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Coco Bolo's (Manhattan, KS)

Katie Nell

By Katie Nell
in The Heartland: Dining

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chileheadmike

chileheadmike

Posted
Posted (edited)
Bumping.

This has been open for a couple weeks now. Has anyone taken a bullet for the team? If so, please post a review. If not, I'll try and get there sometime in the next week or so.

Why would one have to take one for the team if I've already said the Manhattan location is good? Just curious!

I work with someone who says this is her favorite restaurant, and we generally agree on places we like. But, this place serves "Thai BBQ", Texas BBQ, Caribean BBQ, Cajun BBQ, Mexican etc. I'm skeptical that anyplace can pull off all of these well. Except for maybe Cheesecake Factory or TGI Friday's of course. :laugh:

That said I am looking forward to seeing how evil the Evil Desert Chicken can be.

Edited by chileheadmike (log)

That's the thing about opposum inerds, they's just as tasty the next day.

Katie Nell

Katie Nell

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

I don't know about "pulling all of them off well," but everything I've ever had there I have loved... I just sometimes wish the rest of you would trust other people on the board as well, but I digress... (open mind, and all of that)

We took my dad to the new location for Father's Day last Sunday, and needless to say, everything was pretty awesome and pretty much the same as it was in Manhattan. The Evil Desert Chicken is a new item on the menu, along with a few others. I had the SW Caesar salad with Smoked Salmon... this wasn't my favorite thing of all time, but still really good... I was expecting a few flakes of salmon, but it had a whole filet on it! We had the trio salsa sampler to start, and I really love all of their salsa, and I'm a pretty picky salsa eater. The salsa de fuego was a bit spicier than usual, but I liked it better this way! My favorite is the corn and black bean salsa. I can't remember everything that everyone got, but my mom had the tacos, and they are her favorite tacos of all time, and didn't disappoint that day. The bf had their crab and corn quesadillas, and those are something I've always liked there. I must of not gotten enough tastes of the rest of the meals, b/c that's all I remember! :hmmm: The inside of the restaurant isn't as interesting as the Manhattan location, but still fun... there's only so much you can do with new construction in Leawood/ Overland Park! The one bit of sourness that I experienced from the new restaurant is that they turned us away the first night we tried to go... we just happened to be driving by, and noticed they were open and so went to eat there, but... it was the first night they were open and it must of been special invitation only, because they said it was reservations only. (They don't take reservations on a regular basis.) I guess they didn't see how excited I was skipping up to the door! :hmmm: Just a little gripe, but I felt rejected by one of my favorite restaurants!

Anyway, give it a try! If you don't like it, that's fine, but it's one of my favorites! FYI... I really enjoy their Pan Thai BBQ Pork and their Tostado Salad, among other things.

Bumping.

This has been open for a couple weeks now. Has anyone taken a bullet for the team? If so, please post a review. If not, I'll try and get there sometime in the next week or so.

Why would one have to take one for the team if I've already said the Manhattan location is good? Just curious!

I work with someone who says this is her favorite restaurant, and we generally agree on places we like. But, this place serves "Thai BBQ", Texas BBQ, Caribean BBQ, Cajun BBQ, Mexican etc. I'm skeptical that anyplace can pull off all of these well. Except for maybe Cheesecake Factory or TGI Friday's of course. :laugh:

That said I am looking forward to seeing how evil the Evil Desert Chicken can be.

"Many people believe the names of In 'n Out and Steak 'n Shake perfectly describe the contrast in bedroom techniques between the coast and the heartland." ~Roger Ebert

JWest

JWest

Posted
Posted
BTW, I've been to Coco Bolos many times and have had good and bad experiences. Their Tex-Mex cuisine certainly isn't groundbreaking.

I would have to politely disagree! It certainly is groundbreaking for Manhattan, KS, or the rest of Kansas in general for that matter... excluding Lawrence and Kansas City. I've always had excellent food there.

Judy,

I wouldn't exactly call it Tex-Mex... it's no On the Border! I don't really know how to describe it... there's a little bit of Caribbean/ Jamaican influence, but some Mexican as well. Their specials are always outstanding, and my boyfriend claims the best steak he ever had was at Coco Bolo's! Their taters are TO DIE FOR! It's definitely worth the trip to Manhattan, for us. Of course, then we have to go to Chapman Fly Shop, but I'll suffer for the food! :wink:

No info yet... I just need to call them... might do that this afternoon!

What makes this food groundbreaking? Im curious to see what kind of beef they use as well.

"cuisine is the greatest form of art to touch a human's instinct" - chairman kaga

Katie Nell

Katie Nell

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
BTW, I've been to Coco Bolos many times and have had good and bad experiences. Their Tex-Mex cuisine certainly isn't groundbreaking.

I would have to politely disagree! It certainly is groundbreaking for Manhattan, KS, or the rest of Kansas in general for that matter... excluding Lawrence and Kansas City. I've always had excellent food there.

Judy,

I wouldn't exactly call it Tex-Mex... it's no On the Border! I don't really know how to describe it... there's a little bit of Caribbean/ Jamaican influence, but some Mexican as well. Their specials are always outstanding, and my boyfriend claims the best steak he ever had was at Coco Bolo's! Their taters are TO DIE FOR! It's definitely worth the trip to Manhattan, for us. Of course, then we have to go to Chapman Fly Shop, but I'll suffer for the food! :wink:

No info yet... I just need to call them... might do that this afternoon!

What makes this food groundbreaking? Im curious to see what kind of beef they use as well.

To be clear, I said ground-breaking to Manhattan, not Kansas City. Ground-breaking, as there is nothing like it, not even close... quality, originality, just good food... Manhattan is definitely lacking in those categories, for the most part.

"Many people believe the names of In 'n Out and Steak 'n Shake perfectly describe the contrast in bedroom techniques between the coast and the heartland." ~Roger Ebert

  • 2 weeks later...
Katie Nell

Katie Nell

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

In all fairness, I have to report the bad with the good, so here goes nothing!

The bf and I went there tonight for dinner. I had the Wood-Grilled Atlantic Salmon with mango-pineapple salsa, mushroom risotto, and the vegetable of the day, which was sauteed mixed vegetables (squash, zucchini, mushrooms, red peppers.) Chris had the special of the day which was Pecan-Crusted Rainbow Trout which also came with the risotto and the sauteed veggies. Everything on my plate was EXTREMELY bland, not a speck of salt in sight, which meant that Chris' veggies and risotto were bland as well. Chris remarked that the sauteed veggies looked like something you would get at Applebee's! (Blech!) We both thought the trout was pretty decent and well seasoned, but didn't think that the risotto went with it very well. (I think something like a roasted sweet potato would have been a better pairing.) Hopefully, the lack of seasoning was a result of inexperienced cooks, because there were a bunch of them back there, and I can honestly say that I've never had a bland dish before tonight. I also felt it was a bit of a cop out to serve the same sides with the special that came with a regular menu item, but what do I know?! At any rate, they were extremely busy tonight and there was a 30-minute wait to sit on the patio but no waiting for inside. I'm glad to see people eating other places besides Nick and Jake's and Ted's in our neck of the woods! I'll still go back, because the goods have far outweighed the bads thus far, but just wanted to be fair in my reports!

"Many people believe the names of In 'n Out and Steak 'n Shake perfectly describe the contrast in bedroom techniques between the coast and the heartland." ~Roger Ebert

moosnsqrl

moosnsqrl

Posted
Posted
In all fairness, I have to report the bad with the good, so here goes nothing! 

The bf and I went there tonight for dinner.  I had the Wood-Grilled Atlantic Salmon with mango-pineapple salsa, mushroom risotto, and the vegetable of the day, which was sauteed mixed vegetables (squash, zucchini, mushrooms, red peppers.)  Chris had the special of the day which was Pecan-Crusted Rainbow Trout which also came with the risotto and the sauteed veggies.  Everything on my plate was EXTREMELY bland, not a speck of salt in sight, which meant that Chris' veggies and risotto were bland as well.  Chris remarked that the sauteed veggies looked like something you would get at Applebee's!  (Blech!)  We both thought the trout was pretty decent and well seasoned, but didn't think that the risotto went with it very well.  (I think something like a roasted sweet potato would have been a better pairing.)  Hopefully, the lack of seasoning was a result of inexperienced cooks, because there were a bunch of them back there, and I can honestly say that I've never had a bland dish before tonight.  I also felt it was a bit of a cop out to serve the same sides with the special that came with a regular menu item, but what do I know?!  At any rate, they were extremely busy tonight and there was a 30-minute wait to sit on the patio but no waiting for inside.  I'm glad to see people eating other places besides Nick and Jake's and Ted's in our neck of the woods!  I'll still go back, because the goods have far outweighed the bads thus far, but just wanted to be fair in my reports!

You're so fair and balanced you could be on Fox News :laugh: Sorry you had a disappointing meal but good of you to report it. I typically think of mushroom risotto as a side for something pretty robust - pork, beef or at least a halibut-type of fish. Strikes me as an odd pairing with delicate trout or salmon, too, FWIW.

Judy Jones aka "moosnsqrl"

Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly.

M.F.K. Fisher

  • 1 month later...
JWest

JWest

Posted
Posted

My KSU friend wanted to go to the location in Leawood (151st Street) for lunch today and I was starving.. :unsure:

Chips=good and the salsa del fuego = bad. The chips were hot, crispy (not crunchy), light, airy, and did not break into crumbles on your lap. Server said the salsa was hot, it wasn't. :hmmm:

Tijuana Trainwreck consists of a .1/2 cup of grease coating the top of my fancy cast iron skillet of layered corn tortillas, Machaca Chicken, "Chili Verde", Monterary Jack, Roasted Corn, and Sour Cream. :blink:

The field green salad has a progressive style of a wild mixture of iceberg and various greens tossed with an ultra fusion of cuisines that consisted of taco seasoned "creole" croutons, black olives, feta, tomato concasse, and my very own choice of "dressing"... the smoked tomato dressing sounded delightful, it turned out to compliment the crunchy iceberg lettuce. :wacko:

I liked the lemonade (6 total refills ladies and gentlemen) but of course nothing beats Houllihan's Strawberry lemonade :raz:

This may have been because of the condition I was in but I almost vomitted at the table and in the car. None of which happened thankfully. Also, for the first time I wasn't able to complete my meal...but it makes a good take home snack. :biggrin:

Not to hound on anyone's preferences but my experience represents the reason why many people dislike "chains". :sad:

"cuisine is the greatest form of art to touch a human's instinct" - chairman kaga

  • 10 months later...
chileheadmike

chileheadmike

Posted
Posted

OK, I am NOT going to say I took one for the team on this. But I did take my daughters here for a late lunch today. I got out of the car and started looking around, I smelled BBQ, real BBQ, really good BBQ. I asked Brianne if she saw a BBQ restaurant around. Nope. Went in and noticed the half rack Father's Day special. Well, well, well, some promise here.

Not feeling like ribs, I had a Cuban sandwich with Las Cruses Potatoes. There are no fries here. Sandwich was great, grilled pork with a spicy jerk rub with lettuce and tomato on a soft hogie type bun. Wasn't pressed. The pork was really good and it and the sauce provided a lot of flavor. Really good. The potatoes were a little disappointing. Sliced potatoes with the skin still on, sauteed with chile verde and topped with jack cheese. Not bad but not great either.

Brianne had a chicken fajita sandwich. Same bread, grilled chicken with onions and peppers and cheese. She really like it. Again she said that it had a ton of flavor and wasn't dumbed down for us delicate JoCo folks. She had pasta salad that she only picked at, it had black olives in it and she won't eat 'em.

Meghan had the kiddie pizza, i got a slice. Pretty good, crisp crust, ok sauce, and plenty of cheese. The pizza here would be a good option.

Overall this is very good stuff and I would definitely go back. The Wednesday special looks good, 10 oz KC Strip, LC Potatoes, and a salad for $10.95.

That's the thing about opposum inerds, they's just as tasty the next day.

  • 2 weeks later...
moosnsqrl

moosnsqrl

Posted
Posted

I'm not sure this is a place I would drive to the end of the earth for but if I found myself in the neighborhood I'd give it a whirl. Not only does Katie like it, and now it has the Chilihead seal of approval, but Howard Hannah (Chef de Cuisine at Room 39) helped open the Manhattan location, so despite their lamentable choice of location (:wink:) they can't be all bad.

Judy Jones aka "moosnsqrl"

Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly.

M.F.K. Fisher

  • 2 weeks later...
Jaymes

Jaymes

Posted
Posted

Not sure if this is the right thread, but since this seems to have turned into a sort of catch-all thread for towns along I70, I had occasion to spend a few days in Salina last week.

And if any of you are interested in a true Mexican experience, try Taco Tapatio at 671 S. Broadway Blvd.

This place is so authentic that the menu on the wall is only in Spanish. There are English translations in a printed menu that you can ask for, though. Also, they have the famous aguas frescas of Mexico. Horchata is a favorite of mine, and it's delicious. They also offer Coke and Pepsi bottled in Mexico, with real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. The tacos are just like the kinds you get in Mexico, served on small corn tortillas that are so fresh, you have to have two to hold the taco together.

I love mojarra, a whole fried fish that I last had in Morelia, Michoacan, and was utterly stunned to find on a menu in the middle of Kansas.

I thought this place was terrific and if I lived in Salina, you can bet I'd be a regular.

I don't understand why rappers have to hunch over while they stomp around the stage hollering.  It hurts my back to watch them. On the other hand, I've been thinking that perhaps I should start a rap group here at the Old Folks' Home.  Most of us already walk like that.

  • 1 year later...
prasantrin

prasantrin

Posted
Posted

Aside from Coco Bolos, anything else in Manhattan or between Manhattan and KC, MO that's worth trying? The Mexican place in Salina sounds great, but it's farther than we'd like to travel. Just doing a quick trip out to the university and back to KC the same day, so lunch or breakfast suggestions for a Monday would be appreciated!

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