Garlic salad is a Wichita favorite dating back to at least the 1950s, but the debate about how exactly it’s made has raged for decades. Now, a local barbecue restaurant owner is stirring up the discussion again. B&C BBQ owner Carey Maurer recently dug out a recipe from his late mother’s collection labeled “Doc’s Garlic Salad” and has begun serving it at his restaurant at Third and Washington. This version is crunchier and more substantial than the lettuce- and cabbage-based garlic salads still commonly served around town. And although he’s refusing to share any details, it appears to be made instead with chopped celery. Maurer said he believes this version of garlic salad is the real deal and was the one used by Doc’s Steakhouse on North Broadway in its heyday. He’s even investing in an expensive piece of chopping equipment that will help him prep the salad. So far, he said, the garlic salad has been a big hit with his customers.
Speaking of North Broadway, a well-known fast-food restaurant is the latest to leave the section that stretches from Murdock to 13th Street. Spangles operation manager Rene Steven said that the restaurant at 850 N. Broadway kept getting broken into and the employees were no longer comfortable being there. Closing the store was tough, she said, because the 42-year-old North Broadway location played a special role in Spangles history. The original name for the Spangles chain was Coney Island. But in 1984, owners decided that name was too common and chose the Spangles name from a list of customer-submitted suggestions. The unveiling of the new name happened in 1984 at the North Broadway restaurant. The moment was memorialized in a Wichita Eagle photograph showing the mayor and the customer who came up with the name pulling a tarp off the restaurant’s sign to reveal its new name.
