FLIP + CHING

Rediscovering an Old Classic

Posted on November 24, 2015 by Ching under Food and Drink, Reviews.

We first discovered Riverside Cafe seven years ago and then had completely forgotten about it since Wichita has had a slew of breakfast type restaurants open. We rediscovered it recently when we were looking for somewhere close to work to eat breakfast on the weekends that Brian and I were working on packing up and moving my office.

Riverside Cafe, amazingly enough, always seems to be really busy despite the plethora of breakfast options available in town. That was the case the two Saturdays that we went and were told that wasn’t even their busiest. If you go on a Saturday morning, the trick is to get there early – say around nine or even earlier. We got there about ten o’clock one day and there was already a long wait. We ended up sitting at the bar because we were in a hurry and we were very hungry. It wasn’t too bad. The place does get really packed as the morning wears on so be prepared to wait if you’re not an early riser.

One of the things I like most is a nice, warm cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream. Riverside Cafe makes a delicious one. I like their whipped cream also. It tastes homemade rather than out of a can.

Another thing that’s cool about Riverside Cafe is it’s very homey. They don’t have fancy mugs or anything. They just have random mugs that have been collected over the years. It’s really a lot like having breakfast at home, except the food is better and you’re around a bunch of strangers.

Here are some photos of Brian drinking his coffee. See what I mean about the mugs? They are totally random.

Here’s a picture of what I always get.

Here are pictures of what Brian always gets.

I really like Riverside Cafe. I’ve been to lots of different diners and breakfast joints and I really like the feel of this one. It makes me feel really relaxed.

We always end up at the Good Egg, which is Brian’s favorite breakfast place. The good is great but the place is little too yuppy for me. Brian is a bit of a snob so it’s right up his alley; whereas my style is more relaxed and down to earth. I enjoy fancy food every now and then but, when it comes to breakfast, I prefer it to be pretty basic. It doesn’t even have to look pretty because it will be in my belly in a matter of seconds.

We used to live by the Good Egg so it made sense for us frequent the restaurant. Now that we’re in a different part of town, it’s going to be a drive either way. The closest non-chain breakfast joint is Livingston’s Diner, which is another one of my favorites. I really like eating there as well. I just prefer the more relaxed atmosphere where I don’t think people will judge me for having gone straight from the gym or bed. LOL.

The last time we were at Riverside Cafe, we ran into local restaurateur Melad Stephan. He owns several restaurants and his own breakfast joint downtown. Either he lives around the corner and it was easier to get to or the food is good. I have no idea where he lives so I’m going with the latter.

They’ve since expanded so there are three locations now, including one in Derby. I’ve only ever eaten at the one on 13th Street so I can’t speak for the other locations. I really like the original one on 13th Street. If you’ve never been to Riverside Cafe, it’s worth checking out. Let me know how you like it in the comments.

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Moving My Office

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Ching under Things to Do.

I had to move my office a couple of weeks ago.

Here are just a few of the gems we found while boxing up my belongings.

I had old certificates, memos, and training manuals.

I had information from old rate cases.

Old surveys…

And old annual reports…

I even had one of Brian’s old books from T-Mobile. I think I used it as a resource for when I was gathering information to start Quality Assurance in the CRC following our re-org.

I fully intended to get rid of the thesaurus but Brian convinced me to keep it.

We actually had a funny conversation about this.

ME: I need to get rid of this.
BRIAN: You’ll never know when you’ll need a thesaurus.
ME: Why? I use the thesaurus on Word; and everything is online.
BRIAN: It will look good on your desk and make you look smart.
ME: I think it makes you look “un-smart” because you actually have to look words up.

“Un-smart” isn’t even a word, which only goes to prove Brian’s point that I should keep my thesaurus. So, yes. The thesaurus made it to the new office. It’s out of sight in one of the upper cabinets, though.

Besides helping me decide what to discard and what to keep, Brian also cleaned my glass walls for me. He is the best hubby ever.

Anyway, I don’t have any more pictures of the new office for you guys because there’s heavy construction going on right now on that side of the building. Check back in a few weeks and I should have everything put up and organized.

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Brew Ha-Ha 2015

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Ching under Events.

Brian and I had a blast hanging out with coworkers and friends at the ninth annual Brew Ha-Ha event at Flint Hills National a couple of weeks ago. There were a couple of extra tickets because Lacie didn’t end up going so Darcy’s whole team got to go this year.

Here’s a photo of Brian with Darcy’s team member Josh and his partner Alicia.

Here’s the menu along with the list of beer and wine pairings.

Brian and I paid extra to get the commemorative wine snob tumblers. I’ll have to remember to bring a purse next year because toting around our beer mugs and wine tumblers was a bit tricky.

This was everyone’s favorite food item.

Our obligatory party bus selfie.

There was a car accident at the Flint Hills National entrance so we got stuck on the bus while the driver had to figure out another way back to the lodges. Thankfully, there was plenty of beer on the bus so, while we were missing out on food and the rest of the party, we didn’t get to miss out on beer drinking. Brian and Derek both showed off their pole-dancing skills. I didn’t get a photo of Derek, though. I only have this one of Brian.

Here’s a picture of the great-looking CRC group.

Brian and I left earlier than usual this year. I didn’t bring a jacket and it was a little chilly outside. We normally stay all the way to the end to claim our silent auction winnings but I got outbid on several things and assumed I didn’t win anything. However, I actually did win something.

I got a call from Shelly while I was in Topeka this week. I took a vacation day today to take care of errands so I stopped by the Big Brothers Big Sisters office this morning to pay for and claim my silent auction basket.

Among my silent auction goodies is $70 to Pinot’s Palette so there’s painting event in my future. Anyone else want to go?

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Birthday Dinner at Sabor

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Ching under Events.

Here are some pictures from our most recent dinner at Sabor.

Thanks to all of our goofy friends who joined us for dinner.

We are so busy that we rarely ever get to see these guys anymore.

Here are some pictures of delicious food.

Afterwards some of us walked over to Oeno for some Latin dancing.

Some of us even went all out and donned masquerade masks.

And, I got to break in my Sneaky Cards game by using a couple of cards including the “selfie with a stranger” card. See below. I have no idea who this man is but he was super nice and gracious about doing the selfie. However, I think he and his female dinner companion found me a bit odd.

Here’s to another fun-filled and memorable year!

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Home Away From Home

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Ching under Travel.

Hyatt Place Topeka has quickly turned into my home away from home. Been staying here for days at a time as I work on my new project assignment. It’s not the greatest hotel in terms of how comfortable the bed is and how clean the rooms are but the staff members are friendly and they’re starting to get to know me. I think that counts for a lot. Unless the place is absolutely gross like that time that Carmen and I got stranded in Atlanta and had to stay at that terrible hotel, I think I’m pretty tolerant of minor misgivings.

Anyway, the Hyatt Place does some pretty cool stuff. For instance, they had a staff pumpkin carving/decorating contest over Halloween. The staff members got really creative. Here are some photos of their unique designs.