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After you're done with that burger (steak, roast, prime rib, etc.), walk it off with a trip to Cow Town, the new Exploration Place, the Zoo, or be a cultural elitist and visit the Wichita Center for the Arts. It's all listed below...go nuts!...just, don't start having so much fun that you forget the reason you CAME! Recommended Attractions Eighth Day Books
Eighth Day Books
Old Cowtown Museum
Exploration Place
Wichita Center for the Arts
Recommended Restaurants
With a name like this, how could this place be anything but quaint, charming...and...um...tasty? Good news...it is all those things. Built in late 1920s, this place is oldschool! Soda Fountain, Soda Jerks, and Sodas! Great Malts and Shakes...and let's face it, it's June...what else can you really want? How 'bout: Twenty-five foot marble counter with wooden back bar; Brass rails; 11 stools.
Old Mill Tasty Shop
Word on the street is this place is very, very good. Who am I to argue with that? I just want to know what it's NAME means! This is fine, gourmet dining, complete with tall food on unusually shaped plates... and the decor is beautiful.
Cibola
With a name like this, there's GOT to be a steak or two available on the menu, right? You betcha, pardner.
Red Rock Canyon
Of course, Kansas is known for it's ethnic cuisine, and nowhere is that more apparant than at IL Vicino, a little bit of Naples in the heart of the plains. (Not Naples, Florida). Oh give me a home with a buffet like ROME .
IL Vicino
As far as I'm concerned, this wins the "cool restaurant name" contest for Wichita. The food? I hear that's pretty good too.
What THEY say: "From a sun-dappled lunch on our cobblestone-street side patio, to an
unforgettable dinner spent with friends enjoying quiet piano music, we invite
you to visit us in the heart of historic Old Town for what is unquestionably a
dining experience like no other!"
Larkspur in Oldtown
Continuing the international theme we started a couple entries up, we suggest Picadilly. The name says London, but the food, thankfully, is French...and Italian, and Jewish, and they make a mean omlett. Located in an import foods store, and serving meals Buffet/Cafeteria style, Picadilly's is unique, yet casual and a good value.
Picadilly
Prairie Rose Chuckwagon Supper
Like the entry above, this is both food AND attraction, so I'm putting it in this catagory because there is Bar-B-Que involved! (Which would be enough to get me there even if there WEREN'T a full blown melodrama being performed in front of my face to boot! At least check out the website. ("You MUST pay the rent!" "I CAN'T pay the rent!")
Mosley Street Melodrama in Oldtown
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A bookstore so cool you can believe it was created on the eighth day. It may seem odd to start a list of attractions with a bookstore, but We go there EVERY time we visit Wichita, and in these days of dumbed down, mega-chain bookstores, this is a place that thoughtful people will appreciate knowing about. I'm not sure if you'll find all the books from Oprah's list, but name an obscure 18th century philosopher/theologian, and they'll have his biography here.
Most commonly referred to as, simply, Cowtown. Call me nuts, but I LOVED this. Not just an historical re-creation, this low-energy theme park boasts actual authentic old buildings from the days of the Wild West. This here lil' town is Gen-you-WINE! It'll bring out the cowhand that lies dormant in us all.
Big Time Post-Modern architecture and state of the art interactive museum design meet in the middle of Wichita...who would have guessed? More than your average museum of science, if you have kids, take them here. You'll dig it, too. They have a food-court-style restaurant here, but be sure to go there AFTER the interactive-moving-seat- theatre-ride-thingy, if you know what I'm saying.
Yes, Wichita has an Art Museum...unfortunatly this isn't it! The art museum is closed for renovations, so if you're in need of fine art, go here instead. The focus is on emerging, regional artists.
Dan Says: And now my FAVORITE! Now...I've never actually been there or done this, but...if I had known about this in time, THIS is where the reception would have been (much to the chagrin of everyone else on the planning committee).