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

The best low carb salads at Panera

I love Panera! Even though I rarely get bagels or sweets there any more, I love their salads and appreciate the fact that they provide some nutrition info right up front. The calories are listed right on the menu. Pretty bold!

However, I don't believe that counting calories is all that useful. (Here's why, at least partially.) So I went to Panera's website and downloaded the nutrition info and did a little spreadsheet work. If you're focusing on controlling diabetes and/or eating low carb (South Beach, etc.), a useful thing to consider is the protein to carb ratio. That is, are there more protein than carbs, and in what proportion?

Based on my personal study into food's effect on insulin and blood sugar, my approach to healthy eating is to try to keep an approximate balance between carbs and protein. More protein than carbs is okay; more carbs than protein is not. So in my protein-to-carbs (P-to-C) approach, I'm looking for a ration that 1 or higher.

Here's an example: If your "protein bar" has 10 grams of protein, but 30 grams of carbs, it has a  P-to-C  ratio of 0.33 -- not good! However, a spoonful of sugar-free peanut butter has 8 grams of protein and 6 grams of carbs; a ratio of 1.25 -- much better!

I looked at all of Panera's whole salads, including the dressing. Here are their four lowest-carb salads, with their respective ratios.


ALL of the other salads on their menu are below 1.0.

Of course, there's more to healthy eating than carbs and protein, but as I said, if you're looking to control your blood sugar (glucose) or trying to lose weight by watching carbs, these are some important numbers to know.


I am not employed by or affiliated with Panera Bread, and this is not a sponsored post. I am not a medical or nutrition expert; just someone who cares about my health enough to dig for the facts.

Places to eat in Kansas City: Beer Kitchen

The Beer Kitchen in Westport is another of our favorite spots in KC. In the past, we've enjoyed their lunch/dinner menu, including various salads, burgers, Mac & Cheese or Fish & Chips.

This time, we were visiting a little earlier in the day and looking for brunch.

Both the hubs and I are big fans of a classic Eggs Benedict, so we're always on the search for good ones. We still miss the EB at Reverse Grill and Jack Gage, which are both now closed.  :(

But luckily, Beer Kitchen also has a brunch menu on the weekend, so my husband tried it. It comes with a side of "brunch potatoes" - chunky cubes of potatoes, crispy-brown on the exterior. The verdict: good hollandaise, potatoes nicely done, but the poached eggs were a little under done, with the whites being just a tad runny. But he wasn't in a complaining mood, so he didn't send them back.

I ordered a "Turkey Turkey" sandwich: smoked turkey, turkey bacon, avocado, tomato, chipotle cheddar and chipotle aioli on grilled sourdough. Being the spice wimp I am, I was concerned about the chipotle component of this sandwich, but the waitress assured me it wasn't spicy at all, so I ordered it as is. I should know better! It was just a little too spicy for me, but again, not bad enough to not finish.

Other than the spice factor (which wouldn't be an issue for most people), the sandwich was delish. I especially liked the toasted sour dough: it was the absolutely perfect balance of crunchy outside and just-chewy-enough inside. Unfortunately, it didn't photograph well, so no pic.

Even with these two small complaints, I would recommend Beer Kitchen without reservations. This was probably our fourth or fifth visit, and they have been consistently good.

They are open seven days a week: open at 11 am on weekdays and 9 am on the weekends. They close anywhere from midnight to 3 a.m.; check their website for details.

Beer Kitchen website

On Urbanspoon:


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