Best of Wichita 2006

Our favorite picks for 2006.

(page 1 of 7)

Best place to cheer on your favorite team:
Charles Koch Arena
WSU is packing fans in, ten thousand and more at a time, and this year’s men’s basketball and women’s volleyball games will likely be no exception. Thank goodness there’s more room to cheer in! Repeat after me (ala the Macarena song) “Ah…Kocharena!”

Best party in a pan:
Monica’s Bundt Cake, 1328 E Douglas
Who knew bundt cake could look so fun and taste so heavenly? Italian cream. Crazy carrot. Lots-o-vanilla. Chocolate Kahlua. Peanut butter swirl. Monica Schlegel makes hers in two sizes (one for you, one for everybody else) and tops hers with loops of cream cheese. For maximum freshness, Schlegel advises her cakes can be kept in the refrigerator or in a cake saver on the counter for up to three days. (As if they would last that long.) Order online at monicasbundtcake.com or, in case of an emergency cream cheese attack, call 1-877-BUN-DT4U or 630.9555.

Most picturesque street:
Back Bay Boulevard
The name of this street (between Waco and North Jefferson and two to four blocks south of West 11th Street North) delivers what it promises. Along the north shore of the Little Arkansas River is a row of well-kept turn-of-the-century residences, including the historic Bond-Sullivan House and Riverview Apartments. Once it was home to the Munger House (Wichita’s first residence), which moved to 820 Back Bay in the 1920s from its original location on Waco, then to Cowtown  in 1952. The address may be pricey, but it’s well worth the view and peace and quiet.

Best way to spend a lunch hour:
Angela’s #1, 901 E Central, and Bondie’s Antique Mall, 827 E Central
Don’t have a lunch date? Then head down to Old Town, north of those crazy corrugated steel quonset huts. East of the old railroad tracks on Central is one of Wichita’s favorite small Mexican restaurants, Angela’s Café. Next door is Bondie’s, where you can find everything you never knew existed. For a limited time, along with the usual things like antique oak dressers and Depression glass, you can buy bits and pieces of Joyland, from bumper cars to a statue of Bugs Bunny.

Best place to take Grandma and Grandpa to dinner:
Brownstone Grill, 3105 E Harry

Best eggs Benedict:
Egg Cetera, 242 N Mosley

Best place to gear up for adventure:
Backwoods, 221 N Main, Ste. 221

Best place to learn music:
Senseney Music, 2300 E Lincoln
Here you can revive a love for playing music, all the way from the lessons and the instrument to the sheet music. Or embark on a new musical hobby.

Best comeback kid:
Al Buch
When KSN Station Manager Al Buch revealed his plans to come back to Wichita, we
couldn’t have been happier. Along with his memorable deep voice, we welcomed a return to Buch’s steady-handed leadership, allegiance to Wichita and Midwest ideologies—all refreshing things, in this age of deregulation and constant media buyouts.

Best baker:
Nurit Davis, The Bread Lady Bakery, 2626 S Rock Rd., Ste. 100, 682.0066
She’s fondly know as the Bread Lady. For twelve years, Davis has provided some of Wichita’s finer restaurants with fresh-baked goods: Uptown Bistro, Imbiss Grille, Larkspur, B.G. Bolton’s, Heroes, Red Beans Bayou Grill, Martini Steakhouse and River City Brewery, to name a few. You can also buy her baguettes, brioche, foccaccia and ciabatta, dinner rolls, cheesecakes, flourless chocolate decadence cakes and cookies (and, she says, absolutely the best scones) for your own dinner table if you simply call ahead and place an order.

Most eye-catching mobile ad:
Piztros, at The Waterfront, 1720 N  Webb
The Piztros car was one of the first “wrapped” autos in town and almost stopped traffic dead in its tracks wherever it went. Since then, many others have capitalized on the marketing idea, although we think the Piztros car still takes the cake (or the pie…in this case, pizza pie).

Best place for an uber-creative gift:
Wichita Art Museum’s Museum Store, 619 Stackman Dr.
Greeting card junkies know that art museum gift shops have some of the most beautiful stationery available. Wichita Art Museum’s Museum Store also has gorgeous handmade jewelry, pottery, glassware, and an array of items to inspire the wanna-be artist or creative kid in your life: watercolors and drawing pads, puzzles and books, delicious coffee-table books and DVDs.