Best Of Lawrence 2011: Auto service, best overall restaurant / LJWorld.com

Archive for Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Best Of Lawrence 2011: Auto service, best overall restaurant

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By Stephen Montemayor

January 19, 2011

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Best Of Lawrence 2011: Auto Service

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When disaster hits or you need an oil change, where you going?

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Best Of Lawrence 2011: Best Overall Restaurant

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And the award goes to...

There's nothing like rogue snowbanks, shredded tires and faulty ignitions to highlight the importance of a good place for auto repairs.

So we figured 2011's Best of Lawrence contest — voting begins Monday — would be a great opportunity for the community to weigh in on the most trusted names in auto service around town. This category, as well as the category for best overall restaurant are the last two categories we have to preview.

Thank you for all the feedback you've provided thus far. It has certainly had us looking forward to counting your votes. But there's still time for you to help us make sure we've got our bases covered. Don't see your go-to spot for auto repairs? Think your favorite restaurant belongs on the list? Let us know by commenting below or on Twitter and Facebook.

Best Place for Auto Repairs

A Plus Auto & Tire

A-1 Automotive

Alek’s Autoshop

Allied Autobody Carstar

ATSI

Auto Accents & Collision Repair

Auto Exchange Inc

Bob’s Auto Maintenance

Bob’s Import Service

Bryant Collision Repair

Dale & Ron’s Auto Service Inc

Das Autohaus

Don’s Auto Center

Doug’s Automotive & Alignment

Downtown Muffler & Brake Shop

En-Tire Car Care Center

Fred’s Tune-Up

Free State Auto

Garber Automotive

Gateway Auto Service

Gregg Tire Co

Harris Auto Repair

Hite Collision Repair Center

Lawrence Automotive Diagnostics

Mass Street Automotive

Mechanic On Wheels

Midwest Auto Diagnostics & Repair

Pearson Collision Repair

Potter’s Automotive Service

Sharp Automotive

Slimmer Automotive Service

Steve’s Auto Plaza Body Shop

Westside Automotive Center

Westside 66 & Carwash

Best Overall Restaurant

Ten at The Eldridge

715

Cafe Beautiful

Angler’s Seafood House

La Parrilla

Teller’s

Free State Brewing Co.

Marisco’s

Yokohama

Encore

Dempsey’s

The Burger Stand

Local Burger

Zen Zero

Paisano’s Ristorante

Genovese

India Palace

Esquina

Pachamama’s

Johnny’s Tavern

Mad Greek Restaurant

The Orient Vietnamese Cuisine

We'll be back Friday with a post that wraps up our previews and looks ahead to next week's voting.

Until then, weigh in on our other previews if you haven't already.

Gluten Free Dining, Vegan/Vegetarian Dining

Date, Wifi Hotspot, Bar

Bookstore, Live Music Venue

Coffee, Burger, Place to Dance

Latin American, Middle Eastern foods.

Pizza, Italian Food

Asian Cuisine, Breakfast

Clothing Store, Hair Cut

Sweets, Quick Eats, Place To Watch The Game

Store Cat, New Restaurant

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foodboy 2 years, 5 months ago

I would suggest adding Aladdin Great food, reasonable prices and you can BYOB

Ami 2 years, 5 months ago

I vote for Zen Zero - consistantly good an inexpensive food Pachamama - the one restaurant in town which keep high quality sophisticated food Burger stand at the Kasba - great burgers from high quality ingrediants 715 - good but not always worth the price

LarryNative 2 years, 5 months ago

Yes, The Burger Stands canned ketchup and frozen Sysco fries are high quality.

Ami 2 years, 5 months ago

You are missing Smash burger on W 6th street which is great addition for the west side of town

The_Big_B 2 years, 4 months ago

Here, Here, cheese!

No TAXburgers for me, either.

I will not darken the door of a place that charges the double secret sales-tax-that's-not-really-a-sales-tax-at-all-but-a-kickback-to-the-developer.

Choke on it, TAX-burger!

countrygirl 2 years, 5 months ago

Tried Smashburger last Saturday--won't be back. Wasn't bad but way over priced for what we got.

KRichards 2 years, 5 months ago

plus higher taxes there

The_Big_B 2 years, 4 months ago

Did they tell you about the double-secret tax before you ordered, or just on the receipt?

Ricky_Vaughn 2 years, 5 months ago

Free State is the best restaurant in Lawrence by a pretty wide margin in my book. Big menu, veggie friendly, quality ingredients, clean (maybe the cleanest restaurant ever?), great beer. FS can be a little noisy if you're looking for a quiet dining experience.

715 = bland food, overpriced Ten = good food, overpriced, small menu Genovese = overpriced, killer Tiramisu (seriously one of the best I've ever had!) Teller's = overpriced, the fact they're changing the menu speaks for itself

KRichards 2 years, 5 months ago

Completely agree with FreeState. Best beer by far and everything else is really good.

715-Bland, expensive, small portions. Plus, don't say you have a happy hour when you really don't! All the drink prices are the exact same (I know KS law is the reason) but still pretty shady.

booyalab 2 years, 5 months ago

I used to like Free State, but I got terrible food poisoning from there last year. I'm scared to go back. I do love their beer though.

fairplay 2 years, 5 months ago

Hmmmm.... No franchises. Is that in the rules? If it is, it's understandable that it's the Best OF Lawrence rather than the Best IN Lawrence. Curious as to how many of these "candidates" (and it's a loooooong list, isn't it?) are also advertisers with the World Co.? What about the local restaurants/auto repair shops that are NOT listed? Where's Salty Iguana? 23rd St. Brewery? Bigg's BBQ? Henry T's? Or are those on the wrong side of Iowa to be considered? Unless I'm missing one, only Marisco's and Paisano's are on the eeeeevil side of Iowa (and BARELY for Paisano's.)

smontemayor 2 years, 5 months ago

As has been the theme of the contest from the beginning, we invite the community to help us add to the list of candidates if anyone's favorite place is not already listed. This list, and all others we've considered, is not final and was not intended to be final. Thank you for participating. Salty, 23rd Street, Biggs, Henry T's will all be added upon your request. Any other requests from readers before Monday will be added. There will also be a "write-in" option on all of the categories when voting begins Monday.

BruceWayne 2 years, 5 months ago

Doug’s Automotive & Alignment...honest and fair.

Hoots 2 years, 5 months ago

Doug is one of the most honest people you'll ever meet. My vote as well. Everyone I have sent to him loves his service.

Starlight 2 years, 5 months ago

Doug's, definitely. Only place I trust with one of our vehicles.

KRichards 2 years, 5 months ago

I love Aladdins! Plus the commenter above mentioned that it is BYOB with no corkage fee. How can you beat a good bottle of wine that doesn't set you back $30-40 as it would for the cheapest bottle at most restaurants.

TheSychophant 2 years, 5 months ago

Westside 66 is tops in my book. I live around a mile away, and if I can't make other arrangements,. Richard, the owner, will personally take me home when I drop my car off and pick me up when the repair work is done. He changed out a power steering unit around a year ago. The work was fine but the new unit was faulty (not his fault). The unit seized up on the highway and broke the serpentine belt. He replaced both the belt and the power steering unit at no charge, and with no hassle. I am sure most repair shops claim to stand behind their work. But talking the talk is different than doing the walk. Richard does the walk.

He also has a full service lane for gas. The only one in town, I believe. His employees are super friendly, and knowledgeable. I am sure he pays them well. Richard himself is a walking encyclopedia when it comes to auto mechanics.

His staff will phone you with a full estimate once they uncover the problem. I once had a repair job which ended up less than the estimate, an event I never thought I would see in the sometimes shady world of car repair.

The only negative, if you could call it a negative, is that sometimes it takes a week to get an appointment, but that's the price you pay when a business like Westside 66 has a loyal and satisfied customer base. However, in emergencies, when your auto is not operational, Richard will try to get you in and have your car fixed and running as soon as possible.

Westside 66 follows a simple but proven business model: Treat your employees right, and they will do good work for you and remain under your employ for a long time. Treat your customers right and they'll be back.

Bassetlover 2 years, 5 months ago

Here, here! Richard Haig is one of the biggest unsung heroes in Lawrence. He is the perfect example of doing right for and to others. The customer service at Westside is stellar and the outreach he has done for our community most people don't even know about. We think he's a real rock star.

LarryNative 2 years, 5 months ago

100% correct

riverdrifter 2 years, 5 months ago

Yep, one of the best, no doubt. Customer service is truly job one for them.

been_there 2 years, 5 months ago

Alek must have nominated himself for auto repair, I've heard a lot of bad stories. I know of at least one credit card company that took back almost $1500 for faulty work.

shygal83 2 years, 5 months ago

Freestate and Potter's Automotive

LarryNative 2 years, 5 months ago

Tres mex, quintons, tortas jaliscos, la familia, thi siam, papa keno,

booyalab 2 years, 5 months ago

I second Tortas Jaliscos.

BlackVelvet 2 years, 5 months ago

Dale & Ron's has been our auto-repair shop for many years and we've always been satisfied with the quality of their work.

livinginlawrence 2 years, 5 months ago

My vote's for Rich Johnson Automotive, in north Lawrence.

JackMcKee 2 years, 5 months ago

Not many people have been there, it's a tiny restaurant, but Cafe Beautiful has the absolute best food I've had outside of New York and San Francisco. It's no contest for best food in Lawrence. Unfortunately, it's pricey and very small so it won't win.