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