When I asked my friend Meredith what there is to do in Kansas she replied with “eat!” She was right, especially because we visited in July when Kansas is hecka hot. So not only do you eat, but you eat indoors! We had a lot of fun hopping around town and visiting some of the Wichita local eats & drinks (because you know we WILL find a new brewery to go to!) So really, without further ado – here are all the places we ate at and all the photos we took!
Hopping Gnome Brewery
Let’s start off with the good stuff – beer. Bruce and I love finding new breweries. We do it all the time in our brewery filled state of Colorado but we also love to do it when we travel (Great Lakes Brewing in Cleveland, OH || Upstream Brewing in Omaha, NE & Lazlo’s Brewing in Lincoln, NE || Arts District Brewing in LA) John and Mere know this about us, in fact – they were frequently our wing-men for trying the new breweries that came into town (back when they still lived in Colorado Springs!) They recently did this cool beer tour of Wichita so they were super in the know about some of the best local stuff! YAY for us! Beer and branding both on point!
HomeGrown A Daytime Eatery
The Mays are known for their love of breakfast places. It was another one of our things in the Springs – mostly they would make us wake up to go to breakfast with them 😉 We always liked it because coffee and bffs always makes for a good time. This place was cute, hip, and super tasty! The pictures make it look like it was just Bruce and I but I promise their were three others on the bench across from us!
PS: Yes that is a homemade pop-tart and it is just as tasty as it looks!!
Verita Coffee Bar
Just in case we needed more coffee after mornings of endless coffee at the Mays, Mere and I grabbed coffee with the little guy while the boys finished up work on Friday. Here it mostly looks like they just have kids playing with trains on the table but I promise there is more! Like friendly baristas and really tasty iced coffee.
The Donut Whole
Next to Hopping Gnome Brewing is an adorable donut shop – we of course had to go in because “when in Kansas!” I pretty much fell in love with the nerdy donut names and wanted them all. I ended up picking “Bad Wolf” which is the donut with the ROSE on it!! Gah. If you know anything about Dr. Who, it would all make perfect sense! They also have a pinball machine in free play so you can play all day and feel like you are back in the 70’s.
Churn & Burn
Can you see the coffee theme? Apparently we like beer, breakfast, and sugar 😉 Here they are known for their coffee shakes that they make with nitrogen – it’s pretty crazy. But since we all went for dessert after diner, we skipped the caffeine! Like Verita Coffee, I didn’t get any pictures of the ice cream! We all ate it asap because it was ice cream and it was still mega hot outside! But I did get some adorable toddler photos!
Paradise Donuts
More donuts? You betcha! Fun fact about Elizabeth – I don’t like donuts (gasp) But I do like the way they look and I like that they make other people happy! We scrubbed it to the donut shop down the street for a fun breakfast one of the mornings! It is always fun having an excuse to wear slouchy clothes – AKA what we slept in!
Dempsey’s Burger Pub
The last night, John & Mere got a sitter so that we could eat out (and stay out later) together! We ate a Dempsey’s Burger Pub for obvious reasons – beer & burgers! I got the fish and chips (always a fan favorite) and Bruce got a pretzel bun on his burger. We were happy campers and enjoyed the night out! It was in the cutest little area to explore and had all these other local shops & eateries around it! There was also another ice cream shop but we figured we didn’t need mooooore food 😉
And that’s that! There is only so much you can eat out over a long weekend 😉 But we still feel like we got to experience a lot of the local foodie culture! If you ever find yourself in Wichita, feel free to use this as a guide! Are you a local or frequent flyer? Let’s us know if we missed anything so that we can make sure to hit it up next time we go!!
I think eating your way through a place is the right way to do it! When people come to visit us in Richmond I tell them that we could simply go have three meals a day in different places and they’d see enough of the city to fall in love with it.
YES! I love that!!! I would so be up for a vaca like that!
So good!! I love the clever donut names. What better way to do a visit somewhere new than food and fellowship!
hahah I know! So much fun!
Girl I am LOVING these photos, and I need that poptart in my life. Like for real, give me that poptart! <3
Isn’t it so pretty?!!? And super tasty too!
These are all so cute, and it looks like you guys had so much fun together!!! I don’t know anythinggg about Dr. Who but that rose donut sounds and looks amazing!
Blogger to blogger, was it weird to have your camera out and snap pictures at each place? I’m sure you made it super seamless, but I was just wondering because I’m so self conscious when I try to take pictures out at restaurants! Maybe I should just submit this to the Ask Elizabeth series 😉
Julie!!
hahaah. I added it to the ASk Elizabeth list!
BUT… to answer your question. As far as taking pictures inside coffee shops/ or restaurants I just do it! haha. It is the easiest when on vaca because my camera is just around my neck or in my hands. I take photos everywhere so I don’t really think of it much. My advice is:
1. Play the tourist: Just pretend like you are a tourist whether or not you are! People love to take photos on vaca and you will blend in – especially if you are taking photos of your people! People may look but no one will care – they will probably think it is cute!
OR
2. If you are feeling like the owners might not be down with the photos, just head to the front and ask an employee if it is okay if you take pictures of you freinds & family there. I’ve done this a couple times and they always say yes! They want you to share photos of you enjoying their business. Shops might have different rules so I would also ask if you are inside a shop and taking photos of products. You can always say you are a lifestyle blogger and you want to take some photos of your fmaily at their location.
Really you just got to own it! It becomes easier overtime!! XOXO
Wow, thank you for all of that!!! It means alot that you’d write out all that advice 🙂
It’s good to know it gets easier, and to just act like a tourist 🙂
Of course girl!! Acting like a tourist is my go to! hahaah. It becomes so much easier over time! I promise!
What a fun donut shop name!!!!! Lovin all the photos!
Katie
Isn’t it fun? I should have done a foodie post of Cocoa Beach because there are so many cute places there too!
What a wonderful weekend filled with food and friends. Perfect.
It really was so much fun!
Love finding gems like these! And those donuts look amazing – looks like I know where I have to visit next!
hahaha yes!
SO FUNNNNNNNNNNN. I heart the Mays. And you guys.
YESSS!! Love you Meggy!!
I always love how effortlessly put together you are!
This is one of the best compliments ever! I do love the simple yet put together lifestyle!!
You always “show” such a great story in your pictures! As always, thanks for sharing!
Thanks Dad!!! It is really fun to keep working on my lifestyle photography to be able to capture these moments!!