CombatCritic Reviews

CombatCritic Reviews
The Restaurants of Lawrence, Kansas

Saturday, December 17, 2016

Best Breakfast Value, Most Arrogant Staff in Town

WheatFields Bakery Café
904 Vermont Street
Lawrence, KS  66044

Phone: 785.841.5553
Web: www.WheatfieldsBakery.com
Hours:
Monday through Friday - 6:30am to 8:00pm
Saturday 6:30am to 6:30pm
Sunday - 7:30am to 4:00pm
Prices: $$$$

I love a good, hearty breakfast, but because bacon, eggs, hash browns, biscuits and gravy are not as healthy as they are tasty, we normally only indulge on special occasions. I reviewed Wheatfields, a bakery and restaurant one block West of Mass Street in downtown Lawrence, on my birthday last year after going there for breakfast. Coincidentally, my wife and I returned for breakfast yesterday on my 60th birthday, enjoying ourselves and allowing me to reassess the rating I gave them last year (6 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!). 

My wife and I have been buying Wheatfields wonderful breads since we moved to Lawrence a little over three years ago. My favorite is the raisin and pecan sourdough ($4.50), a robust torpedo-shaped loaf with a thick crispy crust outside and plenty of raisins and pecan pieces inside. It toasts marvelously and is delicious alone, with butter, or coated in my favorite toppings, peanut butter and bananas.
They have numerous varieties, including sourdough, semolina with sesame and poppy seeds, baguette, ciabatta, Kalamata olive, sourdough, and 100% whole wheat among others. Breads range in price from $4 to nearly $9 for their holiday specials, but the whole wheat with walnuts and raisins is just HALF the price of a similar loaf at a new East Lawrence bakery on Barker, being quite a good value.

You order at the counter immediately in front of you as you enter, pay, and are given a small sign to place on your table so the servers can bring your order to the correct table. Drinks are help-yourself with three varieties of coffee (two regular and one decaf) and a small selection of teas and fountain drinks.
Always keeping it simple, I went with the Classic Breakfast (#1 - $6.95), coming with two eggs, hash browns, toast, and sausage links or bacon (I went with the bacon of course). They raised their price a buck since last year, but it is still the cheapest breakfast in Lawrence. Adding a half order of biscuits and gravy (#5 - $4.25, up 50¢) brought my very hearty and delicious breakfast to a little over $11, very reasonable compared to other downtown breakfast spots. Not a big egg or meat eater, my wife had a scone and coffee. She loves their scones and was quite happy with this cheese and herb variety.
Our meals arrived very quickly, even before I was done pouring coffee and toasting my bread. The Classic Breakfast was excellent with the eggs cooked perfectly over-medium, the bacon crispy and not burnt, but the hash browns were not as crunchy as I like them. The half order of biscuits and gravy was plenty for me with a very large biscuit smothered in a thick, savory country gravy with loads of sausage. The coffee was hot, obviously fresh, and delicious.
As breakfast goes, I have had better, but we enjoyed our meal and I have to say that you will not find a better breakfast value in Lawrence. Wheatfields is a very popular meeting place with great bread, excellent coffees, and tasty breakfasts. They seem to do very well because the place is almost always full.
My only gripe is with the staff who seem to have an "attitude". There is no "Hi, welcome to WheatFields" when you come in, it is more like "Yea, what do you want". Employees are routinely impersonal and abrupt, not warm and inviting. A smile and occasional "thank you" from staff would be much appreciated.

CombatCritic Upgrades Wheatfields Bakery Cafe To 7 Bombs Out Of 10 With A 2 Bomb Deduction For Arrogant Staff ... MORE BOMBS ARE BETTER!
Seven Bombs Equates To:

"Shits & Grins"

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

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Read Chris S.'s review of WheatFields Bakery Café on Yelp


WheatFields Bakery Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Title: Lawrence, Kansas: Best Breakfast Value And Most Arrogant Staff in Town

Key Words: Wheatfields, wheat, field, bread, bakery, eggs, bacon, breakfast, dinner, Lawrence, Kansas, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato, Tabelog

Monday, December 12, 2016

Lawrence, KS: Restaurants Open On Christmas Day


Some do not like to cook on Christmas Day and others have nowhere to go, so I compiled a list for those who would like to go out for a meal this Christmas.

The following list is comprised of restaurants that were open last year, so please check before you go:

Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar
4 to 11 p.m.

Denny’s
Most locations plan to be open 24 hours on Christmas Day

IHOP
Hours: Most locations will be open 24 hours Christmas Day but some locations will just be open from 6 a.m. to midnight

Johnny’s Tavern
All the locations are expected to be open from 6 p.m. to close, but some locations may open at 5 p.m.
401 N. 2nd St., Lawrence, 785-842-0377
721 Wakarusa, Lawrence, 785-843-0704

McDonald’s
Some franchisee owned locations will be open and some will be closed. The 30 or so company-owned restaurants in the Kansas City market will be open but hours will vary.

Many Chinese restaurants are normally open as are hotel dining rooms.

Good luck and Merry Christmas!

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:


Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16

Tabelog - Official Judge (Silver)

Zomato - #1 Ranked "Verified" Foodie

View my food journey on Zomato!



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Tabelog Reviewer CombatCriticView my food journey on Zomato!


Title: Lawrence, KS: Restaurants Open On Christmas Day

Key Words: restaurants open on Christmas day, Christmas, restaurants, day, list, KU, university, University of Kansas, open, 2016, Lawrence, Kansas, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp