Dining By The Alphabet: Letter H – Harry’s Uptown Bar & Grill

It’s been I believe two weeks since we last did Dining By The Alphabet. Last we were at Letter G and had dinner at Gobi Grill. Now we move on to Letter H. There were some pretty good suggestions out there from Hanna Cafe which we’ve both gone to before and enjoyed. There was Hereford House out in Andover. That was discussed but we ended up not going. I’ve heard good things about Hamburger Heroes out in Park City. Heroes has remodeled or is in the process of doing so.

All pretty good choices with good food based on what we’ve experienced or heard. But last night, we decided to go a different route on a place neither of us have ever had the chance to eat at. I’ve actually been here a couple times for drinks but that was about it.

This place is located at Douglas and Hillside right across the largest exhibit of cougars in the city of Wichita, Margaritas (more so than the Sedgwick County Zoo even!) I bring to you all Harry’s Uptown Bar and Grill.

Notice it did not rain yesterday!!!! What a tease!

Harry’s is located at 3023 East Douglas, Wichita, KS. Phone Number: (316) 687-6511

This is not Cheers, nobody knew our names.

While parking, we noticed lots of cars. It was probably around 5:30-6 pm when we arrived. Busy after work crowd. They had an outside patio where there was a party of 8 along with a couple other tables. Walked inside and you could hear good old rock and roll playing, TV’s playing Sportscenter or news stations, a very eclectic crowd of younger or older people eating and drinking. Saw people as young as 21 and people as old as 80 inside……literally. While looking at the specials sign, Tuesday I guess is steak night and vodka tonic night. They had 8 oz steaks for a little under $9 and many people were throwing those down.

This menu’s definitely been around the block

We were greeted by our server. She ran down the specials to us and handed us the menus. The menu has a variety of sandwiches, burgers, chicken fingers, fried appetizers, chips and salsa, your typical bar menu you would see any where else. I for one was hungry for a burger so I ordered a Mushroom Swiss Burger (minus the Swiss cause my lactose pills were not on hand), steak fries, and a cup of chili with some onions. Tiffany went with the B-52 burger with cheese along with waffle fries and a side salad. The B-52 burger is basically a hamburger. Neither one of us were in the mood for an appetizer so we passed on that.

There is a Dillon’s across the street where they sell canned chili…….coincidence?

The salad came out first in a small little bowl. I didn’t take a picture. It’s nothing to rave about. Your basic bowl with some lettuce in there, sprinkled with shredded cheese and a small cup of ranch sauce. I’m sure you’ve seen something similar to it. The chili came out and smelled pretty good. I had to spoon off some of the onions because I didn’t want my breathe to smell for the next month. Now I’ve hosted a few chili cook offs in my time and I’m pretty picky about my chili. I would tend to think that is what I know best to judge. Upon the first bite, I kept quiet and gave Tiffany a spoonful. Her first comment “Tastes like canned chili”. Exactly what I was thinking. It wasn’t horrible chili by any means but honestly tasted like Hormel canned chili which is good in itself but I would expect something special from a bar. I would feel bad later because the server asked me how I liked the chili because it was her favorite. I was honest with her though (minus the canned chili comment).

The B-52. Yes it will drop bombs on your gut if devoured in one sitting

Next up our entrees come out. I’ll just post up one picture because we essentially had the same type of burger except hers was with cheese and mine was with mushrooms. Burgers came with lettuce, pickles and tomatoes. We added on ketchup and mustard ourselves and Tiffany added a third topping, mayo. Your everyday LPT with KMM! I did notice on the menu all burgers are Angus beef which I’m sure is better than the Angus you can get at McDonald’s for honestly close to the same price. Tiffany was quite intimidated by her burger. She commented on the size which I’ll agree. It was a lot of burger. She only ate half of her burger because she would get full. I, on the other hand, finished it. Loved it but should have eaten half because I was F-U-L-L. My steak fries were ok, I liked the seasoning and it could have used a little more. Tiffany enjoyed her waffle fries. That was actually the first thing she said when the food arrived.

The server was friendly. Filled our drinks. She did a great job especially for the amount of tables she had. I counted about 13-14 tables inside and there was a party of people outside which that count does not include. I saw only one bartender and two servers. So we’ll give her props. She did well for how busy the place was. This is the same girl I said when asked about the chili, “It was ok, I really loved the burger but the chili was average.”

Ticket came out and with tip spent $24.87 for two burgers and fries, a cup of chili, and a side salad. Pretty much that’s on par with most bars in Wichita.

Walking out of the bar hurt because I was pretty full. I heard the comment “Do you have a four month old growing inside you?” I won’t say who said it…… To over dramatize the situation, I would have tipped someone there to throw me in a wheelbarrow and take me to my car.

After a good nights sleep, Tiffany would rate the place 3 stars which is a little over average. I debated back and forth on what to give Harry’s. Thought about a 4 then a 3.5. I enjoyed the service, the burger was great, the ambience was nice, granted there were no fresh flowers on the table like Cafe Bel Ami (insert chuckle), the rest of the food was average but I will say I enjoyed my time at Harry’s. So we’ll give this place a 4.

Official Super Scientific Scale Rating: 3.5

It’s worth a stop if you’re ever in the area for a burger or just a drink.

So with Letter H over, we’re now taking suggestions on the limited Letter I. Before that though we have a special dining excursion for a certain Tiffany’s birthday taking place this weekend. Plus we have VIP passes to the pre-Opening event at Noodles inside Towne East. I’m sure it’ll be just like the Noodles on north Rock Road but would we ever pass up on some free Noodles? Never! My goal to try every type of noodle on their main menu is still underway!

Happy Dining.

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