I love a good burger and Lawrence is blessed with a number of good local burger places as well as a number of premium chains. But when I want the best fast food burger, I go to Wendy's.

Their Double Stack (currently 99 cents) is the perfect combination of flavors and textures for me. The beef is good, the onions and pickles provide some crunch and the condiments, while basic, compliment the overall burger.

I try to avoid fries, but I have tried their new more rustic cut, and they are quite good. I like that they are pre-seasoned with sea salt.

Service is usually fairly quick, if not particularly friendly. But at this price range, they provide a good combination of product and service.

I am not taking out of town guests here, but for a quick fast food burger I have yet to find a better one in my all too extensive experience.

Based on my way to extensive experience, this DQ location stays busy even during the Winter. Being one of the only drive-thru locations in East Lawrence, likely keeps them busy, but I have always found the service to be quite good. If you like ice cream, this location should always on your list of choices.

My personal favorite is the basic vanilla cone, but on special occasions, I have always found their ice cream cakes to be a good choice for a party.

I like to support locally owned restaurants, but I am willing to frequent chains that do it right.

I have always found Longhorn Steakhouse to have excellent steaks as well as ribs.

The decor is pleasant with lots of old west and rancher type decorations.

With the loss of Don's Steakhouse, I often find myself recommending Longhorn, and generally I get positive feedback from those who visit.

The guys who do the repairs really know what they doing. I have taken cars to them, where they were able to resolve issues that other shops couldn't fix.

They always seem to be busy, but they will work with you to get your issues fixed in a timely manner.

Biemer's is my favorite BBQ place in Lawrence. I have tried pretty much everything on the menu, but I usually go with their Large Brisket Sandwich.

When the briskets is at its best (65%) of the time, it is the best I have ever had. Moist, a little fat, but not too much. Just really tasty. The rest of the time (35%) is still better than most brisket, can be a little dryer than ideal, or maybe a little too much fat, but I still really enjoy it.

I should say, I don't even use any sauce. The way they prepare brisket, it doesn't even require it.

My second favorite is the pulled pork. Very good.

If you are going for the first time, you have to try the brisket. If you are like me, it will be difficult to try anything else.

I have always been a fan of Tryyaki's little sushi drive through on 23rd street, so based on a number of mini-reviews on Twitter, my wife and I decided to try out their new location and buffet.

The atmosphere was great. Lots of bright colors on the walls with upbeat, but well curated pop music playing. The chairs and tables all looked to be new and were well spaced to provide seating options for just one couple, all the way up to larger parties.

The service was excellent. Quickly seated, water refilled when needed, but without constant interruptions. Check was provided at the ideal time. Very pleasant service.

The food was roughly divided into four buffet style serving stations:

Prepared hot food Soup prep station Sushi Desserts

The prepared hot food was the most disappointing station. It largely included Chinese style hot dishes. I thought the quality of these dishes was lower than you would find at every other Chinese food focused buffet in Lawrence. The flavors were average, but the texture of the food never seemed to hit the mark. It could be because these dishes has set out longer as the other parts of the the buffet are the stars.

The soup prep station is much more elaborate than it sounds. The staff explained to us that we could put whatever ingredients we wanted in the provided metal bowls and then take them to a small window in the back where the food would be cooked. You could request either beef or chicken broth . I believe that their were four meats offered. I remember that beef, chicken and shrimp were offered. Six different noodles were offered as well as tofu. That combined with a number of vegetables made for plenty of customization. The soup itself was excellent. There isn't a lot of seasoning with just the broth, so I suggest adding the paste they offer or adding some Sriracha which is on all the tables.

The sushi offered was the best I have had at a buffet in Lawrence. A dozen different types were offered. My only suggestion would be better labeling of what each roll was (I don't believe any were labeled).

Finally desserts. I don't usually expect a lot of dessert quality in Asian food focused buffets, but I tried two different pieces of cake, and they were both excellent.

Overall, I enjoyed the experience and the price of 8.99 was more than fair for the quality of food and level of service.