Tuesday, March 24, 2009

el mezcal (lawrence, ks)

(1 star)

i think the only thing saving this place from zero-stars is the unlimited chips and salsa (which wasn't bad), and the fun tattoo vending machine in the lobby area....

as i mentioned in my last post, the husband and i went to lawrence for a mini-vaca over valentine's day. as with most mexi joints, we tend to love the fajitas (and it tends to be one of the few things i can eat). so we were super excited with all the fun stuff listed... peppers, mushrooms, zucchinis, broccoli, etc.


to our surprise, when our sizzling plates arrived, they were overflowing with... pineapple. and i'm not a fruit-in-my-salsa kind of girl. don't get me wrong - some people would have probably enjoyed it. but i don't, and i think i should have been warned. not only was pineapple omitted from the menu, it was the MOST prominent ingredient. look at the picture below - that was just one plate's pineapple pile.


also, my tortillas weren't cooked or steamed... or something. they were all stuck together, so i basically couldn't even peel them apart. i ended up just eating my fajitas with a fork, which wasn't bad, if i didn't have to pick out all the pineapple. the service sucked. i think he came by our table twice, and we had to flag someone down to ask for everything else.... like drinks, napkins, boxes, the check, etc.... it just kept on. all the time i was thinking 'one-star, one star...' the margaritas also sucked some ass... and i wasn't expecting much since i'm not a margarita connoisseur. but i do know if one tastes like shite, and this one did.

so we gave up, and bought a fake tattoo in the lobby to cheer us up.

website:
el mezcal

locations:

1819 w 23rd
lawrence, ks 66046
785.832.8775

Monday, March 9, 2009

india palace (lawrence, ks)

★★★★(4 stars)

the husband and i went to see a few bands in lawrence (about 1 hour from kansas city) for valentine's day. it was awesome, and so was all the food we had. we went to india palace the first night, and still had leftovers two days later when we got home.

most indian menus have a decent veg section, so i had a hard time picking out what i wanted. as a vegan in the midwest, it's really exciting to have more than one or two things to choose from when i go out to eat (one of the reasons i started this blog). to start with, they give you a basket of papadum (lentil crackers) that were so freakin' yum! i was thinking about the chickpeas and tomatoes (chana masala), but opted out because i eat a ton of chickpeas. i think i'll try that if i go back. however, i got a super yum dish of lentils (dal). i can't recall what the husband got, but he was just as pleased with his.

service was... just service. it wasn't over the top, but it wasn't bad either. and after several bad diy attempts, the server did finally take our picture for us. :)




*just an update based on a comment - i was assured my dhal was vegan and did not contain ghee. however, you can never assume this and should always ask.

website:
no website, but this site has their menu

location:

129 e 10th street
lawrence, ks 66044
785.331.4300