Northwest Kansas skipped in cuisine contest
By MIKE CORN
Forlorn and forgotten.
That's how the statewide 8 Wonders of Kansas Cuisine contest turned out for northwest Kansas, according to results released this morning.
Only one northwest Kansas location -- Crazy R's Bar and Grill in Goodland -- was even on the list of 24 that people could vote on. It was not among the final eight.
The eight finalists in the statewide contest were:
* Bobo's Drive In, Topeka
* Brookville Hotel, Abilene
* Cozy Inn, Salina
* Crawford County Fried Chicken
* Free State Brewing Co., Lawrence
* Guy & Mae's Tavern, Williamsburg
* Hays House 1857 Restaurant & Tavern, Council Grove
* WheatField's Bakery Cafe, Lawrence
The cuisine campaign by the Kansas Sampler Foundation, based in Inman, was relatively active. There were 13,861 votes cast in the campaign, at least 3,000 more than had been cast in some of the other campaigns.
In addition to the general 8 Wonders of Kansas, the Sampler Foundation has sponsored campaigns involving commerce, art and architecture.
The next contest will be the 8 Wonders of Kansas Customs, and nominations from the public will be accepted through July. Criteria for the contest will be posted at www.8wonders.org on July 1.
This is the first time -- out of the five campaigns -- that northwest Kansas has been missing from the list of the final eight.
In the overall contest, St. Fidelis Catholic Church and the combined entry of Castle Rock and Monument Rocks in Gove County, were among the eight.
In the architecture campaign, the Ness County Bank Building in Ness City, Cooper Barn in Colby and Holy Cross Church in Pfeifer were among the final eight.
In art, the Garden of Eden and Grassroots Arts Mecca in Lucas and the Buffalo Bill bronze sculpture just outside Oakley were on the final eight.
In the commerce campaign, Brants Meat Market in Lucas was the only one in the area to make the final eight.