Two Wichita chefs who once led upscale kitchens are opening solo projects this week
Two Wichita chefs who once led the kitchens at two pretty fancy Wichita restaurants are both opening their own places this week — on two opposite sides of town.
Kayson Chong, the former chef at 6S Steakhouse, over the weekend opened Jumbo’s Beef & Brew in the space at 3750 N. Woodlawn where both The Donut Whole and Hurts Donut once operated.
The focus of the menu, which you can see below, is Italian beef sandwiches, and the restaurant’s website promises “the best darn Italian beef sandwich you ever had,” made with slow-braised beef and bread made in Chicago and flown in. Diners can get their Italian beef sandwiches topped with Chicago-style giardiniera relish or hot peppers and can also order them “wet” with au jus.
The menu includes a few other sandwiches, including pastrami and meatball, and it also features a list of creatively topped burgers made with Wagyu beef patties. There are also sides like wings, fries, jalapeno poppers and fried zucchini as well as a full bar with regular domestic and local craft beers. The interior features lots of television sets where people can watch games.
Chong quietly opened the space late last week but had sporadic hours until now as he figured out demand. He says he’s ready to keep regular hours now, and they’ll be 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.
Over the weekend, his top sellers — in addition to Italian beef sandwiches — were wings, loaded fries and his K-Pop burger, which is marinated in Korean barbecue sauce and topped with fried egg, mozzarella and grilled onions.
Later this week, former Hyatt executive chef Greg White will open his new Lilikoi Asian Bistro in the space at 12111 W. Maple formerly occupied by sushi restaurant Kanai, which closed for good in March. His opening day is Friday.
Cook describes the restaurant as serving “Pacific-Rim Asian Fusion” fare. You can see the menu below, which includes several appetizers, entrees and desserts plus something new for local ramen lovers. The chef is turning the space’s onetime sushi bar into a build-your-own ramen bar, where diners will be able to peruse the various ingredients and choose the broth, veggies and protein they want in their bowls.
Non-ramen entree options will include things like braised short ribs, pan seared mahi mahi, and chicken katsu, and Cook will make three desserts, including a passion fruit panna cotta.
The restaurant will be full-service and have a full bar. Its hours, starting Friday, will be 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and 5 to 11 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
Cook plans to keep the restaurant at 50 percent occupancy because of COVID-19 and can seat only 25 people at a time for now.
Jumbo’s Beef & Brew menu
Lilikoi Asian Bistro menu
This story was originally published December 8, 2020 at 10:58 AM.
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