Tasty Tuesday: Local Cultures

Cerviche at Sabor

Living in Kansas lends itself to many misconceptions. One is that the landscape is pancake flat and consists only of wheat fields; Another is that we lack ethnic diversity.  Neither of these statements are true. For a city with a metro area of less than 700,000, Wichita is actually quite diverse. One place this can be seen is in some of our local eating establishments. I wonder how many Wichita natives have actually explored these places? They are not necessarily well known, but they offer a real taste of culture in our area. If you haven't already, give some of these local establishments a try.

Great Lebanese food can be found at N&J Middle Eastern Cuisine. The outside is nothing special...but the food is! Like many of the more authentic local places, if you want an upscale atmosphere, then head somewhere else. The food more than makes up for it! Enjoy the belly dancers too!

Delicious Vietnamese food can be found just north of downtown. Saigon is a personal favorite! Their Pho is wonderful!

My favorite for Korean is Ah-So. Though not all their food is Korean, they try their hand at some traditional Chinese dishes as well, Korean is what they do best.

Wichita offers a plethora of authentic Mexican...head north for the best! I am personally fond of Paleteria la Reyna. Great food and fabulous Mexican Ice Cream!!

Old Town is home to good Bavarian food at the Imbiss Grille and Latin fare at Sabor Latin Bar & Grille.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog; Authentic Tuscan cuisine is found at Luciano's in downtown Mulvane.

Though hamburger joints are on every corner, I just have to plug Jack's. If you have never been there...you simply must try it. Just don't order anything in a large size!!

And finally...Midwest BBQ is alive and well at B&C Creations. You wouldn't even know this was an eating establishment unless someone told you! Their BBQ buffet, housed in an old garage of sorts at Washington & 3rd Street, is divine!


Get out there and try something new! ~Marla 

Tasty Tuesday: Luciano's

I admit I have been slacking off a bit. With the wedding less than three weeks away and a few home improvement projects demanding my attention, I have been a little behind in my posts. I hope to do better, but to that end I am going to take the liberty of using a few short cuts to keep my number of posts up but my time spent on them down. By October I hope to have a little more free time again!

Today I wanted to highlight a local restaurant; Luciano's Restaurant in Mulvane, Kansas. Luciano's is a delightful, delicious Italian restaurant in an unlikely setting. If you want to experience authentic Tuscan food, this is the place to go. In all honesty it is the best Italian food I have ever eaten. Disclaimer...I have never been to Italy...I'm sure it is just as good there! 

The story of how this small Kansas town became the home of such a wonderful eatery is really quite romantic. The following excerpt is from Luciano's website.

Luciano Mottola was born in Italy and grew up in Viareggio with his 6 brothers and sisters.  After meeting the love of his life, he made the decision to follow her back to the USA in 2003.

While traveling to places in Colorado, Montana, Kansas & California, Luciano selected
Mulvane as his place to begin again.

The wheat fields and sunflowers reminded him of his home in Tuscany - a place where value is based on quality instead of quantity and simple beauty and elegance are a part of everyday life.

Luciano's features wonderful fresh Italian fare at a reasonable price. The setting is intimate and very pleasant. If you live in the Wichita area it is well worth the drive to try this little gem.

Bon appétit ~Marla