Post #7 Josey Baking Co.

Josey Baking Co. Topeka, KS





Carry-out bakery specializing in savory and sweet kolaches, cinnamon rolls, croissants, quiche, pies, cookies, cakes, and more!

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Post #6 Oscars

 

Would you like $.69 Tacos every Friday night? This is probably one of the best deals I’ve come across. With a purchase of a 32oz domestic draw for $3.75, which is the Friday night drink special, you can get tacos for $.69 until 8pm on Friday.

 I am not very proud to say this but 7 tacos and 2 big draws comes in under $12. Don’t expect anything great but the tacos do taste like taco bell tacos with a homemade Oscars sauce. But if you and your friends are on a budget and you still want to drink on a Friday night this is the place to go. Be prepared to be surrounded by law students, don’t worry it’s perfectly ok to feel academically inadequate, just keep eating your tacos and drinking your beer. All in all this wasn’t a bad experience, I may come out this summer and enjoy the summer heat on their gated patio.    

Post #5 Paisanos

Many Topekans know that when it comes to Italian we don’t many  options, there is the chain option Olive Garden and there is the local option Paisanos Restaurante. Paisanos offers a wonderful lunch deal Monday through Thursday, if your whole party is seated by 11:30 and with a purchase of a drink, your entrée is half priced. I personally think it’s a great deal!

I’ve been meaning to do this review for a while now. I first intended to write it in January but after I had a bad experience I didn’t want to write a bad review about a restaurant that I know can be excellent. Then for valentine’s day my parents had taken me to piasanos but I wasn’t prepared to review it and the experience was phenomenal. Then I came in march by myself, the service was absolutely terrible and again the food was terrible. My absolute favorite thing on the menu is the Roman twins.  Which is a combination of sausage cannelloni and cheese manicotti with mozzarella and parmesan cheese, baked with tomato alfredo sauce.

You can see the cheese is barely melted.

The Tiramisu was frozen.

So at this point bad food and service is at a 2:1, but with a class deadline coming up I decide to give it another shot. And it was literally the best service I have ever had. Karissa my waitress was very attentive. She was the first waiter to give me the option to have soup instead of salad. She had my drink refilled before I was done and she didn’t act like I was inconveniencing her. And the Meal was amazing I opted for the Tomato bisque instead of the salad, in the past the salads have been so cold almost to the point of frozen, unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of the soup.

The roman twins were the best that I have had in a while. I’m not sure if it’s the waiters that pull the roman twins out of the boiler but the two times I’ve had terrible service ,the cheese hasn’t been melted, which I personally believe makes all the difference. And for dessert I decided to retry the Tiramisu, I had attempted to try it the last time I was there but it was frozen in the middle and I didn’t want to deal with that waiter to ask for another one. So at this point I am 2:2 for decent service at Paisanos.

This Tiramisu was perfect.

This was the best Roman Twins Ive ever had.

Post #4 Bobo's Drive-In

Bobo’s Drive-In

Bobo’s Drive-In is a classic, popular eatery in Topeka. I personally cannot imagine Topeka without Bobo’s. Attempting to do research for another class I decided it would be very beneficial to “kill two birds with one stone” by going to Bobo’s for two classes. I was very fortunate to miss the lunch rush by going on a Tuesday at 2pm. With just a few other customers, Bobo’s still managed to feel a little full. The atmosphere in Bobo’s is fun and laid back. It’s vintage feel is still very alive. The service was fast, my waitress was very kind, and was very willing to chat since I was sitting by myself and had no one to chat with.

The Prices are very reasonable. My order included a Steakburger $2.39, side of Onion Rings $2.69, a strawberry Shake $2.99, and Home-made Root Beer to go $1.99.

Less than two minutes after ordering, I had my strawberry shake and without asking, my waitress brought me a water. I am not a big fan of artificial strawberry flavor, so I always worry about ordering strawberry shakes. I’m from Southern California, and grew up on strawberry shakes from In&Out Burgers.  I felt very nostalgic about the strawberry shakes from Bobo’s as it brings back great memories.

Sometimes when ordering steakburgers I notice the burgers are very thin pattys. I feel like thin burger pattys throw off the bun-to-burger ratio. But surprisingly, this burger was the perfect size with great seasoning and cooked to perfection. The onion rings are clearly hand cut and hand dipped. The batter has a perfect seasoning to compliment the onion flavor. The onions were also perfectly cooked; soft enough to bite, but stiff enough to keep its shape.



Bobo's Drive In was featured on Guy Fieri's Show Diners, Drive-In's, And Dives
Watch it here!

Post #3 Noto Burrito

 Noto Burrito

If you’ve heard of The Frist Friday Art Walk you have more than likely heard of NOTO. NOTO is short for North Topeka. Just north of the Kansas River sits downtown North Topeka, before the great flood of 1951, NOTO was a thriving downtown. Afterwards the once great downtown spiraled into a crime ridden neighborhood of Topeka. In 2010, Topeka had a desire for an arts district. Soon many buildings were bought by investors, which started turning NOTO around. A few years later businesses started opening and Downtown North Topeka became The NOTO Arts District.

 Among the beautiful downtown store fronts is Noto Burrito, a wonderful locally-owned burrito joint with great tacos! Their burritos are named after Topekans, a “Pedro” and other NOTO businesses. Noto Burrito offers a great variety of burritos and their salsa bar is to die for! With the original native Kansas limestone walls are decorated with local art and Day of The Dead skull paintings. You are first greeted with the wonderful aroma of coffee. Noto Burrito shares its eclectic space with Bunker Hill Coffee (that’s another post to come). There are two sets of registers. Many customers, mistakenly try to order at the Bunker Hill Register. The menu is on a chalkboard wall next to the register, which I find handy when making sure I order exactly what I want. The staff are always friendly, very inviting and patient. If you are wanting to order a drink other than fountain soda or beer, Bunker Hill has a great beverage case. On the other end of the menu wall is the pick-up counter, with its salsa and utensils directly across the way.  Noto Burrito is closed on Sunday and Monday.  On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday they offer specials. I personally love Taco Tuesday.

On days other than Tuesday, the tacos are normally priced at $2.25 per taco, which I personally think is still a great deal. And because they have free salsa (a variety of six different salsas) they do charge for the chips, which are homemade and fried fresh in the restaurant

My all-time favorite menu item is the Pork Taco, which comes with lettuce, cheese and pico de gallo. And because I have a slight love affair with their special Strawberry Jalapeno Salsa, I put it on everything

If you don't like big crowds, I would avoid the normal lunch hour rush and Fridays altogether especially on First Fridays. When you can easily find yourself waiting to sit and eat. But I have no complaints. This is truly a great restaurant!

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