Downtown Lawrence Restaurant Week & Other Weekend Possibilities

Go exploring in Lawrence, Kansas, this weekend as the fourth annual Downtown Lawrence Restaurant Week kicks off Friday and runs through next Saturday. More than 30 restaurants are offering lunch and dinner specials. Ramen Bowls (918 Massachusetts St.) has a jalapeno-infused sake, Mr. Bacon (624 N. Second St.) has a coffee-rubbed smoked beef rib (pro tip: Mr. Bacon is bring your own beer or wine), Leeway Franks (935 Iowa St.) is slinging two Chicago dogs with two sides and two drinks for $20, 715 (715 Massachusetts St.) has heritage pork meatballs, smoked trout crostini and lasagna bolognese on their lunch menu, and Lawrence Beer Co. (826 Pennsylvania St.) is doing a lunch special (past specials have ranged from a jerk-fried chicken sandwich to smoked brisket tacos) paired with one of their brews for $10

Kansas City Restaurant Week runs through this Sunday. More than 100 restaurants are offering prix fixe lunch ($15) or dinner ($33) menus in and around the metro area. Need some advice? Check out our first-timers guide.

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If you head out to Lawrence, Sully & Hanks (602 W. Ninth St.) is throwing caution to the wind. They’re having a Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad Release Party from noon to 10 p.m. Saturday. Sully and Hanks has wrapped and heated its outdoor beer garden, and there will be Boulevard’s BBQ, which checks in at a whopping 11.8 percent ABV, alongside a Reuben, patty melt and Irish dog.

Muncheeez Deli (1607 W. 39th St.) is open. Look for Chicago favorites (Italian beef to Vienna beef hot dogs with sport peppers, celery salt, and the like), over-stuffed corned beef sandwiches and vegetarian options (a tomato and mozzarella or portobello mushroom on focaccia). Muncheeez is open from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

Winter isn’t going anywhere, but that shouldn’t stop you from eating dessert. FrozeN2 Cafe (15044 S. Black Bob Road, Olathe, Kansas) is open and serving liquid nitrogen ice cream alongside dragon breath: frozen puff balls that make you blow “smoke,” out of your mouth and nose. The “smoke,” is actually water vapor. FrozeN2 Cafe is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday through Sunday.

Go back to the days of neon clothes and “Saved By the Bell,” as the Power & Light District hosts the third annual ‘90s Bar Crawl from 2 to 10 p.m. Saturday. Flying Saucer Draught Emporium, McFadden’s, Pizza Bar, Leinenkugel’s and Shark Bar are all on the crawl and will be featuring drink specials and what was essentially the soundtrack to Jock Jams.

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The Nelson-Atkins hosts its Party Arty: A Masquerade from 8 to 11:30 p.m. Saturday. The annual masquerade ball, hosted by the Young Friends of Art, includes an open bar and an immersive arts experience.

Discover the wine of Weston, Missouri, and Kansas City as the Barley Bus Tours leads a three-stop visit from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Get a peek behind the scenes and sample wines on the guided tour.

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