There’s a new watering hole open at 1155 S. Washington in the former Mick’s space. The Rusty Nail made their debut earlier this summer. Really good looking pictures starting floating around Facebook which caught my eyes so I decided to drop by to see what the food was all about.
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1155 S Washington Ave
Wichita, Kansas 67211
316-796-5900
Open Daily: 11am – 2am
Cash/Card Accepted
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It’s been years since I even stepped inside the building. They did an incredible job of really cleaning up the place. It just felt cleaner and more alive inside.
On my visit, it was half-priced burger Tuesdays. I asked my server what she recommended and she suggested theĀ Damn Good Burger which was their 1/3 lb house burger and topped with cheese and your choice of toppings. Since it was half-price, I decided to go with an order of theirĀ Rusted Wings with BBQ sauce.
There was definitely some positive and negative takeaways from my lunch.
The Rusted Wings were your party-sized style. The BBQ sauce was nice and tangy and had a really good flavor to them. That I liked but there wasn’t much meat to it. At $8 for an order of six wings, it was a little on the pricey side for what you got. The flavor was a big hit for me but for those very focused on value and portion size, it may not be u your alley.
Next up was the burger. Value was a different story considering it was half-price. I would definitely go back on Tuesday considering the burger and fries was only $4.50. The big winner for me here were the fries. I loved them and they were one of my favorite styles of fries which were even better with the coating of salt surrounding it. As for the burger, it started well with their bun. I loved the soft texture to it that collapsed well but didn’t get all mushy on me. The patty well seasoned well with my only stickler being I wish it was a little juicier. At 1/3 lb, it was certainly filling but perhaps a little on the overcooked side which took away from the juiciness of it. By no means was it a bad burger but I wasn’t overly impressed by it either. Would I order it again on Tuesdays? Sure, I could see myself going there with friends to grab a drink and a burger sometime.
On my visit, I could see they were still getting processes down and even talking about menu changes and things. The Rusty Nail may be a little bit of a work in process with everything just recently opening. The big takeaway from all that is those things are all correctable.
One thing I did like was the friendliness of the entire staff. I’ve been to plenty bars in my time and some people just treat it like a business. I prefer my bars to be the places the owners, bartenders and staff make it feel like home. Where even if they don’t know you, they greet you, smile and try to cater to every need. The Rusty Nail did a great job of that and that alone would push me to a return visit as they start to settle down.
UPDATE: After posting this review, it looks like they caught notice of my visit and changes have been made since then. These are the types of comments I like to read from owners and why I prefer going to places anonymously as it gives a real authentic view of a place. If the restaurant knows a writer or blogger is the person getting the food, it’s an augmented view and an uptick in service. Regardless, looks like I’ll have to return soon for burgers and wings.
Here’s their menu:
Happy Dining,
Eddy
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Any relation to the Rust Nail in Hutch?
Edit: Rusty!