Louis Rose Hill Cafe recently won the Wichita By E.B. “Most Liked Burger” bracket. It was a hotly contested poll and debate which brought hundreds of positive and negative comments. Any time a restaurant is voted as the winner of any sort of contest, it creates a polarizing effect for them that creates a huge flow or support or a large backlash of negativity. There’s no inbetween.
I’ve never been to Louis Rose Hill Cafe before but actually stopped by unannounced and anonymously the day they won to try it out for myself.
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107 S Rose Hill Rd
Rose Hill, Kansas 67133
316-776-9005
Monday – Saturday: 11am – 8pm
Closed on Sunday
Cash/Card Accepted
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Inside the restaurant had a true hometown feel. Pictures of the high school basketball team adorned the walls.
By looking at the menu, it’s probably best to make one thing clear. Louis Rose Hill Cafe isn’t a burger restaurant in the likes of some of the other Wichita establishments like Ty’s Diner, Buster’s Burger Joint or Bomber Burger who also made the Final Four. Louis Rose Hill Cafe is like your small town diner complete with other items like country fried steak, pork chops, pan-seared salmon, meatloaf, pot roast and more. But of course, I just had to get the burger.
I was joined by my little cousin for this trek. He’s been before so I was the newbie in this adventure. As is the case for me, I ordered a hamburger. On any first time visit for burger, I like to order a basic hamburger to enjoy it at its simplest form. My cousin went with one of their most popular options, the Bob’s Blaze burger which was pepper jack cheese, cayenne, sauteed onions and jalapenos. We requested for fries and onions rings for our sides.
We grabbed a table in the corner and waited. Around this time, customers really started to pour in. I observed each one as they came in. Literally every customer before ordering, congratulated Louis Rose Hill Cafe on winning the Most Liked (or as they called it ‘best burger’) challenge. Admittedly it was very cool to hear and meant a lot to me to see how big of a deal a second rate blog’s online poll had become. BUT I didn’t come to hear the praises of customers, I came strictly for the burgers.
The patties were 1/3lb for those wondering. After finishing half of the regular burger, I just sat there and formulated my thoughts on what I’d write.
It was a good basic no frills burger. The bun was perfect in every way. It was soft and compressed well but not to the point your fingers went right through it. It did it’s job in holding everything together and not falling apart. The patty was seasoned extremely well. That’s why I like to order just a regular burger, so I can taste the meat as is. There were no special sauces needed. While it wasn’t the really juice burger I prefer, the seasoning was very memorable to me. I tried some of the Bob’s Blaze and actually preferred the regular burger to it. My cousin loved both burgers. He had some of the regular burger and some of the Bob’s Blaze. It’s one of his favorite burger places.
But…. there’s always a but. Burgers are all about what you prefer. While I enjoyed the burger, my preference for what I want in a burger is something different. If you want a big greasy burger that’s oozing and will make your doctor question your food choices, that’s not at Louis. Those are usually the type I fall for….. everybody has a type right? And everyone is different. I love big thick heavy juicy burgers while others in my family enjoy the exact opposite which Louis would be right up their alley.
And how about the onion rings and sides? Big winners here. I love good standard cut fries that are seasoned properly and that was exactly what was at Louis. They were crisp with a slight bit of sogginess to them to make it easier to grab in bunches and stuff my face. I’m not an onion ring guy but my cousin had no problem taking one for the team here. They were fried to perfection offering a nice golden exterior and seasoned right just like the fries.
The service was quick. It’s one of those restaurants where you order at the counter and they bring your food out to you. If you need a refill on a drink, you walk up to the counter and ask. The staff there was incredibly friendly and the owner was walking around handing the food out and chatting with every single customer who walked in.
I’m sure the question will be asked so I’ll answer it here. Would I have voted Louis Rose Hill Cafe at my own ‘Most Liked Burger’? Probably not for reasons specified earlier. At the same I don’t necessarily agree they deserve all the criticism they’ve received either because it’s not a bad burger by any means. If I had to choose a burger in Wichita that’d I’d compare it to, it’d be Sport Burger just not as greasy with Louis having the bigger patty. And for what it’s worth, Sport Burger is in my personal top ten for burgers solely in Wichita.
Bottom line, check it out for yourself. Who cares what I think. Who cares what anybody else thinks. The drive to Rose Hill isn’t bad at all and if you are curious enough and an adventurer of food, I’d recommend it and can finally say I’ve had all 32 burgers in the Most Liked Burger bracket and then some.
Here’s the menu:
Happy Dining,
Eddy
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