One of the nation’s 75 best ‘hole-in-the-wall’ restaurants is in Kansas, a new list says

A list just published by thedailymeal.com that claims to contain the names of “America’s 75 Best Hole-in-the-Wall Restaurants” includes a famous Kansas stop.

Salina’s Cozy Inn — a tiny joint at 108 N. Seventh St. in Salina that’s been open for 97 years — made the list, which was published late last week. It was the only Kansas entry and one of the few from middle America. The majority of the nominees are from New York and California.

According to the list’s author:

“There was a big White Castle-inspired hamburger stand boom across America in the early 1920s, and Salina, Kansas’ Cozy Inn is one of the last ones standing. A six-seat counter that opened in 1922, it gained local popularity for serving 1-ounce burgers griddled with chopped onions that came to be known nationally as sliders, and so is the birthplace of this beloved dish. To this day the grillmen are still doing it the old-fashioned way, in the same tiny room, with fluffy white buns made especially for them.”

The only other restaurant within easy driving distance of Wichita that made the list was Nic’s Grill, a famous burger place at 1201 N. Pennsylvania Ave. in Oklahoma City.

Speaking of sliders, another plate of Kansas-made mini burgers was also recently honored with inclusion on a national list.

Thrillist.com just put out a new list that names “The Unofficial Bar Snack of Every State.” The entry for Kansas is sliders — thanks to White Castle’s Wichita beginnings. And according to the authors, the best place to get sliders in Kansas these days is at Wichita’s Public Old Town, 129 N. Rock Island.

This story was originally published April 9, 2019 at 9:00 AM.