Independence Science and Technology Center

I have a pic for this but have lost it in my mess of files! I will post it when found!
This post will actually not be about food! I know amazing since the only thing I think about is food. I did set this blog up to be about Southeast Kansas and we don't only just eat. Really! people here do other things.

I took my adorable, hyper-energetic nephews (8 and 3 years old) to the Independence Science and Technology Center. They love this place. They get to play and learn cheaply!! The Center has a wide variety of exhibits allowing people to examine and play with science. The center mostly focuses on the science of physics. They are able to make it fun. There is an echo tube, magnetic experiments and more. The real fun is the Anti-gravity Simulator and the hair raising Van de Graff generator. Albert Einstein will greet you at the door.

Some of the experiments are a little difficult to figure out and I have a degree in science. I apparently skipped a few too many classes. The experiments are homemade and many of them show it. Overall though kids love it and can entertain themselves forever. We have to drag my nephews out every time we take them. They usually go once everytime they come down to Southeast Kansas. If you have a day when the kids are screaming they are bored come and visit Independence, Kansas.

The center is a fun-filled and educational science laboratory for all ages.
$3.00 per person.
Daily, Sunday-Saturday, 1:00-5:00 p.m.
125 S Penn Ave.
620-331-1999
Memberships and group rates available.

Big Ed's - Thayer

Beef, Beef, Beef (Warning my grammer is horrible in this post. I apologize.)

Oh no. I am going to write my first negative review. I feel so bad about it. I don't want to do it, but I have to do it. Not everywhere can be wonderful all the time. On a weekend night my hubby's family and I decide to go out and eat steak. We are ranchers and farmers meat is needed. In fact steak is another food group not really part of the meat group. When the word steak is mentioned you can see the guys eyes glaze over and drool start to form. The caveman transition has started.

We head over to Thayer. We pull up and the place is packed. Okay, we know there will be a wait. We can handle it just to be able to smell the steaks cooking. There is a table of 17 ahead of us, okay, we can still do it. We are here with family we don't usually see so, it will give everyone time to catch up. By the way we are a group of eight adults. A good sized group but, not extravagant. We are wilting. The cavemen in the group are hot, sweaty, and hungry. Two hours waiting in the hot sun does not make for happy people. It gave me time to really look at the outside of the building. Woopido. Nothing exciting. It looks like any diner off a highway. Nice enough to go in but needs some upates.

We are finally seated. YEAH!! The angels are singing. We are scanning the menu. I don't know why. We all know what kind of steak we like and how we want it. We decide to at least play the game and look. The menu is pretty extensive for a place that caterers to meat lovers. Two couples in the group order the butt club. This is a sirloin and no longer resembles a cow butt. Two ordered the filets. The ladies of the group. They know high class when they see it and are going to take it. They are willing to put up with us cavemen, but are not one of us. We have two oddballs: one with chicken strips and one with beef tips. Where did they come from? I don't know. I think they just followed us in so they wouldn't have to wait another hour in the hot sun. There is also a bloomin onion ordered as an appetizer. You know, because we really want to clog our arteries. Red meat is not enough we have to have something fried. Remember frying or dipping something in chocolate makes it taste gooood.

An HOUR later our waitress says she forgot to give the chef our order. Our meal isn't even started. WTF? I can't believe it but okay we have to live with it. It is now too late in the night to head somewhere else. A while later she comes back and says, "Oh I am sorry but we are out of the bloomin onion". Well okay we want fried mushrooms then.

Our waitress is coming with food. Time for a happy dance! Fried mushrooms are coming!! The plates are put down, and it is not mushrooms. It is a bloomin onion. I am excited since this is what I wanted, but where was it hiding? Did it scamper off and come back? Bad onion! Didn't it know people were waiting for it. Why would it hide in a cupboard? We all chow down on the bloomin onion. It is good. The onion is sweet and the breading is crisp. Perfection.

Okay thirty minutes later our food arrives. Four of us are like yeah steak!!! Where is the roll? We are supposed to have a roll. "Oh I am sorry we are out of rolls". Are you sure they may be hiding with the onions and aren't willing to come back. It is past their bedtime now. I am disappionted. I love my carbs. I am also thinking if you would have turned our order in when you were supposed to I would have my roll. Did we recieve a discount because our meal did not come with the roll like it was supposed to NOOOO! They didn't even subsitute texas toast or something.

I am sorry to say I was really disappointed. We didn't get what we ordered and we waited FOREVER for it. Also the waitress never kept our glasses filled and was never around to even ask. The food was okay but not outstanding. The steaks were just steaks and you were lucky if they were cooked as you had requested. Over alll I am sorry to say Big Ed's recieves 2 stars **. I did not have a good time and did not feel satisfied and full when I left.

Do you think I hit a bad night? Or is this normal? Post a comment or email me with your thoughts. I love to hear from my readers!!!!!! If enough of you tell me it was a fluke I will try again in the future.

Napoli's - Pittsburg, KS

Ho fame! I am hungry! At least I think that is what I am saying. My italian is really bad. It will have to work. I had the pleasure of being able to eat at Napoli's in Pittsburg the other day for dinner. Lucky me! Napoli's is at 1301 N Broadway in Pittsburg. It is casual dress. The items are priced from around $6 to $20. The place was full but the wait was less than three minutes.

It is a small nondescript building on Broadway. The inside is decorated with an italian theme. I think the decorating falls short of the true Italian intentions. It is has family small town atmosphere. The resturant is clean and orderly. Oh and the smells are wonderful. You are immediately hit with the smells of italian herbs.

The waitress was polite and fast. I did have to ask to have my glass refilled twice. I wasn't rushed and she knew the menu.

The first thing is that they will bring you garlic rolls that smell and taste wonderful. They are made fresh everyday and you can tell when your mouth starts watering. I ordered olive oil for dipping. It was good, not overly bitter.

I ordered the stromboli. It was HUGE! I was not able to finish it. They did provide me with a box so I had lunch the next day. It was as good as the stromboli in Kansas City on ther riverfront. It was hot and the cheeze was melted and it was chock full of meats. There wasn't a bite without meat and cheese. The bread tasted homemade. I am sorry readers but I forgot to ask I was in cheese euphoria. My brain temporarily stops working during this phenomenon.

I really enjoyed my meal and have all intentions on going back. I would actually have liked to been able to order smaller portions but I will just have to take someone with me next time. There is pleny to share. Napolis gets 5 out 5 stars *****.

I know this is a short post but I have been very busy. I haven't even made it out to any resturants lately. I know I will hang my head in shame. Harvest can't last forever so I will soon be eating again and providing proper reviews. Please send me emails or comments. I love to hear from all of you.

No NO NO

Oh No Miss Emmas changed their Baked Beans. It can not be. I loved them. They aren't bad but they aren't the ones that got me through my lunch breaks. Please Please bring them back.

El Pueblito - Chanute, KS

It is lunch time and I am hungry. I am in Chanute with my Aunt and we want Chinese. But Oh No the chinese place is closed for a week. We throw some attitude about not being told personally they will be closed for awhile. Then we go about the important business. What do we do now? Oh ho if not Chinese then it will be Mexican. We race across town to El Pueblito's new building. It is noon and the place is packed. Even though there are people everywhere from all walks of life we are seated immediately. Dress here runs from work clothes to business casual. Everyone in town enjoys this resturant.



We both order the lunch fajitas with beans instead of rice. We of course ordered the cheese dips. Two women on the town have to be a little bad. The chips and salsa are brought to our table right after we are seated. The chips are warm and the salsa tastes fresh. It is a wonderful red with bright green specks of cilantro. It is a mild salsa but oh so perfect on those chips.



Our cheese dip tastes wonderful and creamy. The cheese isn't fully melted though, I prefer mine to be completly smooth without chunks of cheese. That doesn't stop us from finishing it.



The fajitas are hot and steamy when they come out. They are not the prettiest things, too much brown. When you put it on the hot tortilla and eat it though you realize your eyes can lie. The meat is tender and the vegetables aren't overly cooked. The beans are ho hum, just refried beans.



Our service was great. Our ice teas were always full and so is our chip basket. Our waiter is young and polite. He doesn't speak a lot of English but that adds to the authentic atmosphere. You can pretend you are on vacation in Mexico not just grabbing some food on your lunch break. There are tons of people coming in but the staff never rushes you.



The new building looks great. The interior has some beutiful murals painted on the wall. They are interesting conversation pieces. The bathrooms are very clean and stocked. They needed a hook for a purse, but it was probably designed by men. They don't think of these essentials.



I give this place 5 stars. Keep up the good work and I will see you agian next week. Yes we eat here at least once a week. What can I say they cook better than I do.

Brothers Railroad Inn- Independence, Kansas

Okay first I will get the specifics out of the way. Brothers Railroad Inn is in Independence, KS (the home of Neewollah) at 113 S. Penn. They are open for lunch Tues-Fri from 11-2 p.m. and for dinner Tues -Thurs 5-9 p.m. and Fri-Sat 5-10 p.m. In case you haven't figured it out on your own they are closed on Sunday and Monday.


Brothers is a family restaurant serving pizza and Italian food. The atmosphere is friendly and the attire is usually business casual. I have eaten here many times but today’s review will be about my recent adventure. This day we went late in the evening so the restaurant was about half full. We walked in and the aroma of garlic and tomato sauce sent my stomach rumbling and I think maybe even a little bit of drool. I have to admit I am a sucker for Italian food.


We didn't even have to wait a minute to get a table and was almost immediately waited on. They took our drink order (both of us tea) and we went about trying to decide what to order. They have a very extensive menu and since I want it all but like to see my cute toes have to go for one thing. Tonight no appetizers (because I want dessert). My husband orders his normal manicotti with a salad and garlic bread. He orders manicotti at any Italian place we visit. He doesn't have an adventurous bone in his body. I decided that I have never had their pizza and since I can have one just for me it will be mushroom. Oh also a salad not because I need the veggies. Oh no because they make their own Blue Cheese dressing with real chunks of blue cheese in it. Oh yes, Oh yes I am in heaven.


Our service was great. Drinks were always topped off and the staff was polite. They didn't rush you and were knowledgeable about the food served. When we asked how something was made or if it had certain things in it they knew! If you are wondering I have a few allergies and want to know if these foods are in a dish so I don't end on the floor flopping around like a fish out of water.


The salads came first, which is normal. They were fresh and green. My husband had boring ranch which he said was good, not overly sweet. Mine had that blue cheese dressing, which is tangy and chunky. It is the reason for salads. By the way they bottle this dressing and sell it. You no longer have to try to sneak some out in your purse. What a mess!


My pizza was hot and smelling fresh. The crust was crusty and chewy. Just the way a pizza crust should be. The sauce was had the right amount of spices and you could taste tomato. There was a little much on the pizza for me but that is a personal preference, it wasn't overabundant. My only complaint was the mushrooms. They tasted canned and not fresh. I believe for the price of the pizza they should have been fresh mushrooms. The pizza would have been 5x better if the mushrooms weren't canned. My hubby said the manicotti was perfect as usual. Eloquent isn't he? The only problem he had is that the garlic bread that comes with the meal wasn't delivered. This has never happened before so I assuming this will be just a fluke and will never happen again.


Dessert! We chose tiramisu. The top Italian desert in my opinion. MMM! MMM! It was the right temperature and tasted like tiramisu should. I wouldn't say it is astounding but good. I will eat it again. I should try a different dessert though. Or a new dessert and the tiramisu? Yes that will be on the list for the next visit. Tell me what desert I should try next time on the poll area of this blog.


Appearance: very nice main street type building. Nicely decorated and the lighting was low for a nice intimate dinner. Bathrooms were clean and smelled clean. The bathrooms were well stocked.


Normally I would give them 5 stars but for this visit it will have to be 3-4 stars for the lackluster mushrooms and the nonexistent garlic bread.


Prices:


Small salad 2.99

10" mushroom pizza 6.39

Manicotti, salad 10.79

Tiramisu 4.59

2 Teas 2.58

Total 27.34

Miss Emma's in Southeast Kansas

This is my first blog post ever! I'm excited, I'm anxious, I'm wasting time and space. I have decided to start with one of my favorite places in Southeast Kansas to eat. It is a small cafe in Neodesha, KS called Miss Emma's. They have the best fried chicken. I know. I know that this is sacrilege to say in southeast Kansas. I am supposed to join in the Chicken Annie's: Chicken Mary's debate (will post about this later). I just truly believe Miss Emma's is better. The chicken is moist and not over flavored. It actually tastes like chicken not herbed breading. So on we go. Just as an FYI I have only eaten here at lunchtime during the week.

Appearance:

Here would be the area that could use some improvement. It looks like all small town diners. It is in an old main street building that could use some updates. The interior is old but always clean. The smoking section is in a different part of the building so nobody has to be uncomfortable. The bathroom has always been clean.

Customer Service:

This day in age they get two thumbs up. They are timely and always polite. Now if you want high class staff sorry not here. They are down home people and like to talk with you. The waitresses always have a smile. I have always had my glass refilled before I need to ask for it. I am trying not to be too biased. The main waitress always tells my husband and me that we are a cute couple and she just loves us. How can I not give them more points? She sure knows how to butter you up.

The FOOD:

Now here is the important part. The food is good. It is down home good. It is not fancy but it is stick to your ribs wholesome. Like I said above you can't go wrong with any of the chicken dishes. The chicken fried steak is pretty good also. I am not a huge fan of their burgers and fries. When I want burger I want them big and juicy. The burgers here are average. The fries are on the limp side for me. Did I mention their sides? Oh yes you can get mashed potatoes and gravy, or baked beans that are just mouthwatering. You can get corn and green beans also, but I normally save the rabbit food for home. Also they have a special everyday and as long as it isn't a casserole I'm willing to give it a go. The only problem with the specials is that if you fall in love with it you have to wait till it comes up as a special. Many of the specials are not regular menu items.

Overall I give Miss Emma's five stars.

So when in Neodesha head over to Miss Emma’s at 808 Main Street in Neodesha, KS.