Big T's Bar-B-Q on Blue Ridge Boulevard is one of two Kansas City restaurants with the same name. I tried the other location on Blue Parkway several years ago and had not been impressed, but latter learned that this location has a much better reputation.

We sampled the pork ribs, beef, ham sausage, fries, corn on the cob and onion rings. The servings were generous, for example a 4 rib dinner had 6 large ribs. The ribs and sausage were our favorite meats. The sauce was spicy and distinctive, with a flavor which I could not identify. I liked it, but Linda did not.

The sides were all very good, even the corn, which few BBQ places do a very well. The fries would have benefited from being crisper. The onion rings were the best part of the entire meal.

I went there to have a burger, in particular, and selected the downtown burger, with $8.49 with potato chips. A little expensive, without a more genuine side. It came wit teriyaki sautéed mushrooms, onions and Swiss cheese. The first taste of the mushrooms was good, but there was nothing special about the meat.

The best part of the meal was desert. The berry tart and the sour cream raisin pie were both above average.

With there being other places in Topeka which I want visit, I probably will not be trying this one again. THough this is one of the few places that look interesting and are open past 2PM on Sunday.

The bacon wrapped meatball are pretty good, but expensive at 5 fairly small meatballs for $5.95. The total for the meal (including a soda) was $14.19, a little pricey for lunch.

I requested a plastic cup to take my soda to go. The lady did eventually give me one, but made me know that finding one was a big inconvenience.

They continue to offer programs every Saturday night through October, which include a look through the big telescope and a chance to see smaller rigs belonging to members of the Kansas City Astronomical Society. $6 for adults, $4 for children.

It did turn out that one of the two recommendations we had received had come from the owners.

We also stopped at the Kingman County Historical Museum which occupies a beautiful 1888 firehouse. I really appreciate the dedication of these local historical societies. The main floor is between exhibits, but there second floor is packed with permanent exhibits.

After photographing the exterior of a few more buildings, we stopped for lunch at Smitty's Carry Out. This place does have a top burger! It was juicy and flavorful. The house made onion rings were nearly as good, but the fresh cut fries needed a little more frying. They did offer several house made sauces and the Kicking Horse went well with the fries.

On the way back to Wichita, we stopped at Souders Historical Farm-Museum in Cheney. There are many places across Kansas where buildings have been moved and farm equipment has been collected. This is different, Floyd and Norma Souders constructed their own buildings to recreate a small rural town and moved the artifacts into them. Their chapel even has a small graveyard with tombstones which were donated to them.

Floyd died in 1996 and Norma in 2005. The farm the museum is on was purchased by Tom Gronniger and after a few years, he began opening the buildings to the public. In recent times, he has even started adding new buildings and last year he built a livery stable. There isn't much information (if any) about the items on display, but this is something.

Back in Wichita, we visited the two year old Wichita Toy Train Club Museum and the Blacktop Nationals car show which was being held downtown.

We went on to visit Santa Fe Lake near Augusta, where we had been told there was a neat waterfall in the spillway from the lake, but there was no water flow at this time. Not wanting to waste being in the vicinity, we also went to the stone arch bridge over Four Mile Creek. It was not as scenic as many, with a crumbling side and orange cones to keep vehicles from getting close to the side.

As we left town, we tried one more place for burgers, Big Larry's Burgers in Valley Center on the north side of Wichita. One of Linda's cousins met us for supper. While this place will not make the top 10 burger list, it has a number of cool features, including a wall where tiny pictures are posted of those who eat the 2.25 pound Triple Big Larry Burger. This place actually had the best fresh fries of the weekend.

We made one last stop on the way back home, at the remains of the 1875 Drinkwater & Schriver Flour Mill in Cedar Point. I already have a page with photos of this crumbling mill and dam, but we took additional photos as the sun went down. 

Smitty's Carry Out
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Blacktop Nationals
 

Four Mile Creek Bridge

The Breakfast & lunch only place is a little pricey. Our lunch, with only one of us having a beverage, came to $28.