Where to eat in Wichita: Fizz Burgers

I have to confess, when Fizz opened in my neighborhood and I saw the signs, I was so appalled at the logo that I had no interest in trying the place out! I mean, tell me that this doesn't look like it actually says "Pizz"!

Plus, that pistachio green color -- one of my favorites, but not one I want to associate with burgers!

Luckily, though, my hairdresser Annie (who works a few doors down) told me that they had really good burgers. So my husband and I tried it out, and it was instantly our new favorite casual spot. (The hubs still insists on calling it Pizz, though. Ha. Ha.)

They do have great burgers, but they also have a great chicken sandwich (try it with avocado, bacon, and garlic aioli) and good salads. I love the chicken tortilla salad; in fact, it's the inspiration for my own make-ahead Tex-Mex salad. (Sorry, no pic yet. Another one of those days when I was so hungry, I was halfway through the salad before I realized it!) In addition to the greens and chicken (alternately, you can order it with pulled pork), there's avocado, cheddar cheese, black beans, tortilla strips, red onion, and a very tasty dressing. 

But what Fizz is probably best loved for is their fries. They have some great traditional skin-on fries (my favorite kind!), shown here in a pic from their website with what looks like a mushroom and Swizz burger.

But what really puts them on the map is their sweet potato fries! (Did you know that sweet potatoes have a lower glycemic index than white potatoes? Crazy, huh?! Plus, they have a ton of Vitamin A.) I've tried s.p. fries at number of restaurants, and I definitely like these the best. They don't have that weird tang that you often get, plus they're not crusted with unnecessary sugar and/or cinnamon. You can also ask to have your order half-and-half: half regular fries and half sweet potato fries.

They have six different dipping sauces you can order with either kind of fries: Garlic Aioli · Roasted Garlic · Smoked Pepper Mayo · Ranch · Pecan · Ketchup · Spicy Ketchup. And they'll gladly bring you a bit of however many you want. But with the sweet potato fries, you gotta try the pecan sauce! It's a little sweet, but not overwhelmingly so.

Oh, and they also offer dozens of different unique soda pops in bottles. Wine and beer, too. Dessert is available: cute little cake pops. I've never tried one, but I gave my sister one and she said it was "the best!"

Locally owned. Open for lunch and dinner Mon. - Sat. Closed Sunday. :(

Fizz website

Places to eat in Wichita: Tanya's Soup Kitchen

Tanya's Soup Kitchen is more than soup: there's sandwiches and salads, too. Everything (except the bread) is made fresh on site, and the dishes all strike a nice balance between the creative and the comfortably familiar. Nothing is run-of-the-mill, but nothing is frou-frou, either. It's nice for our gluten-sensitive friends that they offer gluten-free bread options, and the staff seems to understand the accommodations that need to be made for such folks.

The interior is sunny and open, with a casual cafe vibe. You stand in line to order, and your food is brought to the table.

Today I enjoyed the "Ella," shown at the top of this post. (That's a small. You can also order large.) It's a chicken salad with cashews, dried cherries, and fresh herbs on mixed greens, with your choice of dressing. The dressing on the chicken is very light; no gloppy mayo here. I went with the herb vinaigrette; it was nice and light, with a perfect balance between sweet and tart. The herbs complemented the blend, but no herb was so prominent that it overwhelmed the flavor.

I also got a "small" soup...

...which would be a "bowl" in any other restaurant! Today, I opted for their creamy tomato dill soup. It's so popular, they offer it every day, year-round. And I can see why. It's delish! It's also quite sweet. I'm sure there must be some sugar in there, so for health's sake, I didn't eat the whole thing. But I would have liked to!

Their salads are reasonably priced -- ranging from $3.50 to $7.00 for a small, $4.50 to $9.00 for a large -- but personally, I think their sandwiches are a little overpriced; $9 for whole; $7.75 for half.

Overall, a quite enjoyable lunch!

Tanya's Soup Kitchen website

Places to eat in Wichita: Le Monde

I've been to Le Monde three or four times -- well, at this location, anyway. Years ago, there was a Le Monde downtown, but I don't know if that was the same owners.

The West Street one looks like it was a fast food joint in a former life, but it's been updated on the inside and out with a homier look.

The menu offers a mix of Americanized Euro-ish favorites: quesadillas, ravioli, chicken moutarde; and the Lebanese offerings which are (happily) commonplace in Wichita: hummus, fattoush, and schawarma. The entrees are dominated by pasta offerings: eight, to be exact.

Homemade biscuits are served free while you peruse the menu. Although delicious, they seem a little out of place with the Euro/Mid-Eastern slant of the menu: they taste just like my grandma's shortbread (American farm food), and the ones we were served this time tasted like they'd just come out of the oven.

I usually get the fattoush salad with chicken, but today I was in the mood for something different, so I ordered a gyro. I've never had one before, so I have nothing to compare it to or to judge how authentic it was. But it was yummy! The seasoned ground beef (and/or lamb?), tasted sort of like breakfast sausage. A good thing, in my book. The tomato and tsaziki sauce was the perfect complement, adding a contrast without overwhelming. The pita bread was soft and puffy.  My daughter was scared off by the tsaziki (yogurt and cucumber sauce), but after she had a taste, she didn't want to give it back to me. It's served with a generous side salad of your choice -- my choice: fattoush, of course!

When she ordered, she stuck to what she knew: chicken schawarma. (Or schwarma.) This dish is pretty common in Wichita. The base of it is hummus -- which I can be fairly picky about, since I have a pretty rockin' homemade version. Then that is topped with chicken schawarma and, usually, some grilled onions, pine nuts, olive oil and/or paprika. Le Monde tops theirs with pickles (housemade, I think), and fresh tomatoes. 

The chicken is tasty, but not remarkable. I give their hummus a thumbs up. And yes, I know I've already said that the pita bread was great, but it bears another mention! I wish they'd serve pita for the free appetizer, with some zahtaar seasoning and good olive oil. But then again, I'd probably just fill up on that! So maybe it's a good thing (for my waistline) they don't.

Restaurant review: Pacific Coast Pizza

One of the foods I miss the most while living a balanced-carb lifestyle is pizza. Eating pizza with whole-wheat crust alleviates some of the guilt, but until Pacific Coast Pizza opened up a couple years ago, there was no place in Wichita that served it.

Happily, that has been remedied. In addition to a traditional white crust, they also offer a "rosemary wheat" crust. I haven't asked for specific nutrition info, so I'm not sure it's 100% whole wheat, but it looks and tastes like it, and that's enough for my conscience, once in a while!

They offer a wide variety of pizzas, from classic to pesto-based to vegetarian to "Pacific Coast Style." There's also the "build your own" option. (Find the menu here.) My favorite is the San Andreas: rosemary wheat crust topped with red sauce, low-fat mozzarella, roasted chicken, red onion, mushroom, roasted red pepper and pineapple.

Their strength is definitely their pizza. I haven't tried any of the pasta, sandwiches or wraps, but pass up the salads. The "Caesar" is just a normal salad with what tastes like bottled Italian dressing, with some Parmesan sprinkled on top. Don't expect much from the atmosphere: what little decor there is consists of beer brand signs. There is a patio, so on those precious few days when Kansas weather makes sitting outdoors comfortable, that's a nice option.

It's located in Sienna Plaza, on the northwest corner of 37th Street North and Rock Road, and parking is never a problem.