It’s not embellishment, hyperbole or overstatement of any kind to say that you won’t get a root beer float like Bobo’s anywhere else in the world. The root beer is made at the restaurant, the ice cream is produced on-site, and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit to hear about elves in the very back crafting the tall, frosty glasses they’re served in. It is, quite literally, the only place you can find this particular float.

Its uniqueness wouldn’t matter one bit if the float didn’t taste like the nectar of heaven itself. The ice cream, which you’d normally find coupled with their famously amazing apple pie, provides just the right smoothness to complement the bite of the spices in the root beer. I actually often find myself ordering the root beer alone, sans ice cream, when I stop in for a burger, as it’s a very sweet and refreshing version of the drink. But when that old Topeka heat and humidity start climbing higher and higher through the summer months, reminding me of the extra pounds and body aches that have shuffled in over the years, I start to crave that cool, creamy counter concoction and wander on inside. It tastes like summer, like childhood, like happiness.

[ seveneightfive June 15 - July 31 | Lyle Vaughn | photo by Lyle Vaughn ]
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The Mexican pizza at Tequila’s is similarly defined by its form. It’s not to be thrown—though it is vaguely Frisbee-like—but rather, when the servers bring it to your table, you understand the need to devour it immediately and voraciously. It has cheese, beans, cheese, beef or chicken—your choice—and more cheese on a fried tortilla, with sour cream on top. There’s some veggies you can eat around, I suppose. And cheese.

Tequila’s has plenty of good things going for it on the menu, and if you ask them for the hot salsa, make sure you have the water handy, but the Mexican pizza is the one thing you shouldn’t skip over. At the very least, you should get one to split with your tablemates, but you’ll quickly figure out that the best course of action is to eat the whole damn thing yourself, fighting off any reaching hands with your fork.

Just order it. You’ll know what to do from there.

[April 15, 2010 | Lyle Vaughn | photo by Brie Martin]

Tequila’s Mexican Restaurant
2911 SW 29th Street
785.228.1222
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From the East, this side item is Japanese through-and-through.  This is sushi served with prerequisite chopsticks, ginger and sinus-clearing wasabi.  This dish also has a morsel of pepper tuna and avocado in the middle, encapsulated by rice, which is held into a delicate round shape by a seaweed lining.  On top is a smattering of spicy orange mayonnaise, chili sauce and fish eggs for good measure.  The influence from the West was that my roll came to me fried in vegetable oil, as so many American foods are.  I was suspicious, but when I tasted it the first bite was familiar and wonderful.

The roll was initially sweet and crunchy, but the texture quickly turned to the steamed rice falling apart in my mouth, followed up by a nice, creamy tang of spicy mustard and fish eggs that went down smoothly.  By the way, my favorite unadvertised activity was tonguing the fish eggs from in between my teeth and then biting down on them to get a satisfying pop that only I could hear.  I felt a little like Godzilla, biting down on some poor, unlucky person’s delicious-tasting head in a movie.  ROARRRR!!!  *POP*

The delectable blending of Eastern and Western cultures was well worth the $9.99 it cost at Cryster Asian Diner, although due to the inherent prep-time of the artful sushi chef, you’ll probably be most of the way through your entrée by the time it’s served to you.  This keeps the Godzilla Roll from being appetizer or even a dessert.  Instead, think of it as a food genre all its own, just like the Godzilla movies.

Cryster Asian Diner: 4731 Northwest Hunters Ridge Circle | (785) 246-4466 | dine-in / delivery / carry out

[June 2010 | Boone Smith | photo by Leah Sewell]

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Frozen custard actually doesn’t have anything to do with custard. It’s just ice cream, plus eggs, a touch more cream. However simple, the effect is lovely. Frozen custard is creamier than ice cream, softer and melts more slowly. Unlike ice cream, frozen custard doesn’t ship or store well, so it must be prepared fresh if it’s going to taste good. At G’s Frozen Custard & Yogurt at 6th and Lincoln, it is fresh. And it tastes good.

G’s carries many flavors of frozen custard, which owner Doug Colley rotates during the colder months. As the weather warms, however, the store will keep as many as sixteen flavors in stock at one time. The flavor that Colley says the store is known for is brown bread – a subtle maple-flavored custard with grape nuts mixed in. It sounds a little strange, but is actually brilliantly delicious. “It’s a Topeka original,” Colley explains.

If brown bread sounds a little heavy, the lemon won’t lead you astray. It is crisp, bright as the morning sun and light on the stomach.

And if neither of those sound good to you, maybe you should give mint chocolate chip a try. Or sour nerd, or ruby red, or vanilla, or chocolate chocolate chip or or or… But don’t be overwhelmed. You have the whole summer to find your favorite.

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Every city should have that one pizza joint where you can go in for a single slice or with a group of friends for a pizza and a beer. Topeka has waited long enough and Via’s Pizzeria is the perfect stop to enjoy some gourmet-style pizza since their opening in February 2008. The selection of pizza crusts and toppings are enough to make Via’s stand out, because the owners, Jessica and Jeff Schell, use only fresh ingredients and prepare their pizza dough from scratch daily.

Jessica’s inspiration for her secret sauce recipe came from all over the country, so it comes as no surprise that the ingredients are top-grade and something you’ll notice from your very first bite. Along with over 20 toppings, there are different dough and crust options from white, wheat, gluten-free and thin, original, hand-tossed or Chicago-style.

“The pizza that is everyone’s favorite is L’Opera. It means everything and this pizza sure has everything you’d want,” Jeff says.

If you’re not getting enough vegetables in your diet, go for this pizza. There’s so much flavor that you won’t realize you’re eating something healthy. The sauce has just the right amount of spice, which provides for a good foundation for this masterpiece. It’s an original recipe and one that only Jessica knows how to make.  I guess I’ll let her have this one, as long as they continue to make great pizza.

At my last visit to Via’s, I chose my favorite wheat, hand-tossed crust and indulged in a slice of L’Opera pizza.  Every inch of the pizza had a new flavorful bite with different combinations of veggies and meat per taste. It’s no wonder that L’Opera has become an instant signature pizza of Via’s, containing mushrooms, black olives, red and green peppers, red onions, tomatoes, beef, Italian sausage and pepperoni baked into their sizzling, gourmet cheese.  L’Opera is the perfect solution for lunch or dinner along with one of three Blind Tiger beers, a Boulevard Maibock or any other beer or wine offered.  It may be hard to decide what to order from all the perfectly palatable selections, but it is pretty safe to say that pizza will never be the same again in Topeka.

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They are two bucks. Two bucks, people. At Tacos El Sol, your two little flautas come nestled in a paper boat, and they are smothered in toppings – fresh-tasting guacamole, cilantro-heavy salsa (the way it ought to be), a mix of yellow and white cheeses and sour cream. The options are shredded beef or chicken, and the spice isn’t too…spicy. The flautas are simple and let the toppings do most of the work. This stuff isn’t greasy, and it is the perfect portion for Mexican food – you don’t leave feeling like you’ve swallowed a pile of wet rags. The filling is packed into two crunchy corn tortillas, rolled up cigarillo-style, and it’s enough to call a meal, although you might want to order up a basket of El Sol’s homemade chips to mop up the remaining guacamole and salsa. Add a drink, and you’re looking at a five-dollar dinner that satisfies a craving for that good Mexican food we have in such abundance in our city.

Tacos El Sol is at the corner of East 6th and Market.

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Porubsky’s chili starts on a small gas stove behind the ages old deli counter, stewed and simmered in silver cauldrons, building bubbles through beans and sauce that crack to the surface sending a scent into the air that sinks into every fabric of clothing, pore of skin and wrinkle of memory.

It’s waiting for you, you know, and you’re very fortunate. If you are even more fortunate, you will show up and there will be a booth to sit in while the steam from your bowl of chili makes you sweat like you’re getting the third degree from God.

This chili gets straight to the point. There are no chunk tomatoes, peppers or what-have-you’s. There are beans and meat and sauce in a combination more flavorful and potent than anyone, from a French chef to your mom, could even come close to. Uncle Charlie brews the secret recipe passed down from his father and grandmother in such a nonchalant fashion you would think he is boiling water, but he is truly a factory of a timeless and ageless comfort food experience. I like mine with cheese.
You’ll probably hear a good joke from Bruce, get quick smiles and service from Becky, be overseen satisfactorily by Grandma Lydia and even get a glimpse of cousin Girard rushing trays from the counter to the tavern. I guarantee the chili and the atmosphere will never be forgotten. Of course, maybe you’ve fi gured out that I’m biased, but the story about Porubsky’s chili which will appear in the next issue of “Gourmet Magazine” will back me up.  [Matt Porubsky - Dec. 2007]

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