Eating Across Kansas

In Hutchinson, Kansas at 13 W. 6th there lies a place where few people go. Well, I assume that few people go there because I’d never been there, and aside from a co-worker and a friend who recently started working there, I’ve never heard anyone say “Hey, you should go to Jackson’s.” What exactly is Jackson’s? I’m not exactly sure. The sign out front says “ Jackson Frozen Food Center ,” as does a Google search for “Jackson Meats” or “13 W. 6th, Hutchinson, KS.” This is part of the reason I never went in. I’m not a huge fan of frozen meat. I keep some in the freezer for times when I’m “in a pinch,” but, like many people, my preference is definitely for fresh meat. I know that a co-worker swears by their hotdogs and has procured them a couple times for cook-outs and retirement lunches. Other than that, I knew nothing else about them until I ran into my friend Ben last Thursday. Over the course of conversation, I found out that Ben had started working for Jackson’s. When I asked...

Last Tuesday, my roommates and I went to Lyons, Kansas for dinner. To you non-Hutchinsonians, it's about a 45 minute drive. Lyons is significantly smaller than Hutchinson and only marginally closer to Hutch than Wichita, so why on earth would we go there for dinner? Empire China Restaurant, 105 West 1st Street is why. I discovered the Chinese place in Lyons several months ago when I went out for a drive with my friend Danielle and we just happened to stumble upon the place. The food was excellent and the service was great. There are two Chinese restaurants in Hutchinson. They both center around dismal buffets with inexcusable amounts of American food. Really, if I wanted to eat ham, I'd go to Sirloin Stockade. Mikaela and David (aforementioned roommates) wanted Asian food, I made the suggestion. It was a sunny daylight-savings-time early evening. We surrendered to wanderlust and the quest for good food and hopped in the car. Once at the restaurant, we started off with egg roll...

The other night I made a run to the grocery store (which, here in Hutchinson, Kansas means Dillons - in this case, 5th Avenue location) to pick up a few things - bread, milk, eggs, fruit, cold medicine. As I was rounding the corner up by the eggs and butter, I happened to glance over at the organic foods section. That's when I saw it. THE juice. I'm talking about R.W. Knudsen Family Organic "Just Tart Cherry Juice." I've been a fan of this juice for about a year and a half. It used to be available only at the 30th Avenue Dillons, then all of a sudden about 6 months ago they stopped carrying it. No more Just Tart Cherry juice. There were other cherry juices, even cherry cider, but they no longer had THE juice. Why all the excitement about a 32 ounce, $6 bottle of juice? The flavor of this stuff is great on its own, but it is also incredibly versatile. It has this great balance of sweet, tart and bitter that is almost reminiscent of a ruby port or a fruity-sweet ba...

I love food. I love food of all varieties - street food, fair food, greasy spoons, ethnic dives, fine dining restaurants, cutesy cupcake bakeries - I love them all. That is not to say that I love all food. There is a great amount of food out there that is runs the gamut from very unpleasant to passably good, but truly great food is a rare find, whether it be in a restaurant, at a friend's house or in your own home. I'll be honest, most of the food I eat on a daily basis is mediocre or good. Actually, unfortunately I eat more bad food than I should. I'm not just talking about unhealthy food, but food that just plain tastes bad. I'd like for you to join me on my quest for good food both in the home, on the road, and at restaurants. Let's eat our way across Kansas and see what flavors we can find.