We had lunch just 2 miles away at Silo Modern Farmhouse in Lenexa. Johnson County has many good restaurants, but view with a great view. Silo is on a golf course and has a very nice view. For Sunday lunch there is a brunch menu with view lunch items so we had few choices. One of us went with a Caesar salad, largely because it came anchovies. The other had their $21 buffet (also available added to an entree for $7). It was fine, but the were no warm dishes and the only meat was salmon. The small dessert selection was the highlight of the meal.

There were a couple of amuse bouche (tiny tasting) from the chef during the meal and good, warm bread which was accompanied by oil, honey butter and balsamic vinegar.

My meal started with an unusual French onion soup. It had a small slice of what appeared to be cheddar cheese resting on top of the bread which was not melted and contained pearl onions. Not what I was looking for.

The pork tenderloin medallions were quite good. The ribeye had a nice flavor, but was not hot. I did appreciate that the steak came with your choice of four additions at no charge: blackberry merlot sauce, gorgonzola cream, garlic & mushrooms, or crispy shallot. The garlic & mushrooms did give the meat a good flavor.

The chocolate mouse was thick like a pudding. It had a very rich chocolate taste and even a small bite filled my mouth with flavor.

We drove into Salina in the evening, where I stopped to get new photos of Cozy Inn and get the current menu. There were no changes since my last visit in November.

Ribeye

Chocolate Mouse

The 1/3 pound burger has pepper Jack cheese, jalapeno bacon, Sriracha, peanut butter & sliced pickles. I ate it exactly as it came, neither adding or subtracting anything, and thought it was pretty good. 

The fish & chips came with a good tartar sauce. I liked the French fries which came with that better that the onion rings which have a $1.50 up charge. Maybe if the onion rings weren't cooked quite as long...

Supper was a block and a half away at Martinelli's Little Italy, which has been on my list of leads to follow up for several years. It has a comfortable atmosphere.

The house specialty cocktails are very reasonably priced ($7-9). I enjoyed the $8.50 Old Fashioned much more than the nearly twice as expensive Black Cherry Old Fashioned at Renaissance Cafe the night before. The menu said it was $8, but I had already corrected another error in the bill and missed that error until right now.

The ribeye was slightly charred on the outside and cooked a perfect medium on the inside. I enjoyed it and the side of mushrooms I ordered to go with it. The mushrooms took a few extra minutes to come out and were not charged for because of the inconvenience. The mushroom, Marsala wine sauce which accompanied it was nice and the server brought out a second cup of it when she saw that I had used it all.

I substituted the chop salad for the spaghetti for $4.99 and it was a great salad, with a different combination of delicious flavors in each bite. It is the best salad I have had for several months. They describe it as iceberg lettuce, diced chicken, tomato, Danish bleu cheese, avocado, bacon & green onion with Martinelli's house dressing. If ordered by itself, it would cost $9.99 and would be enough of a meal for a light eater. A salad twice the size is $17.99 and that might be what have as a meal the next time I dine here.

The Chicken Parmesan was pretty ordinary.

Before leaving downtown, we photographed some of the 2025 Sculpture Tour of 20 statues which were recently erected.

Peanut Butter Burger
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Chop Salad

I planned to get smoked chicken, but they were out. Deciding quickly on another dish at the counter with a long line of other customers behind me, I went with the Slammer Basket, which is Polish sausage topped with beef, pork and  secret sauce, with a drink & side. There is a choice of mild or hot on the sausage and I went with with their hot, which is one my favorite meats at this restaurant. I enjoyed the sandwich, but probably wouldn't select it again.

Linda went with the rib basket which comes with two large ribs. Actually it was two very large ribs and a medium sized 3 rib as well. The ribs were very nicely finished.

We went with fries and onion rings for the sides. We mostly left the fries, but enjoyed the onion rings. If a restaurant wants to make the fries special, they should consider fresh cut, or at least learn to double fry them. I rarely enjoy batter on fries. You may have a different opinion.

We both had meat to take home.

Slammer Basket

Two Rib Basket

Arriving at the campus as most people will from the Shawnee Mission Parkway, it wasn't clear where you are expected to park & enter, so I parked near the North Building where there were several other parked vehicles. It was open, with people working in the office at one end and some type of meeting at the other end. There are several small, simple displays which didn't give much context to the mission and its importance. There was also a gift shop. 

I crossed the street to the West Building, which was locked, but looking through the window at the front, the room was barren.

After photographing the gardens, I continued to the East Building, where there turned out to be a larger parking lot and it appear that is where they want people to arrive.

Although the Mission's website says admission is free, the sign on the door said it costs $5 to enter the building. I couldn't see in the windows and based on what I'd seen at the other buildings, I decided to save the money.

West Building at Shawnee Indian Mission

Thursday's Special is a Combo Beef & Ham sandwich served on a thick cut bun along with a side of fries and a regular drink for $11.49. The crinkle cut fries are not special, but still pair well with BBQ for me. The brisket was good, but I thought the smoked ham was extremely well flavored. I rarely get ham at a KC BBQ restaurant except for doing a review, but this is some that I would get again.

I added a side of beans for $3.89. It was less seasoned than I usually choose, but the seasoning worked quite well. There was a lot of finely chopped meat mixed in.

Before leaving Olathe, I stopped at KCookies, which opened over a year ago and has had very strong online reviews. They sell large, 6 ounce cookies for $5.25. I sampled "The Duke" which is described as their original chocolate chip walnut cookie and "Cherry Cobbler" which is described as oatmeal base with white chips, Michigan cherries, topped with cinnamon streusel and glaze.

I can see why these are very popular, but I would have enjoyed The Duke much more if it contained less sugar. A little thinner would be nice as well.

The $10.50 for two cookies didn't seem as good a value as a complete BBQ meal for $11.49.

The goats have returned to Sar-Ko-Par Park in Lenexa in a targeted grazing project to clean out invasive plants on 2.5 acres along the stream corridor in Sar-Ko-Par Trails Park. They have been doing this since 2021 and are very popular with visitors to the park.

We added a new review of J's BBQ Smokehouse.

KCookies
 

Goats

I continue to work my way through their large seafood menu and tonight I had Fajitas Del Mar (shrimp, octopus & tilapia). I really loved the flavors of the seafood, peppers & onions. It was a generous serving and I took home enough for a second meal. At $28.99, it is pricey, but I would do it again.

The first stop of the day was The Castle Tea Room on Massachusetts Street in Lawrence, Kansas. The building was completed in 1894 for General John Roberts. It was designed by John Gideon Haskell (1832-1907) who designed many of the state's finest buildings.

Continuing on to the University of Kansas campus, the next stop was Danforth Chapel. The chapel was built in part by German prisoners of war during World War 2 and was dedicated on April 2, 1946. It is interdenominational and has been used for more than 5,000 weddings. It is open 8 AM on Monday through Friday. It though the most interesting feature was the small pipe organ.

The Danforth Chapel Program was funded by the Danforth Foundation, an organization created in 1927 by the founder of the Ralston Purina Company. The Danforth Chapel Program supported the establishment of 24 chapels: 15 chapels on college and university campuses and nine other chapels.

A short distance away, I photographed Bailey Hall, which opened in 1900. In December 1905,  Kansas University professor and an assistant discovered significant amounts of helium in a natural gas sample from Dexter, Kansas. Prior to that, helium was believed to be rare on the planet Earth.

The final stop in Lawrence was at Au Marche on Massachusetts Street. The small shop in an European market and I was surprised at how reasonable their prices are for imported foods like mustard.

Lunch was at Chuckburger, a drive through restaurant on the east side of Topeka. I had dined there only once before. There is no indoor seating, but I secured a covered parking spot next to the only picnic table, which is also covered. Ordering at the walk up window, I had a chili dog, onion rings and banana pie.

The chili dog was pretty good. I would have enjoyed it more with hot sauce or crushed red pepper. Chuckburger offers no condiments and I don't know if they would have been available if I asked. The onion rings were surprisingly good, as was the pie. Sometimes the treat is that a place like this offers pie at all, but it was good.

The next stop was to photograph Vuelve A La Vida on North Kansas Avenue, which I was years ago told was originally a Valentine Diner, but I have since been unable to confirm that it is.

Then on to Farview Farms Meat Company which is located much farther north on Topeka, Boulevard. The full service butcher sell many sausages and snack products which they make themselves as well as Alma Cheese.

I had only sampled the food at Chuckburger, so I could revisit another Topeka restaurant, The Pad, on North Topeka, about a half mile from the possible Valentine Diner I photographed earlier today. Trying items I hadn't had before, I got 1/4 lb cheeseburger and small onion rings. The woman at the counter had said that they were happy to grill the onions on the burger, but they came raw. The burger was cooked well done, much more than I would choose if given a choice, but it was still a better than average burger. The onion rings were also better than many, but I enjoyed the ones at Chuckburger much more.

After a brief stop at Constitution Hall (the restoration work appears to be finished), I drove to Animaland at Gage Park to see how the concrete animals and creatures are looking after some restoration work was done last year.

The final stop of the day was at Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park. Although the sign at the somewhat distance parking lot said they are open seven days a week, there was a note on the door saying they are closed on Sunday & Monday.
  
  

The Castle Tea Room
 

Danforth Chapel
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Chili dog & onion rings
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Animaland