Lawrence.com

What's the best burger in Lawrence? The best margarita? The best menu that's not on a menu? Now's your chance to make your voice heard.

Voting for this year's Best of Lawrence contest, sponsored by Lawrence.com, kicked off Sunday and will be open until March 31.

Of course, voting's not just limited to the hotly contested dining and entertainment categories. In total, we're asking for your input on 160 different topics — from barbers to clothing retailers to plumbers and gyms.

This year, it's easier than ever to vote. Voters can make their choices in specific categories without having to go through the entire ballot.

To vote, head over to Lawrence.com and click on the Best of Lawrence icon at the top. Fill out the ballot all at once or come back later to finish. If you change your mind, you can swap out your vote all the way up to the March 31 deadline.

Last year, more than 8,000 people helped us select the Best of Lawrence winners. So, join the party. Let your voice be heard, especially in regards to that mysterious best secret menu category. That's one I'm certainly curious about.

Best of Lawrence winners will be announced at a special event June 18 before they're published in a Best of Lawrence magazine that will hit newsstands June 21.

Eggs Benedict from The Roost, which was named best place for breakfast in last year's Best of Lawrence by Journal-World File Photo

I took an extra-long pause, may or may not have sighed out loud, and lifted my fork. A mouthful of smoked chocolate shortcake and a sip of port later, I’d had the last bite of the last course of my last meal at Pachamamas on Saturday night.

After 15 years in Lawrence, Pachamamas ran its last dinner service on Valentine’s Day, and I’m a little misty about its closing. For me, and I’m sure a lot of other people in this town, Pachamamas was not only about fine food but also an experience.

As fellow restaurateur Matt Hyde of 715 noted this week, Lawrence’s food scene owes a lot to Pachamamas and chef/owner Ken Baker. “The whole idea of thoughtful, local, regional cuisine?...The notion of a refined dining experience that was still fun? That’s Ken and Pachamamas.”

The foodie movement has gotten big in the past couple of years, but the things people love about it have been happening at Pachamamas for a long time.

Baker was doing amuse-bouche before it was cool. Plates were always meticulously presented to show off the colors and textures of food. Pachamamas menu changed with every season, and Ken’s dishes maximized the variety of ingredients and flavors the world (often specifically our part of the world) had to offer. He combined sometimes lengthy lists of unexpected things — the kind of combinations some newer restaurants that are trying a little too hard attempt but can’t quite make work — and always hit it on the head.

For example, take the second course of our Valentine’s Day dinner: Compressed Beets and Ember-Roasted Strawberries with Fried ‘Milk,’ Hazelnut, Candied Bacon. We were blown away — these things were clearly meant to be. Especially when the pinot noir got involved!

Pachamamas had great burgers and affordable lunches, but for me that kind of attention to detail and thoughtfulness made it a favorite place for take-your-time dinners or more special occasions.

That’s where I went in college when my parents came to town to take me out for a meal to celebrate my birthday; where I met some of the most interesting people sitting community-style during Scotch, wine or Free State Beer dinners; and where my husband and I surprised my mom with the news she was going to be a grandma.

Last week my husband surprised me when he told me he’d arranged for grandma to watch that baby because we had Valentine’s Day dinner reservations — at Pachamamas.

We had the best time, part of which was oohing and ah'ing over our food. With the combination of last day, Valentine's Day and the news it was closing being out for a while, there’s no doubt Pachamamas could have booked more reservations, squeezed people in shoulder to shoulder. But they didn’t, and that was nice. Pachamamas, after all, has a dining experience to maintain, the kind that makes good memories.

Valentine's Day menu by Sara Shepherd

After months of speculation, it's finally official: Port Fonda is coming to Lawrence.

The popular Mexican eatery has generated quite the buzz since turning a food truck into a restaurant two and a half years ago in Kansas City's Westport neighborhood. Now, Port Fonda will expand into Kansas with a location at 900 New Hampshire St., slated to open in late summer 2015.

Jamie Davila says he and fellow co-owner Patrick Ryan signed the lease Thursday morning. They "peeked around in some places in KC," but ultimately found Lawrence to be the best fit.

"We're really excited about the growth in Lawrence and what's happening there," Davila says, pointing out the Ninth Street Corridor project. "It's a cool city that we're both familiar with."

Kansas City-based architect and KU alum Matthew Hufft of Hufft Projects has signed on to design the space, which will sit inside the newly constructed Marriott Towneplace Suites building at Ninth and New Hampshire streets.

At just over 5,000 square feet, the Lawrence location is just about the same size as its predecessor, but will have a "completely different" look, Davila says.

Enchiladas de Pollo at Port Fonda by Landon Vonderschmidt Photography/Contributed Photo

Of course, there will be a large bar" serving up margaritas, Mexican beers and hopefully, Davila says, some products from Lawrence's Free State Brewing Co.

As for the food, expect some small tweaks to Port Fonda's KC menu. Davila says they'll probably offer more casual fare like sandwiches and tacos.

"The menu will be a little different, but at the core will be the same," he says. "I think it translates really well to a college town."

Tips welcome!

Try something unusual or know of something interesting going on at a Lawrence restaurant? Send me an email at jhlavacek@ljworld.com or contact me on Twitter @hlavacekjoanna. For more local food and restaurant news, click here.

As local foodies might already know, Kansas City Restaurant Week ends Sunday. This year's event features more than 150 KC-area restaurants, where customers can enjoy multi-course meals for $15 per lunch and $33 per dinner.

Growing up, I split my childhood between Wichita and its larger, more cosmopolitan neighbor to the northeast. So, in scouring the list of participating restaurants, I was happy to see quite a few of the places I enjoyed as a kid and still like to visit when I'm back in my old stomping grounds.

Check them out while you still have time, or if these don't sound good, there are plenty more options to peruse at kcrestaurantweek.com.

Either way, reservations are recommended, and can be made at OpenTable.com.

Blue Bird Bistro, 1700 Summit St., Kansas City, Mo.

This charming eatery, housed in a historic 1880s-era building, focuses on "upscale organic" food. Standouts from the lunch menu include a grass-fed meatloaf served on house-made bread with horseradish aioli, arugula and gravy. As for dinner, the "warm winter pie filled with Wakarusa Farm mushrooms" has my tummy growling, despite my distaste for fungi.

Classic Cup Cafe, 301 W. 47th St., Kansas City, Mo.

The Classic Cup touts itself as an "icon" of the Country Club Plaza, and I'm sure many Kansas City natives would agree, based on the restaurant's reputation as a breakfast hotspot. Restaurant Week offerings include shrimp and grits, mushroom ravioli and creme brulee.

Genghis Khan Mongolian Grill, 3906 Bell St., Kansas City, Mo.

In a town famous for its barbecue, Genghis Khan stands out as Kansas City's original Mongolian 'cue joint, at least according to its website. Stop by its flagship location in Midtown and enjoy comforting Asian favorites like the "house crispy beef wrap," seafood noodle soup and General Tso's Chicken.

Lulu's Thai Noodle Shop, 2030 Central St., Kansas City, Mo.

Located in the heart of KC's Crossroads Arts District, Lulu's serves up tasty Thai dishes (think fiery curries, noodles, satays and rice dishes) in a cozy, eclectic atmosphere. This weekend, the dinner menu (Lulu's isn't offering lunch for Restaurant Week) includes "heartbreak soup," a rich chicken broth with pork, cabbage, tofu, cellophane noodles and "lots of love." Dessert sounds particularly intriguing: a Thai spin on creme brulee flavored with lemon grass and lime.

Manny's Mexican Restaurant, 207 Southwest Boulevard, Kansas City, Mo.

If you're looking for unpretentious, affordable Mexican food, this family-owned Kansas City favorite is the place to go. During Restaurant Week, diners can enjoy a two-person dinner for $33, complete with drinks (mini margarita pitcher, anyone?) and dessert. I'm not sure about its Mexican authenticity, but that maple cheesecake sure sounds good.

Tips welcome!

Try something unusual or know of something interesting going on at a Lawrence restaurant? Send me an email at jhlavacek@ljworld.com or contact me on Twitter @hlavacekjoanna. For more local food and restaurant news, click here.

Lawrence Local Table, a collective of area culinary professionals, is slated to serve up its first dining event, "The Cellar Supper," next month at 715 restaurant.

Billed as a "celebration of Midwestern Winter Fare," it's the first collaborative meal from the group, which includes Vaughn Good and Juan Carlos Tovar-Ballagh of Hank Charcuterie, Louis Wigen-Toccalino from Decade, and Zach Thompson and Katrina Weiss of 715.

As of now, the seven-course dinner will feature locally sourced delicacies such heirloom corn levain with whipped lardo and fermented bean, and will be held at 715 (715 Massachusetts St.) on Feb. 3.

Guests are invited to show up between 5 and 6 p.m. for an open-bar reception, and the first course should be on the table by 6:30 p.m., says 715's Zach Thompson.

Tickets cost $75 per person, including drinks. To reserve seats, shoot an email to lawrencelocaltable@gmail.com, call 715 at 856-7150 or purchase tickets online through Lawrence Local Table's website.

Cellar Supper menu by Contributed Photo

In case you’ve forgotten, that burger you’re eating came from a living, breathing animal.

Obvious, we know, but in this day and age, when you can pick up a bag of precooked chicken tenders from the grocery store or chow down on paper-thin slices of turkey at Subway, it’s easy to forget how meat makes that journey from the farm to our tables.

The folks at Hank Charcuterie, 1900 Massachusetts St., are inviting the public to experience part of the process with free butchering demonstrations.

Demand for classes has been so great that owner Vaughn Good decided to simply make the shop’s regular butcherings open to visitors.

“It’s something we do anyway. We’re always breaking down whole animals,” Good says. “People can ask questions and request certain cuts directly off the animal.”

Good and his sous chef, Jay Tovar-Ballagh, supervise the demonstrations at 6 p.m. every other Tuesday and at 3 p.m. every other Saturday. On Tuesdays, they butcher a whole hog; on Saturdays, a whole lamb and/or goat.

They’ve only hosted two classes so far (the next are scheduled for this evening and Saturday) but Good says the response has been positive. People, it seems, are curious to know where their food comes from.

The first demonstration drew just one visitor, while the second attracted a diverse “mix” of about eight people, he says.

Last week, Vaughn hosted the young daughter of one of his regular customers. It was her idea to watch the butchering, and she had her father bring her along.

“She did pretty well,” Vaughn recalls.

Hank will also run specials on food items and products from the counter during the demonstrations. For more information, including a full schedule, check out their Facebook and Twitter pages.

Tips welcome!

Try something unusual or know of something interesting going on at a Lawrence restaurant? Send me an email at jhlavacek@ljworld.com or contact me on Twitter @hlavacekjoanna. For more local food and restaurant news, click here.

Vaughn Good opened Hank Charcuterie just over a week ago at 1900 Massachusetts St. The shop — specializing in charcuterie products made from Kansas-raised animals that are butchered in-house — offers meats including lamb, goat, duck, chicken and pork. Hank also offers daily sandwich specials. by Richard Gwin

Free State Brewing Co. owner Chuck Magerl, seen here in this 2010 photo, was recently inducted into the Kansas Restaurant Hall of Fame. by Richard Gwin

At first, Chuck Magerl was surprised to hear the news.

The longtime owner of Free State Brewery Co., 636 Massachusetts St., is the newest member of the Kansas Restaurant Hall of Fame.

“It was completely unexpected,” Magerl says, remembering the congratulatory phone call from Adam Mills, president of the Kansas Restaurant and Hospitality Association. “And then I thought, ‘Well, I guess I have been in business at Free State a little over 25 years now.'”

In the winter of 1989, Free State Brewing Co. became the state’s first legal brewery in more than 100 years.

Much like the pioneers of Kansas' early years, Magerl says he didn’t know what to expect in the beginning.

“When we opened, there was nobody between Chicago and Denver doing what we were doing,” he says. “We were out there in the wilderness.”

In those days, there wasn’t as much familiarity here in the Midwest with the more flavorful varieties of beer popular in Europe.

The public’s “widespread embrace” of craft beers and microbrews over the past quarter-century has contributed to Free State’s success, he says.

“It’s been gratifying to see what had been seen as perhaps bland American food culture become one of the most diverse and encompassing in the world,” Magerl says.

Free State’s flagship brews (Ad Astra Ale, Copperhead Pale Ale, Oatmeal Stout and Wheat State Golden) have since become legends of the Lawrence dining scene. And, with the recent start of distribution in Iowa, Magerl has “no intention of resting on the past.”

At the induction ceremony last month in Wichita, Magerl received a hand-blown glass sculpture from the Kansas Restaurant and Hospitality Association. He hasn’t found a secure place to display it at Free State, but he hopes to sometime soon.

“It’s a really beautiful piece of art,” he says. “I’d be proud to show it off.”

Tips welcome!

Try something unusual or know of something interesting going on at a Lawrence restaurant? Send me an email at jhlavacek@ljworld.com or contact me on Twitter @hlavacekjoanna. For more local food and restaurant news, click here.

Speakeasies may not be known as brunch destinations, Kate Brubacher admits, but she's hoping to change that at John Brown's Underground, 7 E. Seventh St.

The bar is now in its third week of offering brunch to customers, says Underground manager Brubacher, who explains the move as a way to boost food sales on weekends.

So far, she says, the response has been huge.

The brunch menu, available from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, features a handful of inventive breakfast-sandwich options, from the Jam on JB (eggs, plus fig or raspberry jam with meat and cheese on Texas toast) to the Mac Stack, a mixture of eggs, macaroni and cheese bites, and meat and cheese on Texas toast. There's also the Bourbon Bacon Waffle — Brubacher's favorite — and something called "French Toast in a Jar."

As always, booze is readily available — though the meals come with a choice of coffee, orange juice or tomato juice.

• • •

Popular downtown eatery Limestone Pizza is now open on Sundays, co-owner Debbie Rascoll says.

Plenty of downtown businesses are open Sundays, she says, so why not Limestone? Rascoll hopes the expanded hours will better accommodate "late risers" from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Don't expect the pizza joint to turn into a full-fledged pancake house, though. Limestone is sticking with what it does best, mostly. In lieu of an official menu, the restaurant offers rotating specials like biscuits-and-gravy pizza and other brunch-y creations.

"We're not trying to be a breakfast place," Rascoll says. "We're starting small, trying to figure things out right now."

Bahn Mizza at Limestone Pizza Kitchen + Bar by Sara Shepherd

Tips welcome!

Try something unusual or know of something interesting going on at a Lawrence restaurant? Send me an email at jhlavacek@ljworld.com or contact me on Twitter @hlavacekjoanna. For more local food and restaurant news, click here.

A meal from BurgerFi, featuring the restaurant's hand-dipped, freshly prepared onion rings. Photo courtesy Charlie Guzzetta/BurgerFi by Joanna Hlavacek

A bright-green sign has adorned the windows at 918 Massachusetts St. for at least six months now, promising us a new hamburger joint called BurgerFi in the space formerly occupied by Chutney’s Indian Diner and Bar. Today, it appears, is the day BurgerFi makes good on that promise.

Franchise owner Josh Kurzban confirmed the news this morning. The restaurant opened at 11 a.m. today, he says, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce is planned for tomorrow afternoon at 4:30.

The Florida-based chain has about 40 locations nationwide, clustered mostly on the East Coast and in Texas. The Massachusetts Street store will be only its second foray into Kansas after a Leawood location opened in May.

Journal-World reporter Chad Lawhorn first reported the arrival of BurgerFi in his Town Talk blog back in March. At the time, Kurzban and his wife, Michelle, also a co-owner, said they expected to open the Lawrence location by mid-spring of this year. Now, several months later, Josh cites construction issues as the cause of the delay.

“The building, or parts of it, are 100 years old,” he says. “We definitely wanted to preserve some of its architectural elements.”

The restaurant boasts an original tin ceiling and an exposed brick facade along a passageway to its back end. Much of the furniture is made from upcycled materials, Josh says.

As for the food, BurgerFi makes its patties from free-range, hormone-free, never-frozen Angus beef. Customers can also choose from five different types of hotdogs, hand-cut fries (ordered regular, well-done or limp), and frozen custard made with pure cane sugar. There’s also a quinoa-and-lentil-based veggie burger that’s made fresh daily.

Josh says the restaurant plans to source as much produce as possible from local providers in season. Free State Brewing Company, 23rd Street Brewery, Boulevard Brewing Company beers will be on tap; selections from Paola-based Somerset Ridge Vineyard & Winery are also on the menu.

“Basically the message is, we’re a gourmet kitchen hiding in a fast-casual environment,” Josh says. “We’re very excited to be in a college town like Lawrence.”

BurgerFi’s hours are 11 a.m to 11 p.m. Sunday to Wednesday, and 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.

Tips welcome!

Try something unusual or know of something interesting going on at a Lawrence restaurant? Send me an email at jhlavacek@ljworld.com or contact me on Twitter @hlavacekjoanna. For more local food and restaurant news, click here.

Lawrence’s food truck population has tripled this year (from one to three!), and interest in them is growing, too. In case you missed the smattering of recent mentions in the Journal-World, here’s a roundup of what’s going on with the local food truck scene.

by Ailecia Ruscin

Regulations

Journal-World city reporter Chad Lawhorn has been tracking an effort to give food trucks more freedom in town. Currently, trucks are not allowed to operate more than three hours a day in Lawrence, and locations where they’re allowed to park are restricted. Last week the City Commission discussed changing that, but no decision was made. Commissioners plan to talk about it again next week. (Read Chad’s most recent story here.)

Trucks

There are three Lawrence-based trucks on the road, that we know of:

• The Blissful Bite, specializing in healthy food made with locally grown produce, appears to have just transformed itself into the Purple Carrot. (Here’s their Facebook page, and a feature on them I wrote last year.)

• Torched Goodness relocated here from Arizona (where Smithsonian.com named them one of the country’s 20 best food trucks) this spring and specializes in gourmet creme brulee. (Here’s their Facebook page, and more on them in Town Talk.)

• SnoFlower Shaved Ice, another new truck, operated this summer at Sixth Street and Monterey Way. Now that school has started, they’re switching to events only. (Their Facebook page, and a mention in Town Talk.)

Locations

The first Kansas Food Truck Festival happened in May, drawing a handful of trucks from the area and a big crowd to east Lawrence. (See Party Pix here.)

The Warehouse Arts District, which organized that festival, has ideas about involving food trucks in redevelopment there. One executive told the City Commission that developers want to create a “food truck garden” — permanent pad sites for multiple food trucks, accompanied by an area where operators could grow their own herbs and vegetables.

Lawrence doesn't have the nightly hungry, on-foot, food-truck-fueling crowds like, say, Westport in Kansas City, Mo. For now our food trucks appear mostly at outdoor events like the farmer's market, last weekend's Kansas State Fiddling and Picking Championships or occasional collaborations with other businesses. Following the trucks on social media (see links above) is the best way to track them.

Tips welcome!

Try something unusual or know of something interesting going on at a Lawrence restaurant? Send me an email at sshepherd@ljworld.com or contact me on Twitter @saramarieshep. For more local food and restaurant news, click here.