All Slabbed Up

02/05/2020 

All Slabbed Up - 405 Muncie Rd, Leavenworth

Apps: 1/2 & 1/2 fried pickles and fried jalapeños - these jalapeños had a kick to them! Tasted good but more of a kick than I was prepared for (I'm also a weenie when it comes to spicy food) Pickles with ranch were very good; Loaded Fries - Excellent! Plenty of cheese and bacon, really enjoyed.

Mains: Short ends with fries - they were a little dry and tough to chew, maybe cooked a bit too long but flavor was good. The fries were amazing; Wrangler with fries - this was mine (I should add that I don't typically enjoy bbq food) and the brisket was really good! I used also really liked their bbq sauce. Fries were extremely good!; Maverick with baked beans - "it's good" and the beans were really good (you have to understand this is a man of few words so unfortunately he couldn't elaborate on "it's good"); 3 Sliders (brisket, turkey, ham) with coleslaw and fries - So good, favorite was the ham, and the fries were amazing.

***Worth stating again, the fries are AMAZING! They have onions mixed in with them and the seasoning is superb....I would go back just for a side of fries!

Also worth mentioning, there is a fun little educational sign hanging above our table....the men didn't think it was as funny as we did 😁

There's also some bar seating if you just want to go in and have a drink with those amazing fries.... and there's a nice covered deck that no doubt would be enjoyable when it's above freezing outside!

Ratings: Overall food was pretty good! As a party of 4 we were torn on ratings (actually we liked everything minus the short ends being too dry). And incase I haven't mentioned it enough, the fries themselves make it a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.... but the negatives bring our rating down. I was disappointed because they were out of pulled pork, and seeing how I don't love bbq to start with (but do like pork) I was bummed. Luckily the brisket sandwich (Wrangler) was good.  Biggest complaint is that when it came time to pay our bill we were told about a $3.99 fee to use a debit/credit card. We know companies have a fee for using credit card machines but never as a customer have I had to pay the fee myself. Unfortunately I never carry cash!

Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5️⃣

Karma Cakes

1/18/20

Karma Cakes - 223 S 5th St, Leavenworth

Yep, we’ve been MIA for awhile!!! Holidays and winter slow a person down 😉 so we’re baby stepping it back!



This past weekend we had some time to kill before heading to a kiddo’s birthday party so we decided to check out Karma Cakes. (Separate shout out to Picasso’s painting studio 130 Cherokee, great party atmosphere!) They’ve recently moved to this new location and have a lot of room! There is quite a lunch menu and while we didn’t sample any of their cakes I’ve heard that they are amazing! 

 

 

Meals:
Rockstar with potato salad: delicious! This sandwich had the perfect amount of meat and veggies on it, the chipotle ranch was just the right flavor, and the fried onions made for the perfect crunch and extra flavor. Very, very good! The potato salad was also very good. Salads are made homemade, and I promise that I am the pickiest person when it comes to potato salad. They nailed it!

Greek turkey wrap with southwest pasta salad: so refreshing! This wrap also had the perfect combination of ingredients, and all of the vegetables tasted very fresh. The pasta salad was also quite good, had a perfect flavor to it and was clearly homemade. We definitely appreciate the effort that the chef puts into her salads!



Custom sandwich (turkey, lettuce, pickle, onion and cucumbers on sour dough bread): “good” Mind you, this review came from a 9 year old and when I asked for her to elaborate with more words she couldn’t. Ha!

Kids: ham and cheese sandwiches: this sandwich was for a 7 and 11 year old. Unfortunately the reviews weren’t good for this one. I would skip it but we aim for honesty! The kids meal is supposed to be ham and American cheese. Their sandwich came with Swiss cheese. These two boys are the pickiest of picky and when they spotted the cheese they were immediately against the sandwich. I’m sure that to a normal kid the sandwich is fine! My only complaint as a parent is that for $4.50 I’d rather get an entire sandwich instead of just a 1/2. Also we didn’t get chips with the kids meal, but did get apple sauce. So maybe it’s one or the other?



Last review, because my 11 year old insisted.
*Chocolate milk: Nice and cold, creamy and “gucci”

So the adults with specialty sandwiches give this a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, however the kids gave it a ⭐️⭐️ (I bet if we had ordered dessert it would have been a 5!)

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Baan Thai

11/26/19

Baan Thai: 301 S 4th St, Leavenworth KS

We have our first guest this week, meet Val! Glad you could join us in the fun! ❤️



The inside of this restaurant is very cool! I was attempting to take a picture on our way out but I think the guests were weirded out by me so I refrained, haha! You really need to check this place out, really good food with a great atmosphere, and by the far the most knowledgable waiter we’ve encountered.



This menu has 8 pages of items of items to choose from!



Apps: Fried Pot Stickers and Tiger Cry Beef served with a spicy tiger cry sauce...and it was spicy! Ha!

 

We also received a complimentary soup of the day, our waiter said it was similar to their Tom Yum soup. We thought it reminded us a little of Minestrone soup...it was really good! Some chicken, onion....delicious. And was perfect on that cold day!

Mains: Crazy Noodle with Chicken - excellent! Great flavor and veggies were cooked to perfection; Pad Thai with Chicken - pretty good, wish that it had a little more kick to it but I played it safe with this order; Baan Thai Drunken Chicken (no shrooms add mixed veggies) - excellent, and again the veggies were cooked perfectly!

 

In all we were very happy with our experience. The waiter was top notch, knew that menu like the back of his hand (8 pages people!!!) and each item can be made to order. Nice clean restaurant, nice bathrooms, and very large portions.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Luigi's

11/6/19

Luigi’s - 418 Cherokee St, Leavenworth

Excellent menu, so many options!

Apps: Mozzarella Sticks (clearly they're a fave of a certain someone) - good, cheesy, but not like Mama Mias (also, clearly this certain someone is still upset about Mama Mias being closed); Sliced Italian Sausage (homemade with red wine sauce and green onions/tomatoes) - OH.EM.GEE, these were absolutely amazing! Perfect flavor, nice small kick of spice, just awesome!

Before we move onto the Mains, I want to point out how excellent the bar set up is....as well as the fact that they have Mich Ultra on tap. That's a big plus for me! 

Mains: Champagne with Shrimp - absolutely delicious. This has a white cream sauce that's taste was on point. The shrimp were large and cooked to perfection; Delizioso - the dude was nervous about the hollandaise sauce but one of the first words out of his mouth was how good the sauce was! The potatoes were "super good", chicken was tender and moist, and "even the asparagus was good!"; Chicken Primavera - "phenomenal all around!"; Tour - It was good, lasagna was just ok, fettucine was really good, "Mama Mias ziti is better" (clearly we know who ordered the Tour! haha!)

Also worth mentioning is that the rolls are homemade, and delicious, that come with the perfect dipping sauce. We all also enjoyed either a House salad or Italian salad, you can't go wrong with either option.  My only complaint, I didn't like having to pay extra for my salad....seems like it should come with the entree.  But even with saying that, I'd order it again next time!

We had so much food that not a single person could eat it all, but who doesn't love leftovers? However that didn't stop the boys from ordering dessert: Strawberry Cheesecake and Baklava - "pretty dang good!" and "best cheesecake!"

On a final note, Luigi's is under new ownership. We met one of the owners last night, she was very kind and attentive to our needs (as was our waitress). We promised to shout this review from the rooftops!!! In all honesty she doesn't even know about our blog, but we fully intend to tell the world about how good her restaurant is! What are you waiting for, go try it!!!!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ichiban Japanese Restaurant

10/9/19

Ichiban: 871 Eisenhower Rd, Leavenworth

Amateur move...forgot to take pictures of the menu.  So I'll just tell you that are plenty of options here.  A lengthy sushi selection, plenty of hibachi selections, and other entree options.  Ichiban is similar to other japanese restaurants where you can choose either the dining side or hibachi side, but why would you not want hibachi??? 

Apps: Edamame, Salmon/cream cheese roll, deep fried (amazing!); crab/cream cheese roll, deep fried (awesome!); sweet potato roll (love it!); AAC - avacado, asparagus, cucumber roll (yummy!)

2 things to point out here: yes, you may wonder how we had room to keep eating after all of these apps? Well, we are fully capable of taking down a lot of food! ha! AND, if you have never tried a deep fried sushi roll you are seriously missing out!

Hibachi meals come with soup and salad, and for $5 you can add the  "Share Option". That's perfect. My husband and I do this every time here (and still come home with leftovers).

Entertainment for the night! PS make sure to tip your chef, Ichiban's chef is worth it!

Also worth mentioning, how good is the photographer for catching that 2nd picture???

It's always entertaining seeing how much Sake a person can take at once, I also always decline that option! HA! And it's fun watching food bounce off of your neighbors chin!

Mains: Salmon and Lobster tail - not a single bite was left on his plate; Filet - perfection; Steak and Shrimp (shared portion) - steak was cooked perfect and the shrimp was excellent! The rice and vegetables are always cooked with great flavor and the portions are quite generous! 

And because they're adorbs, meet Joel & Lacey 

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

M & J Chow Hall

10/23/19 

M&J Chow Hall: 206 Choctaw St, Leavenworth KS

So we've been pretty excited for this one to open back up.  Originally High Noon, the food was great and it was always good at providing entertainment.  Then Grinders came to town, and no lie, the food just wasn't to die for.  BUT, there was still some entertainment. Which leads us to M&J Chow Hall, and we really wanted to love it. In fact, we're leaving 4 other restaurants waiting to be posted just because surely others are curious about this place too.  So here goes nothing.....

I liked that M&J's took to Facebook to ask what people in the area hoped to see on the menu.  I saw a lot of ideas, and overall the menu is decent.  Not a large selection but for the most part everything looks good!

Apps: Fried Pickles; Mozzerella Planks; homemade Ranch dressing

It's exciting to see fried pickles on a menu here in Leavenworth, these definitely could have been crispier.  Good flavor, but a bit soggy.  The planks were delicious though.

Mains: Chicken Fried Chicken: "it was good, corn could have been warmer, gravy was decent ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5️⃣); Chicken Alfredo: "very dry, needed a lot more alfredo sauce" ⭐️⭐️⭐️; Lettuce Wraps: "Ask for ranch instead of blue cheese. Otherwise it tastes like a BLT, so not bad."; Wrangler: "just ok, no magic taste. Tots were ok."

House salad was good! And homemade ranch dressing is always a plus!!!

It was nice to see that even though High Noon has changed hands (and names) a couple of times, this table is still displayed.  Leavenworth is definitely a military town and so many people from Post come to eat here, it's a nice touch so kudos to M&J for keeping that going.

Ratings: It's tough to write a bad review, especially when we wanted to like this one so badly.   Our waitress was great, the food wasn't amazing and it took much longer for it to come out than it should have considering we were one of the only ones there.  We don't see ourselves rushing back to eat here again but have seen others post that the food was good, here's hoping your visit is better then ours! On a positive note, M&J already has a band booked and plan to continue the tradition of the Beast before the Feast!  

⭐️⭐️⭐️