Fridays of Intestinal Fortitude: Beef, Beef and More Beef.

Note: Fridays of Intestinal Fortitude is a weekly(ish) feature about food, food and more FOOD. No, I am not an expert, but I do enjoy talking about food prep, cooking food, eating food and making sweet love to food.  Okay, maybe not the "sweet love" part. After all, this is not meant to be an homage to 9 1/2 Weeks.

Recipe Index can be found here. 
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A few weekends ago, I went with a few friends (LuAnn, Christy, and LaurenGirl) to south central Kansas ----- Pratt County to be exact.  Christy's dad (aka LorenDad) served as our official tour guide (and chauffeur) to our beautiful, spacious vacation destination.  Specifically, we were in Pratt to hunt the elusive Sandhill Plum - a rare and beautiful creature that hides among thorny, bushy thickets laden with defensive ground swallows and deer ticks.  We armed ourselves with long-sleeved clothing, sun protection and an army of buckets for our plum picking adventure.

Why were we bothering with plums hardly bigger than a cherry and fairly sour to boot?  In short, these plums make an incredibly delicious jam and jelly that you simply cannot find in a grocery store. Christy's family has been taking advantage of access to these free wild plums for at least a few generations now.  Last year, I helped her  with the Jelly Making Part of the process but this year, I wanted to actually help pick the plums.  Next week,  I will detail our glorious whirlwind adventure in PRATT, KANSAS, but in the meantime, I would like to talk about the Eating Portion of Grand Tour.

Yes, besides plum picking, we also did a bit of eating.  In the southern bowels of Kansas.

(Cue the foreshadowing.....)

Gentle Reader, I consumed damned near my monthly allotment of beef within a 24 hour period of time. Don't misunderstand me, I LOVE me some cowmeat. However, I do try to limit my consumption and view beef as some folks view dessert. It's a treat. One to be relished.

And relish, I did....

Friday
First stop was dinner at NuWAY Burgers at the original Douglas street location in Wichita, Kansas.

Quaint location! 

Outside seating, just like The Ivy! But without the paparazzi!

Luxurious inside seating!

Frosty wasn't just a snowman!

Now THAT is what you call a Frosty Mug of Rootbeer.  So, yummy that makes me wonder if A&W means Ass & Wipe.   No, I do not consider myself a connessiour of root beer, but WOW.  Sooooooo, creamy with just slight notes of Heaven and Nirvana.  The finish was Zen-like.

Now.  The crumble burger?

So greasy, it made the packing opaque.  

Which all burgers worth their weight should do.  No problems here, Gentle Reader.

And....here we go.

This tasted like a good burger should but admittedly, the texture took some getting used to.  For a second, I thought maybe I had apparated into a nursing home since this was like eating a pre-chewed hamburger.  Hey, they are toddler-friendly!  Bonus!

Would I go back to NuWAY?  You betcha!

Saturday
That morning, after a Meal of Shame in the form of "breakfast at McDonald's", we headed out for plum-snatching.  By the time we were done looting several pastures, the temps were nearing 90 and we were starving.

Woody's Bar in downtown Pratt, Kansas nicely fit the bill.

The sign says WOODY. 

*snicker*  

Yes, I AM 12 years old.  And so are you.  Admit it.

ALL of the finest restaurants have taxidermy on their walls, no?

Woody's served a damned fine cheeseburger.  I would have taken a picture except I was so starved I forgot. Oops.  Bad food blogger.

After eating lunch, we went back to The No Bed, No Breakfast spot where we were staying so we recuperate after a morning spent in the heat before we hit the road again to go back home.

On our way out of Pratt, Christy was insistent that she get something to eat from Taco Delite.  And sheep that I am, I could not resist a sampling (have you not seen the header to his blog??)

Honestly, I have no fucking clue what information that sign is supposed to convey.  It seems you are supposed to just show up and hope for the best.

While still Hoping for the Best, I decided to play it safe and just get a simple taco.   This food blogger has been played before, y'all.

I received a nice, greasy taco filled with what I fervently hoped was cow meat.  Regardless, it was pretty tasty.  (Spoiler Alert:  I survive the experience with minimal gastrointestinal discomfort!)

And with that, we headed back to Kansas City!

During one of our stops for gas, I spied a Wall of Meat Sticks and Other Sundry ByProducts.

Folks,  do not question a Kansan's devotion to their meat.

 Like a scene from 50 Shades of Grey, my arteries hardened with lust at the site of this.

I suspect that just about EVERYTHING involved in these meat sticks were the result of a dare.

So!  That wraps up the Food Edition of our grand excursion to Pratt County, Kansas. Next week's wrap up of our trip will include water towers, windmills, sand dunes, ticks on my ass and bourbon.

Stay tuned!