me.

While Shaw and I were fine with the domestic special, we had our friend Dan along with us, and since he's something of a beer nut he decided to rock some Boulevard's Bob's '47 instead. Shaw grabbed the three of us a bowl of peanuts, and we ordered our wings. Decently sized, our pound came out to nine wings total, but taste-wise I didn't catch a lot of heat off them. Not the best I've ever had, yet far from the worst.

We also each got burgers -- the chili cheeseburger for Shaw, the blue cheese burger for me, and Dan felt obligated to try Dan's Barnyard Burger. When the chili cheeseburger and the blue cheese burger arrived, I thought they looked a little skimpy on toppings. However, there was actually just enough of the good stuff on them to complement Longbranch's excellent patties, which may have otherwise been overwhelmed. The blue cheese burger came with some habanero sauce that gave it a nice bit of zip, too.

As for Dan's Barnyard Burger, topping overload is clearly the point. I think you know what you're getting into when you order a burger with a fried egg, three slices of cheese and three strips of bacon.

After we finished our burgers and settled up, we went in search of the pinball machine and wandered over to The Branch, the bar that's connected to Dan's Longbranch Steakhouse. A cover band was playing, and it was much more hopping over there than on the restaurant side. Although the pinball machine turned out to be Pirates of the Caribbean rather than Big Buck Hunter, alas, it wasn't switched on. Still, we decided to hang out for a couple more beers.

Didn't catch the band's name -- the website says Samantha Fish plays every Wednesday but she must've had this week off, as I'm fairly certain none of these three guys were Samantha Fish. In the six or seven songs we heard, they did ZZ Top's “Sharp Dressed Man,” “La Grange” and “Tush,” as well as Lynyrd Skynyrd's “Free Bird.”

The Branch was pretty busy for a Wednesday, and it looked there were a lot of regulars. In fact, I'm not sure anybody there realized it was a weeknight. I bet the Saturday night karaoke jam there is insane.
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9095 Metcalf Avenue | Overland Park, KS 66212

Arrowhead Stadium Sandwich Roundup

Your source for all things Chiefs.*
*Assuming all you want to know about are the sandwiches.

McHugh was given some last-minute tickets to the Kansas City Chiefs season opener on Monday, and invited Shaw and I to join him. Despite the rain, I couldn’t have asked for a better first Arrowhead game experience. Whoever had the brilliant idea to book Train to play at halftime and secure victory by boring the San Diego Chargers into submission deserves a raise. That was diabolical.

Plus, making their Arrowhead debut tonight were some new concessions that we absolutely had to try. Here’s what we had, along with an evaluation of each item’s value, keeping in mind that everything at Arrowhead costs twice as much as it should -- $7.75 Miller Lites, anyone?


Bratwurst Burger from The Burger Box by Blanc
It’s a bratwurst patty, topped with jalapenos and melty cheddar on a pretzel bun. Taking nearly everything good about tailgating and fancying it up, this was easily the winner out of tonight’s selections. We paid $9. Is it worth $4.50? Considering Blanc’s usual prices, $9 seems about right.


Red & Gold Short Rib Melt from Tailgaters Grill
By themselves, the pulled short ribs on this sandwich were tender and tasty. However, they got lost in a cheese overload with all that white American and Havarti, not to mention the two thick slices of Parmesan-crusted toast. We paid $11. Is it worth $5.50? More like $3. This sandwich is an intriguing idea, but ultimately comes off as just a glorified grilled cheese.


KC Burnt Ends Cheesesteak from Blaze Burgers & Fries
There was a clear difference between the sandwich pictured and the sandwich we got, but knowing that’s just the rule with food photography, I kept thinking the next bite would be where I found some peppers and onions. Alas, it turned out what we’d been given was simply a burnt end sandwich with cheese -- although McHugh got one from a different Blaze Burgers stand that he said was loaded with toppings. We paid $8.50. Is it worth $4.25? Even without the fixings, it was a passable foodservice barbecue sandwich. But I still want that cheesesteak in the picture.

It was very cool to check out the newly renovated Arrowhead. While I’m not a big sports fan aside from college basketball, I love people-watching and tailgating. I’d only been here one other time, for U2 on the Zoo TV tour in 1992.

The Sugarcubes opened that show, and I actually got to meet Bjork. During the set by the other opening act, The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, she was watching from out in the audience so I wandered over to introduce myself. I’m sure Bjork would remember. Just ask her about that ultrasuave, short teenager in Kansas City who smelled faintly of Viaka vodka.

The Burger Stand

If asked to express our feelings for this place by using the name of a fictional band, we’d answer Loveburger.

Yo La Tengo* was at The Granada the other week, and I was lucky enough to score a couple of free tickets from Lawrence.com. Shaw met up with me for the show, although truth be told, he had ulterior motives for making the drive down from KC on a cold Tuesday night -- a chance to finally eat at The Burger Stand. I haven’t shut up about this place since last summer, and he was ready to see if it lived up to the hype.

The Burger Stand opened a year ago, and quite frankly, I could eat here every day. It’s actually located inside Dempsey’s Irish Pub in the former home of Rick’s Place, which moved to 9th & Illinois a while back. You may recall that Rick’s Place was what the gin joint in "Casablanca" was colloquially known as. In college, we played darts here a lot. Never once saw a Nazi.

This was the first time I’d been to The Burger Stand for dinner, and it was much more packed than I’ve ever seen it at lunch. Looking at the menu posted over the counter at the bar, Shaw and I decided on The Classic ($6.99), so that he could see just how incredible these burgers are even when relatively unadorned. We also got the pork burger that was one of the day’s specials ($8.99, but I lost my receipt so don’t quote me).

We placed our order and got a couple of beers. Dempsey’s has a pretty good selection on tap, including Boulevard’s Tank 7. When drinking in Lawrence, however, I still feel compelled to get the cheapest beer available, and tonight that was Boulevard Wheat on special for $2.50. With beers in hand, we sat down at one of the only three tables open, and waited for our names to be called to come and get our burgers. Considering how busy it was, I was surprised we didn’t have to wait all that long.

The Classic is basically The Burger Stands’s cheeseburger, topped with Vermont cheddar and locally grown micro-greens. Like most of the burgers on the regular menu, the 1/2 lb. patty is made with a custom blend of tenderloin, strip steak and ribeye, resulting in a phenomenal, melt-in-your-mouth taste that’s unlike anything I’ve experienced elsewhere. The brioche bun makes it even better.

But when a pork burger is the special, that’s what I’m getting nine times out of ten -- I’ve had three or four of them now, and they’ve all been insanely delicious. Tonight’s pork burger came topped with salsa verde, Chihuahua cheese and chicharones. Just a few bites in, Shaw said, “I don’t ever want to stop eating this.”

The week before, I got a pork burger topped with blackberry mole, blanched almonds and queso fresco. I thought then it must be the toppings that made it so good -- the almonds were super-thin, giving it a bit of a snap to look forward to in each bite. So I was very excited that tonight’s special still had that can’t miss flavor that made the other burger so memorable, yet with toppings different enough that it wasn’t like I was having the same thing twice. Must be the way the pork burger’s patty is seasoned.

For fries, The Burger Stand has regular ($1 with a burger, $3 for a basket), sweet potato ($2, $4), truffle ($2, $5), duck fat ($3, $6) and chili ($3, $6). Don’t get me wrong, the regular fries and the sweet potato fries are both fine, but to truly complement the flavor of these burgers, an upgrade to the truffle butter is necessary. The duck fat fries were a little on the gamey side for me, and I’ve yet to try the chili fries ($3, $6), which seems like a glaring oversight on my part.

Occasionally, the Burger Stand offers poutine -- fries coated with gravy and cheese curds ($4, $7). If poutine is an option, do it. I’m told that in a perfect world The Burger Stand would fix poutine every day, the only problem being they can't find a steady cheese curd supply. Blog Friend Nick suggests Shatto Milk Company and The Burger Stand get to know each other and fast to make poutine a permanent addition to the menu.

Lest this sound like a total mash note to The Burger Stand, I’ll mention my disappointment in the Black & Blue ($7.50), a burger that for me was one and done. It sounded awesome, with an intriguing combination of blackening spice, bleu cheese and apple chutney -- too bad there was way too much of the chutney on it, and the tartness totally overpowered everything else. But yeah, besides that, all the other burgers I’ve had here have been outstanding.

So congrats to you, Burger Stand. We hereby decree you Lunch Blog’s Favorite Burger, an honor given in both recognition of the excellence of your everyday menu as well as your adventurous specials. If you would like to celebrate by offering us free burgers for life, we will protest slightly in order to appear as if we have some sort of scruples, before we ultimately accept.

And now we’re excited to hear The Burger Stand people will soon be opening up Esquina, a taqueria at 8th & Mass where the Round Corner Drug Store used to be. As much as I love burgers, I love tacos even more, and I can’t wait to check that action out.

*If you're a Mr. Show fan and you haven't seen the video for Yo La Tengo's "Sugarcube," do yourself a favor and watch it now.


UPDATE: The Burger Stand has moved -- now it's in The Casbah on Mass Street.

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Dempsey's: 623 Vermont | Lawrence, KS 66044

The Casbah: 803 Massachusetts Street | Lawrence KS 66044

Blame It On Cain’s (Tulsa Road Trip 9/09, Part 2)

Despite the events below, we swear we really do like to drink good beer sometimes.

Cain’s Ballroom

Shaw: One of the best parts of Cain’s is that they’ll sell you Budwesier a six-pack at a time, plastic rings and all. We walked in and headed straight to the bar to pick a few up.

Good thing, too. The lady working the line told us they only had five six-packs left, so the four of us each bought one. And then just to be safe, we went back and got the last one a couple of minutes later.

Robert: Not only does having a six-pack at the ready mean you don’t have to go back to the bar and miss part of the show, but I imagine this is what it must feel like to walk around a ‘70s beer bust barn party.

Tonight was Elvis Costello’s last night on tour for his country album, Secret, Profane & Sugarcane. The ex-Angry Young Man played a lot of songs from that, as well as treated us to Americana takes on favorites like “Mystery Dance,” “Everyday I Write the Book,” and, of course, “Blame It On Cain.” It was a pretty fantastic show, and “The Carnegie Hall of Western Swing” was the perfect venue for it.

Shaw: With a band that included two guitars, an accordion, stand-up bass, dobro and fiddle, it was like hearing a country-flavored Elvis Costello cover band with the real Elvis Costello singing. Different, but incredible.

Rocking a purple fedora, Mr. Costello looked very dapper -- though at one point, the green cast of the lights plus his hat and the thick frames of his glasses made him look like the Riddler.

Robert: Maybe Elvis Costello really is an International Art Thief after all.

The Soundpony

Shaw: After the show, we decided to grab a quick beer at the next door to regroup and figure out where we should go from there. However, since The Soundpony had $1.50 Natural Light draws and some old school video games, we ended up staying awhile.

Robert: I took honors on Ms. Pac-Man and Moon Patrol, and Ryan dominated us all at Galaga. The Soundpony also has a Donkey Kong machine that even features the option to play the rare Donkey Kong 3.

Jeff, Ryan, Jeremy and I came here when we went to Cain’s to see Wilco last year, stopping in during happy hour, which lasts from 3 to 9 p.m and includes a free hot dog for every $4 you spend. That’s right -- a six-hour happy hour with free hot dogs. KC bars, please take note.

Shaw: The Soundpony is a cool bar. But man, that is a truly awful name.

I'll also give cheers to the music selection, but jeers to the bartenders who used the microphone behind the bar to subject everyone to their painful vocal accompaniment.

QuikTrip

Shaw: We left The Soundpony to go wander around downtown and look for some more substantial eats. But as it was after midnight and most places had stopped serving, we ended up calling a taxi to take us back to the QuikTrip by our hotel.

Robert: Ah, QT -- land of delicious roller-grilled foods. I got a burrito and a chili cheese taquito dog. Seriously, they’ve got to be just spinning a Wheel of Random Ingredients to concoct these new cylindrical delights.

Shaw: I stayed on the less adventurous end with two hot dogs for $2 and a 99¢ bag of Fritos. Without the availability of Chicago dog fixings or sauerkraut, the only proper way for me to have my hot dogs was with mustard and relish. No ketchup shall defile my hot dogs. Nor shall catsup, for all the Hunt’s fans out there.

Robert: I was a little disappointed there wasn’t even a single egg roll to be found on the grills, though. I do love some late-night Chinese food.

Next time on Lunch Blog: What does it take to get a Whatafarm in Tulsa?

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Cain’s Ballroom: 423 North Main Street | Tulsa, OK 74103

The Soundpony: 409 North Main Street | Tulsa, OK 74103

QuikTrip: 229 North Gilcrease Museum Road | Tulsa, OK 74127

Blame It On Cain's (Tulsa Road Trip 9/09, Part 1)

For the record, when listening to Sirius XM's Hair Nation, Jeff can name that tune in four notes or less.

We’d been counting down the minutes to this road trip since May, when Jeff and Ryan told us that Elvis Costello was going to be playing Cain’s Ballroom in September. First stop -- meeting up with the Brothers Pfannenstiel in Topeka.

Taco Tico

Robert: We decided to rendezvous here so we could grab a little bit of lunch. Plus, I’ll take just about any chance I can to get a Taco Tico combo burrito. We also each got a soft flour taco and a crispy flour taco.

Shaw: As soon as I bit into my crispy flour taco, it shattered and sent half the contents falling onto the tray. So basically I started out with a taco and ended up with nachos.

I will say this -- Taco Tico’s sauce bar is pretty fantastic. In order of ascending heat, they’ve got Mild, Green Chile, Hot and Volcano. My favorite is the green chile.

Robert: Please note that Taco Tico’s Volcano Sauce is not to be confused with Taco Bell’s cheese-based Lava Sauce -- even though Volcano Sauce looks more like actual lava than Lava Sauce does. Mind-bending.

The Hunt Club

Shaw: Once we got to Tulsa we checked into the hotel and enjoyed a couple of bottles of Jeff and Ryan’s awesome homebrewed IPA. Then we caught a taxi downtown to The Hunt Club to get some dinner. We’d found out about The Hunt Club on the Cain’s website, and it’s just down the street from Cain’s itself.

Robert: Some Juggalos were milling around the storefront next door, which seemed kind of weird since Insane Clown Posse doesn’t play Cain’s until October.

Shaw: Anyway, we went inside and The Hunt Club turned out to be a cozy little place. Lots of taxidermy on the wall. Our server came over and told us the special was $1 Busch and $1 Choc Beer Waving Wheat.

Robert: Having never heard of Waving Wheat, we asked our server for the scoop. All she could tell us was that it was only a buck because they were, and I quote, “Trying to get rid of it.” So we ordered four Buschs.

Shaw: Checking out the menu, we decided to get a couple of orders of queso sliders and fries, plus a dozen tequila lime wings. We took it as a bold statement that The Hunt Club doesn’t even offer a buffalo option.

Robert: We also ordered another round of beers, but there were only two Buschs left in The Hunt Club, so Ryan and I sucked it up and got Waving Wheats. Turned out to be not half-bad. Kind of spicy.

Couldn’t figure out what was going on in the picture on the label, though. It looked like it was the PC guy from the “I’m a Mac” commercials lost in drunken admiration of his beer, while his Native American traveling companion stood nearby, apparently wearing a straitjacket.

Shaw: Other possible scenarios -- the PC guy is attempting to hide the Native American from a bloodthirsty posse by dressing him in drag.

That’s actually his withered mother, and she’s clearly annoyed with her son's love of beer over the ladies.

Or maybe that’s his wife, sneering disdainfully as he indulges in his only cheerful escape from a loveless, wind-swept prairie marriage.

Robert: Then we actually read the label and found out it was a guy named Pete who was down on his luck and decided to start brewing beer using a recipe borrowed from the local Native American tribe, the Choctaw. Interestingly, I think that’s how Jeff and Ryan got started brewing, too.

Shaw: I like my theories better.

Robert: Our food came out, and for the most part it was fairly blah. The menu said the tequila lime wings were baked, so it wasn’t that I was expecting them to be fried, but they didn’t taste much better than the frozen kind you can get at the grocery store. The fries, also baked, were soggy at best.

Shaw: I can’t for the life of me figure out why The Hunt Club doesn’t have a fryer. Surely it’s not due to health reasons, since the queso sliders are just on the right side of being o-slathered in spicy, cheesy goodness -- making them unsurprisingly the best part of the meal. Really wish I’d tried the Frito Pie.

While we were there, one of the Juggalos came inside and announced, “We mean you no harm,” and did a quick sweep of the bar before leaving.

Robert: Watch out, Juggalos -- next thing you know, you might end up stuffed and mounted on The Hunt Club’s walls.

Next time on Lunch Blog: Elvis Costello, old school video games, and rolling food.

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Taco Tico:

3200 SW Topeka Boulevard | Topeka, KS 66611

The Hunt Club:

224 North Main | Tulsa, OK 74103

KRBT-FM

You're listening to Radio Tallboys. 

Getting ready to drive to Tulsa with Shaw and the Brothers Pfannenstiel to see Elvis Costello at Cain’s Ballroom tonight. I’m sure at some point we’ll hit Whataburger.

Anyway, here’s my road mix, with links to most songs except for a few local and indie things I couldn’t find online. Please dig in, if you like.

1. Submarine Song (The Candy Skins)

2. Slackjawed (The Connells)

3. Come Anytime (Hoodoo Gurus)

4. When My Baby’s Beside Me (Big Star)

5. Sick of Myself (Matthew Sweet)

6. See You (Dinosaur Jr.)

7. Rich Girl (The Virgins)

8. Becky (Be Your Own Pet)

9. Young Adult Friction (The Pains of Being Pure at Heart)

10. And You Think (Cher UK)

11. Hello Friend (Tom Leach)

12. All Used Up (Tobin Sprout)

13. Nothing To Be Done (The Legends)

14. This Time (Baby Charles)

15. Hayfever (Trashcan Sinatras)

16. Cruelty To Animals (Pernice Brothers)

17. Not Too Soon (Throwing Muses)

18. I Missed Again (Phil Collins)

19. The Only One I Know (The Charlatans UK)

20. Crooked Crown (The Anniversary)

21. Is It Like Today? (World Party)

22. Sentimental Bliss (The Creature Comforts)

23. Charlie Got a Haircut (Happy Flowers)

Twin City Tavern

I think I saw Jim Messina in the alley.

“Hot spiced shrimp.”

Soon as I saw that on the Twin City Tavern sign, I knew that’s where we should eat before going to Record Bar to see Summer Breeze, Kansas City’s soft rock tribute supergroup. Not that I had any actual intention of getting the hot spiced shrimp. Just seemed like a place proud enough to give it such high billing would pair nicely with the smooth Yacht Rock music of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Man, did that ever turn out to be a good call.

Much like Yacht Rock, Twin City Tavern is clearly of a time yet timeless all the same. You can’t call it retro, seeing as how it’s always been like this. Lots of wood paneling and fake bricks, and in certain areas of the bar you’re bathed in a classy red neon glow. There is no reason Twin City Tavern shouldn’t be the most happening nightspot on the marina, except of course for the fact that Kansas City is landlocked.

With McHugh and Voytek joining us, we sat down and ordered some hot wings and the first of a few buckets of beers, which are $11 for five domestics. Shaw and I decided to split a couple of burgers for dinner, quickly settling on the Bacon & Philly Cream Cheese Burger. Because bacon plus cream cheese -- can it get more ‘70s than that?

For burger number two, we asked the waitress what the most popular choice was and she pointed us to the Dutchburger, which involves Thousand Island dressing, grilled onions and swiss cheese. I also wanted to ask our waitress if her name was Brandy, but thought it best not to push my luck.

The hot wings arrived, and although they were unexpectedly sauceless, they still had a good heat on them. Nice and spicy and crispy. The Dutchburger was tasty enough, even if it was a little heavy on the dressing. Side-wise, we went tots, yet it’s worth noting that in addition to fries, Twin City Tavern has Fritos as an option. I can appreciate a place that serves Fritos instead of boring blah potato chips.

I wasn’t truthfully expecting all that much out of the Bacon & Philly Cream Cheese Burger since I’m fairly lukewarm toward cream cheese, but it turned out to be like one of the best things ever. The generous schmear gave the burger a layer of melt-in-your-mouth creaminess that was even more intense what with the bacon in there -- and we’re taking bacon like bacon should be. Smoky, salty and thick. Not that wimpy bacon you find on so many burgers.

A big Lunch Blog thumbs up to Twin City Tavern. Next time, I think we’re going to have to give the hot spiced shrimp a shot.

So how was Summer Breeze? Smooth, man, smooth. They absolutely nailed that Yacht Rock sound on favorites like “Steal Away,” “Rosanna,” and “Islands in the Stream.” J.D. Warnock did an uncanny Michael McDonald on “I Keep Forgetting” and “What a Fool Believes,” too.

The show’s high point for me personally was when the first chorus of “Baby Come Back” kicked in -- it was one of my favorite soft rock moments come to life. Everybody at Record Bar was totally soaking up the good times.

And never before have I seen so many captain’s hats.

If you like smooth music -- and really, who doesn’t? -- mark your calendar now. Summer Breeze brings it to Record Bar again on Friday, June 26.

(A special right on and thank you to @TrustTheDust of Scene-Stealers.com for the photo.)
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Twin City Tavern: 1815 Westport Road | Kansas City, MO 64111

KenTacoHut, the Famous Bowl & the KFC Big Box Meal

Talk about an Appetite for Destruction.

[Note: Many of the events chronicled here took place the day Chinese Democracy came out, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2008 -- also the date I started writing this post. So while what follows is by no means timely, the delay is kind of appropriate, all things considered.]

I’d been waiting for this day since my junior year at East High. Back then, Use Your Illusion I & II were pretty much the soundtrack to lunch. We’d crank those albums as we headed to one of our usual spots, top three in the rotation being Taco Bell, KFC, and Dog & Shake (the latter a Wichita, Kan. favorite). So to properly commemorate the release of Chinese Democracy -- “Music’s Most Anticipated Album EVER” -- step two had to be grabbing something to eat at KenTacoHut.

If only there was such a thing as a KenTacoDog&Shake. If only.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. What was step one of the proper commemoration, you ask? Enjoying some Ten High, the preferred bourbon of high schoolers everywhere. Shaw and I conquered this task in the Best Buy parking lot before we went in to get my copy of Chinese Democracy. (On vinyl, thank you.) I was surprised to see there wasn't a line at Best Buy -- I thought for sure we'd have to wait around at least a little bit what with Chinese Democracy nearly 15 years in the making. Not so much. Since we had a little extra time before KenTacoHut opened, we took the opportunity to conquer step one again.

There was already one guy outside KenTacoHut when we got there, waiting to pick up like a dozen buckets of the Colonel’s legacy for a Chiefs tailgate party. Thus, at least in Overland Park this Sunday morning, there was a greater demand for KFC then GNR. OPKS, you are not a city of rock.

Once they let us in and dude had his chicken, I stepped up to the KFC counter and ordered a Famous Bowl. That’s Popcorn Chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, gravy, and cheese all layered in a bowl together. I’d had a morbid curiosity about this thing for a while.

Clearly the most likely explanation for the origin of the Famous Bowl is that a bunch of KFC bigwigs used dark magic to conjure forth the Colonel from the great beyond so that they might seek his guidance, to which the Colonel -- now undead and none too happy about it -- said, “I say now boy, just put a bunch of stuff in a bowl, you hear?,” right before he ate the brains of all but one survivor who lived to tell the tale. The Famous Bowl is that sinister.

On the other hand, there is Popcorn Chicken in it and that’s delicious, so how bad could the Famous Bowl be?

The answer is that the Famous Bowl was surprisingly tasty. For four bites. And then it all went to hell. The Popcorn Chicken turned soggy and the chicken-potato-gravy ratio got hopelessly thrown out of whack and it was just no good. Which is too bad because the Famous Bowl is kind of big -- you’re going to end up with a lot left.

KFC, against my better judgment I might be compelled to try your Famous Bowl a second time if you came out a smaller version, like about the size of a pudding cup. You could call it the B-List Famous Bowl. Or make people order it Child Star Sized.

Shaw and I ended up taking turns holding big sporkfuls of our leftover Famous Bowls upside down to see how long it would take for gravity to do its business. We topped out close to 30 seconds.

Feeling like I needed to take advantage of more that KenTacoHut had to offer, I also ordered a Chili Cheese Burrito and a Volcano Taco from Taco Bell, and quickly learned a valuable lesson -- it’s probably not the best idea to go to Taco Bell before noon, and you certainly never want to be the first order of the day. Taco Bell needs a little bit of time to warm up and find its groove.

Earlier while waiting for our food, we took notice of a display hawking the KFC Big Box Meal. It consists of:

• Your choice of a drumstick or thigh, either Original Recipe or Extra Crispy
• Whatever variety of KFC Snacker you want
• Two Original Recipe Crispy Strips
• Two sides, a biscuit and a large drink
  

Three days later on Thanksgiving Eve with nowhere better to go for lunch, we found ourselves at a different KFC ready to check that action out.

We each got it with an Original Recipe thigh and a Buffalo KFC Snacker. It was good. As well it should be -- it’s a box full of fried chicken-related awesomeness. Even if we agreed that the thigh was the weak link in all this.

See, in the KFC Big Box Meal, you’ve already got a KFC Snacker plus Crispy Strips and a couple of different sauces to dip them in. If KFC wants its actual traditional fried chicken to come off as anything more than a greasy afterthought, they need to give you a fried chicken breast, or at least two pieces like a drumstick and a thigh, or maybe two drumsticks. Not two thighs, though -- somehow it seems like that would be even more unremarkable.

For a solitary thigh or drumstick cannot hold its own all by itself -- it’s just not enough to make an impact. To truly function at full capacity, it needs to accompany another piece of bone-in fried chicken. I would’ve happily traded in the thigh for a few bites of Popcorn Chicken.

The sides were good -- we both went with mashed potatoes, and macaroni and cheese. However, we must note that in the world of fast food fried chicken side dishes, they’re all completely owned by the red beans and rice at Popeyes.

Make no mistake, we’re fans of the KFC Big Box Meal. Quite frankly, what it all boils down to is that we’re suckers for ridiculous quantities of food that comes in a box. It’s like a Happy Meal for adults. The only thing missing is a cool toy surprise to distract you from thinking about the fact that in one sitting you just ate like a total of nine chickens.

That said, if KFC wanted to throw a Child Star Sized Famous Bowl in the box, I certainly wouldn’t be opposed.
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KenTacoHut: 7100 West 119th Street | Overland Park, KS 66213

The Brick

Or, the harrowing tale of “The Great Meatloaf Shortage of ’08.”

I remember being really surprised by how good the food was at The Brick the first time I had it when I was there for Trivia Riot one Friday night years ago. Until then, I only knew the dive as a cool place to see rock shows. But I was hungry and the meatloaf sandwich was noted on the menu as the house favorite, so that’s what I got. It was so delicious that I haven’t had anything else there since -- save one Tuesday when we went for Guys’ Night to play bingo and the food special was all-you-can-eat tacos. Which was a perfect complement to the beer special of all-you-can-drink PBR.

Our table at lunch last Friday ordered a grand total of four meatloaf sandwiches -- Wells, Dylan and Strickler each got one, while Shaw and I decided to split that and a Chicago-style hot dog. Moments later, the waiter returned and told us they only had enough meatloaf for three.

Wells’ instinct for self-preservation kicked in and without hesitation he said, “One of those is mine.” Seeing how The Brick was Strickler’s suggestion and Dylan had never had the meatloaf sandwich, Shaw and I chose to make no claim on the remaining two. We’re good people like that, here at Lunch Blog. Instead, we opted to get the Scimeca’s Famous Italian Steak.

We totally choked on that call -- the Italian steak sandwich was tasty enough, with a breaded, juicy pork patty and plenty of mozzarella, but ultimately no substitute for the meatloaf sandwich we wanted so desperately that everybody else was enjoying yet we'd regrettably passed up in a dumb moment of misplaced good will. We should’ve at least gone with The Pubby, a burger “Served at This Location Since 1967,” and loaded up with bleu cheese, bacon and an onion ring.

I can’t stress how much you are messing up if you haven’t had the meatloaf sandwich. It’s a slice of meatloaf with chipotle ketchup and pepper jack cheese on wheatberry bread. We’re talking a pretty thick slab of meatloaf, too. Later I was wondering why they didn’t just slice what meatloaf they did have into four pieces instead of a mere three. I mean, ba-dam -- problem solved. Only reason I could come up with is that maybe The Brick’s secret ingredient is pride. Pride in a sandwich well made.

Our table also split an order of Singapore wings. Coated in a slightly spicy ginger sauce, they were just kind of eh. Can’t for the life of me remember why we thought ordering Asian food at The Brick was a good idea in the first place, much less why the price of $10.95 for a dozen didn’t give us pause.

Same story on the Chicago dog -- okay but nothing special. Must remember to only get these from street vendors, or when I’m actually in Chicago. It’s got to be rough being an average entree when you’re sharing space on a menu with something as awesome as the meatloaf sandwich.

If I had last Friday's lunch to do all over again, I would totally tell Dylan tough luck, buddy -- I got dibs on that meatloaf sandwich.

My Secret Brick Fantasy: My waiter hands me a PBR plus half a meatloaf sandwich wrapped in some kind of wax paper for easy eating. Then he says, “Hey, I’m really sorry, but we need to clear out the tables because Doris Henson is about to play a reunion show right this very second.” All of a sudden, I look around and the place is packed and the band opens with “The Power” and I get to get rocked while munching on a meatloaf sandwich. Could it get better than that?
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1727 McGee | Kansas City, MO 64108