Deliciously Greasy Burgers, Cold Beer ... And Air ... Yummy Truffle Fries - Must Be Dempsey's!

Dempsey's Burger Pub
623 Vermont Avenue
Lawrence, KS 66044
(785) 856-5460
DempseysBurgerPub.com
Price: $$$$$

I was a bit reluctant to try Dempsey's after reading recent reviews by my Elite '14 brothers and sisters in Lawrence, Kansas saying that "things have gone downhill" and that the burgers are "greasy", but heck ... don't burgers and grease go hand-in-hand? I am sure glad we gave 'em a shot!

Don't want to gross you out, but in preparation for two scopes being inserted into my body, one in each end so to speak, two days later and the inevitable PREPeration (H), I knew I would not have a decent meal for at least 36 hours, so a big greasy burger and basket of truffle fries sounded pretty darn good!

The place is a local haunt for KU (college basketball powerhouse University of Kansas) students and this particular Tuesday night in Lawrence was no exception. With about half of their burgers being offered at half-price ($4-$5 a pop) to students, I know why they were busy. But a pub with just 5 or 6 draughts available on-tap was a bit unusual.  I ordered an O'Dell (not O'Doules) IPA and at $4.50 for a British-size pint it was a good value with a strong, rich, hoppy flavor as all good IPAs do.

Mushroom, Bacon, Swiss Burger

We decided on a Mushroom, Bacon, and Swiss burger ($9), a House Burger with Bacon and Cheddar ($8.50), and a basket of Truffle Fries ($4).

The fries were plentiful and awesome! Lightly salted, the hand cut fries were sprinkled with Parmesan (parmigiana in the old country) cheese, parsley, and accompanied by no less than 6 different sauces (catsup, spicy mustard, old bay and tomato coulis aioli, sweet chili aioli, truffle cream, and roasted garlic aioli ... all made from scratch). We barely made a notch in the basket, taking half home for my wife to eat the next night while I fasted in prep for the next morning's procedure under the influence of "Milk of Amnesia".

House Burger with Bacon

As usual, on my first visit to this and many other restaurants, I ordered the simplest burger on the menu, the "House" cheeseburger ($7.50) medium-well with cheddar cheese, a big piece of butter lettuce, two thick slices of tomato, homemade dill pickle, and both grilled white (as I had asked) and raw red onion. I added bacon for an extra buck, well cooked but not too crispy. The bun was nicely toasted, looking like a "pretzel" bun even though that was not the way it was described on the menu. The burger was in-fact greasy, but perfectly so, thick, and cooked just as I had ordered it. The bun was in a bit of disarray by the time I finished, but held together until the last bite, keeping my hands relatively clean although I did go through about 20 of the rather thin napkins supplied on the table.

The Bacon Mushroom Swiss Burger ($9) comes with sauteed shitake and portabello mushrooms, Gruyere and Swiss cheeses, and Applewood bacon on a toasted pretzel bun. Unfortunately, on this particular night at least, the bun was not toasted and, in-fact, was slightly cold to the touch. The burger was delicious nonetheless, an 8 ounce patty cooked to perfection with melted cheese oozing out of the side of the bun.

Basket O' Truffle Fries  ($4)

The service was very good, especially considering the large, energetic crown consuming burgers along with mass quantities of beer. The place is a bit of a dive, plain with lots of rough wood and glass, making the room rather chilly, particularly next to the window on a cold winter night where we needed to keep our coats on during our meal. Who knows, maybe KU research indicates that beer consumption is inversely proportionate to the temperature of the room?

CombatCritic Gives Dempsey's Burger Pub A Solid 7 Bombs Out of 10 ... BOMBS ARE GOOD!

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Best Pizza in Lawrence (Kansas)!

Tad's Pizzeria

1410 Kasold Dr 
Lawrence, KS 66049

(785) 856-3131

Web: Tad's Pizza Lawrence

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tadspizzeria

Price: $$$$$

I know it is not saying much when I say that Tad's has the best pizza in Lawrence, a town of 90,000 with some of the poorest restaurant choices per capita in the nation, if not the world, particularly when it comes to Italian food.

I had heard that Tad's had good pizza a few weeks before our recent trip to Puerto Rico, but we did not have a chance to try it before we left. Upon our return I was too burnt-out to cook, so I ordered from Tad's mobile website while in the sauna at the gym. Their site is actually quite user-friendly and easy to navigate, but I was dismayed when I realized that when I created an account to order our food, I had apparently signed-up for a service called "EatStreet". Tad's and/or EatStreet should warn you before enrolling in a service without your permission, including "push" notifications I neither wanted nor needed.

Back to the food ...

I ordered two pizzas, one NY Cheese and one NY White, and at $14 and $16 respectively for an 18", not a bad investment. Wheat State Pizza is comparable in price, but offers Groupons from time to time, making them a better value. Tad's should consider doing the same or offer more specials than the limited number they have now. With tax and tip, the bill totaled about $36, not cheap for "PIZZA NIGHT". I routinely order the most basic menu item available on my first visit to a restaurant, in this case no pepperoni, sausage, or ... YUCK ... PINEAPPLE, to see if they can get the basics right.

The pizzas arrived promptly even though Tad's is across town from our house and the delivery person was very friendly and polite. My only critique was that when I handed him $40 for a $30 order, he asked "do you need some change", to which I responded "yes, please!".

The red, cheese pizza was delicious and reminiscent of the pizza "back East", thin dough and crust, well seasoned sauce, and good mozzarella cheese, the type that stretches when you pull the slicers apart. I do not know why it is so easy to find good pizza in New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania where even the bad pizza joints serve pizza better than most places in Kansas.

The white pizza was also very good with no sauce, abundant mozzarella cheese, and a dollup of ricotta on each of the eight slices. The pizza could have been improved with some extra-virgin olive oil brushed on the dough before adding the cheeses or possibly some garlic, oregano, and/or basil added under or on top of the cheeses. It was a bit dry and lacking taste, but was tasty nonetheless.

We will definitely be ordering Tad's pizza again. My only recommendation being that it would be nice if they offered salami as a topping. I have never sen a true NY pizzeria that did not have salami and my favorite addition to a simple cheese pizza.

Overpriced by a buck or two a pie, CombatCritic Gives Tad's Pizzeria 7 Out of 10 Bombs based on VALUE ... BOMBS ARE GOOD!

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