That diner in St. Paul's is Mickey's Dining Car. Pretty darned good after all these years. For a great directory of greasy spoons across the US, check out the Sterns' site, http://www.roadfood.com. I agree, though. Lawrence needs such a place. North Lawrence would be my suggested location, but just close enough to Johnny's so that you could still walk there if too drunk to drive. The Gaslight is great. Maybe a taco truck out back in their parking lot on weekend nights???
Hey, I also want to know who's going in the old Paradise space... I see renovations proceeding, but no articles in the Journal-World to confirm whether it's Vermont BBQ or not.
By the way, downtown needs another faux yuppie BBQ joint or burgers-fries-sports bar like a hole in the head.
I'm the first to admit that it's easy to partake of Chipotle's fast-food fare when you're too tired to think and your stomach is growling. But that's precisely the problem with this McDonalds-owned "pre-fab hip" chain's downtown location. Sure, it's affordable and relatively healthy vs. the Golden Arches and most of the other fried-food joints that claim the majority of overweight America's dining dollars. But the overstuffed burritos, limited choices (no variation allowed - just try asking!) and dumbed-down Cal-Mex food makes for a bland, shove-it-down-the-hole dining experience that attracts the generic frat boy and sorority girl crowd with Johnson County license plates on their brand-new, daddy-bought SUVs. Does downtown Lawrence really need a place like this, replete with faux-designer decor and tinny, blaring pseudo-rock? It's a dine-and-dash ethos here. Why not put it in a strip mall where it belongs and free up this space for a creative, locally owned eatery. Or, better yet, a grocery store that serves downtown residents real needs and doesn't strive to bring more Buckle and Jocks Nitch shoppers downtown.
I have nothing against the staff who work here, especially the friendly, hard-working Mexican-American servers (who are probably shaking their heads in amazement at the stupid Americans forking over $5.99 for a bastardized version of peasant food without the authentic flavors). But we do have to remain vigilant against brands that posture to be friendly, approachable and local, when they're really just props set up by corporate megaliths like McDonald's to siphon off more of our spending money by co-opting grass-roots trends.
Put your money where your heart is and go to La Parrilla or La Familia, and boycott Chipotle. And while you're at it, try to educate your fellow bland countrymen and remind them that the place is pronounced Chi-POT-lay, and not Chi-POL-tee. Argh!!!!
Leave the writer alone and get on with your lives. The whole "war" is a big joke foisted on the troops (who have families are being paid squat to stay over there longer than anyone wants them to be there), the American public (which has been so brainwashed, hoodwinked and numbed into submission by Fox News, the White House spinmeisters and big box shopping that they have zero sense of what other cultures may think of our jingoistic rah-rah blather) and the rest of the world.
So please go back to watching CNN, ESPN, Fox News or whatever mindless reality TV show is on tonight. But make sure you go online and buy something from some generic American retailer like Walmart.com so you can do your patriotic part and put your hard-earned money back into the economy to make good old Dubya and the rest of the stupid white men who really run things in Washington look good. Oh yeah. Go buy an SUV and then go hunting. They'd like that, too.
What would it take to convince Checkers to put up a smaller-format store downtown to help those of us who live nearby and want to walk to the store vs. take a bus or borrow a friend's car? There are some locations that would be ideal on Vermont -- old Willie C's at 6th and Vermont screams grocery. Vacant lots between 7th and 8th. Someone has to put a small grocery store for people in Pinckney, East Lawrence and even Old West Lawrence so that we can get out of our cars and back on our feet. The Merc can't afford a 2nd location, so why not Checkers? Locally owned and more economically priced for those of us on a budget.
The live mariachi band distinguishes this from its ugly stepsister location on E. 23rd St. Support this location and convince them to add more seating.
We really really want to love this place. But the food is erratic as of late and the smoke that lingers in the air is too much for us to bring our infant son with us, so we have had to boycott the Free State, despite our love of their beers and their heritage. Please do something about the smokers!!!!!! And take the grease out of your otherwise excellent food . Then we'll come back again and again.
More people should know about this great hole-in-the-wall. Fantastic Vietnamese curry. Nice people. Real booths to sit in. No dumb blonde KU girls chatting on their daddy's cell phones. A nice place :-)
We'd eat here more if they could help us navigate the confusing menu (all entrees named after a local resident who eats there often) and add some more vegetarian choices. Fantastic old-time vibe, with a jukebox that plays real 45-rpm records. Imagine that...
No offense to Aladdin Cafe (which does a fine job), but the family that runs this place really knows their stuff. Fantastic spinach pies, hummus and dolmas, not to mention a wonderful shawrma. We try to bulk up on their interesting selection of imported foods and groceries (their olive soap from Lebanon lasts for weeks, is cheap and smells great!). Support this place!!!!
This place used to be cozy, warm and wonderful. Now it's cold, empty and eerie. What happened? The food is OK, but the slow service (even when it's deserted, which is every time I've gone for lunch and dinner this year) makes sure that you are irritable and unforgiving by the time the food arrives. Everyone SEEMS helpful and nice, but things just don't seem in synch at the Old Paradise these days. Someone please rescue this before it disappears!!!!!!!
Whither Greasy Spoon?
That diner in St. Paul's is Mickey's Dining Car. Pretty darned good after all these years. For a great directory of greasy spoons across the US, check out the Sterns' site, http://www.roadfood.com. I agree, though. Lawrence needs such a place. North Lawrence would be my suggested location, but just close enough to Johnny's so that you could still walk there if too drunk to drive. The Gaslight is great. Maybe a taco truck out back in their parking lot on weekend nights???
Hey, I also want to know who's going in the old Paradise space... I see renovations proceeding, but no articles in the Journal-World to confirm whether it's Vermont BBQ or not.
By the way, downtown needs another faux yuppie BBQ joint or burgers-fries-sports bar like a hole in the head.
April 6, 2004 at 3:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Chipotle (Downtown)
I'm the first to admit that it's easy to partake of Chipotle's fast-food fare when you're too tired to think and your stomach is growling. But that's precisely the problem with this McDonalds-owned "pre-fab hip" chain's downtown location. Sure, it's affordable and relatively healthy vs. the Golden Arches and most of the other fried-food joints that claim the majority of overweight America's dining dollars. But the overstuffed burritos, limited choices (no variation allowed - just try asking!) and dumbed-down Cal-Mex food makes for a bland, shove-it-down-the-hole dining experience that attracts the generic frat boy and sorority girl crowd with Johnson County license plates on their brand-new, daddy-bought SUVs. Does downtown Lawrence really need a place like this, replete with faux-designer decor and tinny, blaring pseudo-rock? It's a dine-and-dash ethos here. Why not put it in a strip mall where it belongs and free up this space for a creative, locally owned eatery. Or, better yet, a grocery store that serves downtown residents real needs and doesn't strive to bring more Buckle and Jocks Nitch shoppers downtown.
I have nothing against the staff who work here, especially the friendly, hard-working Mexican-American servers (who are probably shaking their heads in amazement at the stupid Americans forking over $5.99 for a bastardized version of peasant food without the authentic flavors). But we do have to remain vigilant against brands that posture to be friendly, approachable and local, when they're really just props set up by corporate megaliths like McDonald's to siphon off more of our spending money by co-opting grass-roots trends.
Put your money where your heart is and go to La Parrilla or La Familia, and boycott Chipotle. And while you're at it, try to educate your fellow bland countrymen and remind them that the place is pronounced Chi-POT-lay, and not Chi-POL-tee. Argh!!!!
December 31, 2003 at midnight ( permalink | suggest removal )
Congratulations due
Leave the writer alone and get on with your lives. The whole "war" is a big joke foisted on the troops (who have families are being paid squat to stay over there longer than anyone wants them to be there), the American public (which has been so brainwashed, hoodwinked and numbed into submission by Fox News, the White House spinmeisters and big box shopping that they have zero sense of what other cultures may think of our jingoistic rah-rah blather) and the rest of the world.
So please go back to watching CNN, ESPN, Fox News or whatever mindless reality TV show is on tonight. But make sure you go online and buy something from some generic American retailer like Walmart.com so you can do your patriotic part and put your hard-earned money back into the economy to make good old Dubya and the rest of the stupid white men who really run things in Washington look good. Oh yeah. Go buy an SUV and then go hunting. They'd like that, too.
December 17, 2003 at 9:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Checkers Foods
What would it take to convince Checkers to put up a smaller-format store downtown to help those of us who live nearby and want to walk to the store vs. take a bus or borrow a friend's car? There are some locations that would be ideal on Vermont -- old Willie C's at 6th and Vermont screams grocery. Vacant lots between 7th and 8th. Someone has to put a small grocery store for people in Pinckney, East Lawrence and even Old West Lawrence so that we can get out of our cars and back on our feet. The Merc can't afford a 2nd location, so why not Checkers? Locally owned and more economically priced for those of us on a budget.
December 8, 2003 at 4 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
El Mezcal
The live mariachi band distinguishes this from its ugly stepsister location on E. 23rd St. Support this location and convince them to add more seating.
December 8, 2003 at midnight ( permalink | suggest removal )
Free State Brewing Company
We really really want to love this place. But the food is erratic as of late and the smoke that lingers in the air is too much for us to bring our infant son with us, so we have had to boycott the Free State, despite our love of their beers and their heritage. Please do something about the smokers!!!!!! And take the grease out of your otherwise excellent food . Then we'll come back again and again.
December 8, 2003 at midnight ( permalink | suggest removal )
The Orient Vietnamese Cuisine
More people should know about this great hole-in-the-wall. Fantastic Vietnamese curry. Nice people. Real booths to sit in. No dumb blonde KU girls chatting on their daddy's cell phones. A nice place :-)
December 8, 2003 at midnight ( permalink | suggest removal )
El Matador Cafe
We'd eat here more if they could help us navigate the confusing menu (all entrees named after a local resident who eats there often) and add some more vegetarian choices. Fantastic old-time vibe, with a jukebox that plays real 45-rpm records. Imagine that...
December 8, 2003 at midnight ( permalink | suggest removal )
Mediterranean Market & Cafe
No offense to Aladdin Cafe (which does a fine job), but the family that runs this place really knows their stuff. Fantastic spinach pies, hummus and dolmas, not to mention a wonderful shawrma. We try to bulk up on their interesting selection of imported foods and groceries (their olive soap from Lebanon lasts for weeks, is cheap and smells great!). Support this place!!!!
December 8, 2003 at midnight ( permalink | suggest removal )
Paradise Cafe
This place used to be cozy, warm and wonderful. Now it's cold, empty and eerie. What happened? The food is OK, but the slow service (even when it's deserted, which is every time I've gone for lunch and dinner this year) makes sure that you are irritable and unforgiving by the time the food arrives. Everyone SEEMS helpful and nice, but things just don't seem in synch at the Old Paradise these days. Someone please rescue this before it disappears!!!!!!!
December 8, 2003 at midnight ( permalink | suggest removal )