One of my favorite cities to travel to is Manhattan, KS. No, seriously! Manhattan is one of those great little Midwestern cities that just happens to have a major college (Kansas State University) plunked in the middle of it.
I haven't been to Manhattan in over 15 years. I used to love to come to Manhattan and spend both Thursday AND Friday nights! It was just that fun of a place to come to. The downtown area near the KSU campus - Aggieville - has a series of good little bars and restaurants. And one of my most favorite places to eat on this planet is The Hibachi Hut.
The Hibachi Hut has been in business since the late 50's The Hibachi Hut was more of a burger joint than anything else. They were famous for their "Belly Bomb", a big burger that came with a variety of toppings.
In the mid-80's, John Heritage bought The Hibachi Hut and turned it into a Cajun-themed restaurant. I got to know John very well in the mid to late 80's as John also ran The Sound Shoppe, an audio store in the Aggieville area that I called on.
I would come to Manhattan on a Thursday, see John at the store, then we'd go to Rusty's (see a review of Rusty's as part of my blog of Sports Illustrated's Top 25 Sports Bars) across the street for a few beers, then go out the back of Rusty's and down the alley to The Hibachi Hut for dinner.
John had a guy from Louisiana cooking for him by the name of Charles, a retired Army guy who was stationed at nearby Fort Riley for over 20 years. Charles made some of the most phenomenal Cajun food I've ever had in my life.
But the great thing about The Hibachi Hut was Charles' blackened KC strip steaks. When John knew I was coming down, he'd get these thick cuts of KC strips that were at least two inches thick. Oh, man! They were - at least - 24 ounces. I've always been a big beef eater, but even I couldn't finish one of those things in a sitting.
Charles would cook them on the grill, then sprinkle some Cajun seasonings on the steaks, then throw them in a red hot black iron pan and cook 'em for about a minute a side. Oh, I would just go NUTS every time he would bring them out from the kitchen.
Charles also made some of the best gumbo and jambalaya I've ever had. It was such a treat to come to Manhattan. Sometimes, I'd eat there on Thursday, then purposely stay over to eat there again on Friday.
In the late 80's, John took over the spot next to The Hibachi Hut and opened up a restaurant called Texas Star. It was more of a Tex-Mex themed place. And it, too, was very good. After John opened that place up, I'd eat one night at The Hibachi Hut and the other night at Texas Star.
Earlier this year, I put on a new dealer in Manhattan and I needed to go down and see him. I decided to spend the night there and call on him first thing the morning. The most important thing was going to The Hibachi Hut for dinner.
John had sold The Hibachi Hut and Texas Star in 2005 to Jared Becker, his brother, Kale, and their parents, Sandra and Bill. They pretty much kept the same menu as it was before and I was hoping they'd have the same gumbo and the same good steaks.
I went in and sat at the bar. Mark, the bartender, was cordial and there was a lady, Julie Haynes, sitting at the bar who struck up a conversation with me. It turned out that she owned The Rock-a-Belly Deli, a long-time bar/deli in the Aggieville area. It also turned out that her father was from Davenport, but had moved to Manhattan years ago. She said she still had two uncles and an aunt living in the Quad Cities. Small world.
She knew John Heritage very well and I asked what happened to him. She said he was getting stressed out from running the restaurants and his real estate dealings and he had to unload the restaurants. She said he was still in the area. When she sees him these days, "he's a different person. There's a lot of stress in running a restaurant, believe me."
She then introduced me to Kale Bishop and his mother, Sandra. Nice people.
Mark, the bartender, asked me if I needed some time to look at the menu and I said, "Nope. This menu hasn't changed in 16 years." I had the blackened KC strip (albeit a 14 ouncer this time), a side of jambalaya and a cup of gumbo instead of a salad.
While I was waiting for the gumbo, I asked Julie what happened to Charles, the former chef/cook. I said, "I can't imagine that he's still here, he was well into his 50's when I was last here over 15 years ago."
She said, no, Charles was long gone. She said in the early 90's, he was severely burned when some roux that he was making in the oven for the gumbo (at 500 degrees F) scalded him when he was transferring it to a big pot. She said he was in the hospital for a long time, but when he came back, his heart wasn't in it any longer and he quit. I said, "That's a shame. He was a good guy and a great cook."
The gumbo was exactly as I remember. Large chunks of andoullie sausage and chicken with rice. The gumbo broth is not as thick as you get in some Cajun restaurants, but it is very good and very authentic.
The steak was a perfect medium rare and the blackened spices were really a taste explosion. With the jambalaya, I tried some of their homemade sauce - akin to Tiger Sauce. It was snappy and very good.
I topped it off with a couple of Boulevard Pale Ale's and I was in heaven.
The Hibachi Hut's decor probably hasn't been changed since they opened in the 50's, but it certainly doesn't detract from the food. I noticed that The Hibachi Hut was about half full, while there were only four or five people eating over on the other side at Texas Star.
I really hope that my new account does a lot of business in Manhattan. First of all, it's a great little town. But most of all, I'll get to eat at The Hibachi Hut again. And hopefully it won't be another 15+ years.
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