Also agree that Jeff's is not that good. Not horrible, but there are plenty of better pizza places.
First trip to Ames - bars, restaurants, etc?
- Thread starter RebelT
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In defense of Hickory Park: I have never had bad service there, have a niece who works there and they have several weeks of training before they wait on anyone (I worked multiple waitress jobs in college and never had more than 5 minutes of training). A saucy southerner and fries is better and cheaper than fast food. Also have never waited more than half an hour, but I don't try and go crazy times.
I guess I would suggest given their ages and and need to drive back to KC that they try something off the beaten path like Dublin Bay. I haven't been to Aunt Maude's in years but assume it is still a lovely experience. Is the Wallaby's in west Ames still open? I love Great Plains but that pizza style isn't for everyone. Given the construction mess in campustown, not sure they want to venture there, but if they do I would say go Welch Ave Station and get some pizza upstairs. Or go to the Somerset area and get a solid burger and watch some games at Brick City. I am not a Cafe fan but my sole experience with them was a box lunch at a conference on a Friday during Lent so my only option was a foo foo version of a PBJ, only it was a nut butter of something other than peanut (can't remember pecan maybe?) and some kind of fancy jelly on a croissant and just seemed silly and not very good.
As for Pizza Ranch, have gone there after multiple high school sporting events with the teams. Have grown to appreciate the quantity of food for the low price with a bunch of hungry teenagers, much better than taking them to McDonalds.
I guess I would suggest given their ages and and need to drive back to KC that they try something off the beaten path like Dublin Bay. I haven't been to Aunt Maude's in years but assume it is still a lovely experience. Is the Wallaby's in west Ames still open? I love Great Plains but that pizza style isn't for everyone. Given the construction mess in campustown, not sure they want to venture there, but if they do I would say go Welch Ave Station and get some pizza upstairs. Or go to the Somerset area and get a solid burger and watch some games at Brick City. I am not a Cafe fan but my sole experience with them was a box lunch at a conference on a Friday during Lent so my only option was a foo foo version of a PBJ, only it was a nut butter of something other than peanut (can't remember pecan maybe?) and some kind of fancy jelly on a croissant and just seemed silly and not very good.
As for Pizza Ranch, have gone there after multiple high school sporting events with the teams. Have grown to appreciate the quantity of food for the low price with a bunch of hungry teenagers, much better than taking them to McDonalds.
Was it Nutella (hazelnut)? At the risk of completely emasculating myself, I could eat that stuff straight from the jar.
I would have been fine with nutella. Looked at their menu, it was cashew butter and local tart cherry jam on baguette, I guess but I was remembering the bread all wrong. It was hard to gnaw through but I have that problem a lot because my mouth isn't very big.
This couldnt be further from the truth. Texas bbq is so overrated its not funny. Only people who think its the best are people who havent tried it elsewhere. I trust you will be laughing at Texas bbq once you try it in KC.
Well, the first key to your post is that the best barbecue doesn't need sauce. Sauce is a nice addition to bbq, but it shouldn't really have anything to do with the meat itself. People who don't have the best meat worry about sauce.
Second, you've obviously not tried enough Texas BBQ if you think some of those things. Unfortunately, DFW is a wasteland for BBQ, so I can't say that I blame you. I've heard the new Pecan Lodge is pretty good, but beyond that, there isn't a really great BBQ place in DFW. The best near that area is Clark's in Tioga. But, the key is -- there are some great, thick, sweet sauces. Heck, Franklin actually has a pretty good sweet sauce as one of their three offerings. The sauce at Stiles Switch in Austin is fantastic -- sweet like you say.
If you're ever down in Austin, hit me up -- there are quite a few places we can go that I bet would change your mind.
Jack Stack is fantastic. I've been there twice, most recently about a month ago. Their brisket sucks, but the ribs are fantastic. Their sides though...man. I normally say that anytime you have to talk about the sides that means the BBQ isn't good, but JS is the exception. Jeez they are good.
An uppity guy from Austin? No way...
Early- to mid-30's.
There is a lot of great stuff outside of Texas. BBQ just isn't one of them.
Calling anything in Ames is "out of the way" is hysterical to me.
I would like to throw out a recommendation for West Street Deli. If you are into a little outside the box deli style stuff, they have great options. Inexpensive with good original breads, they always had the freshest corned beef there. Good stuff. Of course you could always stop by C5 for my homemade italian beef sandwiches at about 4 oclock, too. :smile:
Good work on getting to all the big 12 venues, that is something I would really like to do someday too.
If I am on foot in Campustown for the evening and want pizza, I'm gonna hit Jeff's or Pizza Pit. Joe's is out of the way in those circumstances.
I really hate that this turned into a BBQ wang-measuring contest, but...just no. I've had BBQ from 3 places in KC -- Arthur Bryants, Jack Stack, and Oklahoma Joes. Arthur Bryants is no better than Rudy's, Oklahoma Joes is terrible, and Jack Stack, while phenomenal, isn't really BBQ, just damn good ribs.
We're having Danny Edwards before we come to the game, and I'm hopeful that will revive the legacy of KC BBQ, but so far the "legendary" places I've tried have been disappointing save for Jack Stack...but again, not really "bbq".
For what it's worth, I've tried literally every kind of BBQ out there, except for maybe Iowa BBQ -- I've had it in Memphis, North Carolina, St Louis, Mississippi....everywhere that matters in the BBQ world. So, to say I've never tried anything else is laughable.
But again, I see that you're from Dallas, which is a BBQ wasteland...so again, I feel for you.
yeah I was thinking it was brand new or came to Ames while I was there as well. I was thinking maybe 2007? I feel like it wasn't there freshman fall.
ETA: google snooping says it opened February 2008.
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Jeffs replaced Gumby's as the go to for Dorm Meeting Food (Smotherellas for Pokey Stix)
If you don't get the smoked turkey sandwich and smother it in either of their sauces, you're doing HP wrong.
I'm gonna post what i said before:
RebelT is fast becoming the Texas BBQ version of twocoach on this website