Significantly Spicy

Whatever Happened to Rice & Roll by Xing Xing?

A restaurant that showed up just prior to COVID and took Wichita by storm was Rice & Roll by Xing Xing. The restaurant was shutdown to remodel and suffered theft of their electronic payment account was taken over by a hacker. This resulted in the restaurant never reopening although the owner quietly took over of another restaurant down the street, Pho KC at Pawnee & Oliver, during this period of time. It doesn’t appear that the mass following that they built realized that most of the dishes offered at Rice & Roll were available at Pho KC.

It took a while to develop the staff to Xing Xing’s vision, but the restaurant has been a regular stop for me over the last couple of years. I not only get to enjoy the favorites that I loved from Rice & Roll, but I also found some additional items that quickly became favorites such as Stir-fried Pho with freshly-made noodles, Thai-inspired Angry Pho, and Chicken Pho paired with Chicken Spring Rolls. If you haven’t tried the restaurant lately, you should stop by and check it out.

Pho KC 4875 E Pawnee +1 316-990-0972
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063669365210

Xing Xing did not simply give up on the Rice & Roll concept, but eventually reopened the restaurant on the north end of town at 21st & Woodlawn where it would not directly compete with Pho KC. They also expanded the menu to add a number of soups and other items that were not offered at the original Rice & Roll location. I also stop by this location frequently when I am in the area. Their Facebook presence appears to still be using the original Rice & Roll page for those that would like to follow up on their specials.

Bao Xing 6100 E 21st St N Ste 190 +1 316-789-5060
https://www.facebook.com/RiceAndRollByXingXing

Xing Xing has always been a huge supporter of local restaurants and has performed a tremendous amount of charity work without ever seeking publicity. They embody everything that I hope to find in a local restaurant and offer some fantastic food. Thank you Xing Xing for all you offer Wichita!

The nice thing about the Las Vegas Strip is the ease in walking between different resorts and entirely different dining options. The restaurants at Aria Resort continued to impress starting with crepes and gelato at ARIA Patisserie and finishing with outstanding Sea Bass and Salmon at Jean Gorges Steakhouse. It was interesting to note that some of their high-end steaks are sourced from Creekstone Farms in Kansas!

The Cosmopolitan Resort next door also has a huge focus on food with a food hall and buffet options. They offer several restaurants designed by Momofuku and José Andrés. Although the featured restaurants there were tempting, I was thoroughly intrigued with an adjacent restaurant named Eggslut that clearly appealed to foodies with their spin on street comfort food. Their Gaucho Sandwich consisted of Wagyu Tri-tip steak with chimichurri, red onion, seasoned arugula, and an over-medium egg on a brioche bun. It was simply fantastic!

I caught the Mad Apple show by Cirque du Soleil at the New York - New York Resort which was very entertaining. I arrived early and enjoyed some Queso, Chips, & Salsa at the adjacent Gonzalez y Gonzalez restaurant since there weren't really any food options that interested me at the Hello Kitty food truck outside. I was not disappointed and enjoyed the appetizer which later gave me all the energy needed to escape the Zombie Apocalypse bus that was cleverly disguised as a food truck!

The only disappointing food during this visit was Egghead, the lone breakfast restaurant in the Proper Eats Food Hall. It was very fast-food-ish and extremely overwhelmed with the demand from the adjacent convention. This has an open kitchen which didn't help when backed up over 20 minutes with customers lurking in wait. I imagine it would have been a far better experience with a more reasonably-sized crowd or if some other breakfast options were available in the food hall.

All-in-all it was a great dining holiday for me and I can't wait to return!

Bella Vita Bistro – 120 N West St (316) 941-4500
https://www.facebook.com/BellaVitaBistroIct

The Friday lunch buffet at Bella Vita Bistro has been one of my favorite buffet options for years. There are not many buffets that offer top-caliber food options and it has always amazed me that they have maintained the food quality. They stopped the buffet several years ago and only started offering it again a few months ago. Unfortunately they shared that there hasn’t been many customers over the last months and they are considering ending the Friday lunch buffet. They have dropped the price to $16/person which is one of the best deals in town for the price.

If you’ve never tried Bella Vita Bistro, this buffet is a fantastic introduction to the restaurant. If you have never tried the buffet there, I urge you to grab the opportunity while you can. Hopefully we can spread the word and keep there culinary treasure around to enjoy for the foreseeable future!