Whiskey Creek (Hays, Kansas)

It's almost comical the number of nights I have spent in Hays, Kansas. It might be 5 or 6 nights now, and I cannot think of a single reason why. I was there when I was a kid with my mom and grandmother. Once my dad and I stayed at a Holiday Inn there and ate at the Chinese retaurant in the hotel; easily one of the top 5 worst meals of my life. Once I remember eating at an Applebees in Hays, and remarking to the waitress that it was really windy.

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"It's always like this," she said. "Where are you from?"

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"Southern California," I replied.

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She turned her head to the side and stared at me for a few seconds, like a confused puppy. "Then what the hell are you doing in Hays?" she asked.

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The last time I was in Hays I stopped at Whiskey Creek for dinner, mostly because it was the only restaurant with cars in front of it. I figured that was a good sign. I started with an order of "Southwest Tootsy Rolls," hoping they would be better than the name. Basically they were egg rolls of shrimp, cream cheese and chives. They were pretty good, although nothing special at all. (But they did not make me sick, which is more than I can say for the Chinese meal I had in Hays.)

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The pulled pork sandwich was not very good. They claimed it was smoked for hours over hickory, but I doubt that. There was no smoke ring and it was not tender at all. Perhaps they only cook barbecue a couple times a year, keep it in the freezer, and heat it up and serve it to the Californians passing through town, figuring we won't know any better.

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I would like to tell you that if you find yourself in Hays to keep driving to the next town for dinner, but that means a few hours. So if you are in Hays I guess you should probably eat here. Just don't order the barbecue.