Casinos
Wichita Night LifeWell, two new counties are now on the list for casinos in Kansas. Ford and Wyandotte counties both overwhelmingly voted in legislation last night approving casinos in their county. Well, I say "overwhelmingly" in terms of their population since Ford county only had some 8,000 voters. However, this puts Wichita in a tough position, doesn't it?
Boot Hill and Kansas City will both now have casinos drawing people to them. Boot Hill out of it's noteriety and nostalgia from the rootin-tootin days of the Cowboy, gunslingers, and drunken shoot-outs over poker games. Kansas City out of its accessibility and already established popularity as a destination.
Now Sedgwick faces a vote on August 7th as to whether or not we should bring casinos to the sedgwick county area. I would say at this point, while I am strongly opposed to gambling personally, we are put into a position where we will actually LOSE what tourism we have in favor of these other destinations in Kansas because of them. Why would you come to Wichita if you can stay in Kansas City on the river and gamble at the casinos up there?
What do you think? Does competition on this scale effect Wichita?
~Dubya
Mama Mia!! Calente'!
Wichita Night Life
If you were at the 2/6/2007 performance of "Mama Mia" you'll know what I mean when I say it's HOT! What I would only classify as a thrilling exhibition by some spectacular and very talented performers, "Mama Mia" is a no-holds-barred story about a daughter who, at the age of 21, wants desperately to know which swanky, 70's hippster from her mother's diary is actually her father.
Citing the need to know where she's from before she can know where she's going, she invites three different men from her mother's journal to her wedding. The story seems to start as a lesson in family values; the need for both mother and father, but ends actually centering around the mother, with the underlying message that time is short and to take advantage of the things we have today.
Performed to the tunes of Abba, this terrific performance was a welcomed visit to Century II and if you have the opportunity, I would highly recommend "Mama Mia".
~Dubya
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Cirque du Soleil in Wichita
Wichita Night LifeWichita must be on someone's radar because 5 years ago big events like this just wouldn't have happened. The Cirque du Soleil is coming to Wichita. Generally reserved for (typically) larger cities, the Cirque du Soleil is coming through Wichita to finish up it's "A Bigger Bang" tour.
Unfortunately for us, it's last years performance. The "Delirium" show went through cities as close as Kansas City and Dallas around the first part of 2005 and is a set away from their traditional Fantasy Circus. This particular performance can be more attributeed to a "European Rock" Circus with people on stage performing to new age rock-like music throughout the entire show. I would not recommend this show if you have never been to any other 'Cirque' show...it wouldn't be an accurate dipiction of the "traditional" Cirque du Soleil.
Not bad. Not Cirque du Soleil.
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Bonefish gets its Hooks in Wichita
Wichita Night Life
If you haven't been to check the place out, don't let the name fool you. It's not a sportsbar, it's not a "fish lovers Hooters". It's a very classy, gourmet resturant with excellent, diligent staff that go out of their way to cater to the needs of every patron.
The Bonefish landed in Wichita near the middle of October and has scored a definite hit with East Side residents.
Located over on the Waterfront, Bonefish provides a terrific dinner atmosphere for friends or family. While their bar area is a little on the small-side, it's not exactly the venue for football fans or NASCAR fanatics to scream and yell at their team anyway.
With delicious starters like "Bang Bang Shrimp" and "Canjun Chicken Eggrolls", the name Bonefish really doesn't do the menu justice. I know I was envisioning something akin to a sportsbar when I went in. That it is definitely not.
I highly recommend Bonefish Grill if you're in the mood for an excellent seafood meal. Don't forget; Bonefish has sushi (of a sort) on their menu as well, so don't expect fried catfish and hushpuppies.
Pluses:
- Terrific Food
- Reasonably Priced (expect $15-20 / plate)
- Excellent and FAST service
Minuses:
- Venue is pretty small for events; the bar area is cramped with more than a couple of handfuls of people
- Location at the end of the strip mall there on the Water Front makes it a little difficult to find if you haven't been there before.
Bonefish
10250 E. 13th Street, North, Suite 102
Wichita, KS 67206
(316) 315-0299
I give it a definite 4 out of 5
~Dubya
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Oh No! It's Oeno!
Wichita Night LifeWith the opening of his new Wine Bar on Mead in Oldtown, Melad Stephans has a serious point about turning Mead St. into Melad St. He currently owns and operates three of the dozen or so shops in the Oldtown Square: Bellini's, Uptown Bistro and now Oeno (pronouced EE-no).
With the addition of the wine bar in the Oldtown Square, Wichitans now have a terrific, upscale place to lounge at. With low-sitting, comfortable suede and leather couches and seats, low-lights and soft jazz music in the background, Oeno provides a very luxurious feel in a smoke-free environment. All of that and the manager was more than encouraging for our group to move the seating and couches around in whatever configuration we liked.
Prices aren't through the roof either. With the average glass of wine coming in at $8, martini's around $7 and other drinks in the $5-6 range, the atmosphere is not passed on to the price of the drinks.
The wait staff is extremely friendly, chatting with patrons and engaging them in conversations about the wines; perfectly willing to throw in recommendations and educate the pedestrian wine-drinker on what goes good with which.
All in all, Melad has scored a hit with Oeno. The atmosphere is just exactly what Downtown Wichita needed as an option.
Definitely a 5 out of 5.
Oeno
330 N Mead St
Wichita, KS
67202
(316) 440-5000
~Dubya
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