 | Faye Graves, a native Wichitan, attended school at Friends and Wichita State, concluding at Midwestern Theological Seminary. He has been active in media for many years with Channel 12, KIRL, KFDI, KOOO AM & FM (Omaha), KFRM & KICT 95, as an owner, manager, producer, director and announcer. He has served as President of the Haysville Board of Education. He has also served on several national boards of the Southern Baptist Convention. Faye currently serves as Executive Pastor and Director of Administration and Education at Immanuel Baptist Church, 1415 S. Topeka, Wichita. You may contact Faye by e-mail fmgraves@amenibc.org, or by phone at (316) 262-1452. |
Nostalgia
2008-10-01 15:56:00
Remember
Question: Most everyone loves a good hamburger. What are some of the best you can remember in Wichita?
Answer: Boy are you right on the money. I love hamburgers. In fact, the hamburger is my favorite food. Let’s go back to the ‘50’s. There was a real good chili burger at Ralph Baum’s burger stands. The chili was thick enough not to drip off when you were eating it, which is always a good measurement for me. I think back about George Steven’s Lazy R’s. They made a charcoal burger that was hard to beat and of course all the variations were superb. They also had an apple dumpling that was very good.
13th St. and Hydraulic was the location of a place named “The Best Burger.” It was great.
Kings X always had a great hamburger. So did the White Castles. Calvin’s was at the corner of Harry and Seneca and two guys there put shredded onions on their burgers. Some of my relatives who live in Seattle still come to Calvin’s when in Wichita to get an onion burger from their new location in a strip mall on South Seneca.
Jack’s Burgers across from North High School were always good and the place was always loaded. The Oasis Lounge was voted one of the 10 best burgers in the country by USA Today back in 1989. It’s still blue ribbon! There was Henry Burger’s Drive-In on West Street. Their burgers were very good and had a unique taste to other burgers. Nu Way burgers were super and they are still in business at several locations in town. They serve chopped beef, seasoned to perfection. Nu Way was started by Mr. & Mrs. McElvain. Dog ‘n Shake is still in business at several locations and has always had a good burger and of course their famous hot dogs on butter toasted buns. Another great hot dog restaurant was the Coney Island at the corner of Emporia and William, operated by Ted Christian. They served a great hot dog.
There were, and still are, so many super good places serving burgers. One of my favorites of all time is now closed. It was Takhoma Burger, operated for years by Earl McGaugh, known as “Arkie”, who passed away recently. He and his grandson and family operated this stand for many years. Their slogan was “We didn’t invent the hamburger, we just perfected it.” They chopped their onions, used 100% pure beef, made their own patties on a meat masher and each burger was fantastic.
These are only a few. We all have our favorites. All of these were locally owned. Wichita still has many great burgers. After writing this column, I think I’ll have one for lunch.
