Iconic Eats of Wichita: Surprising History, People and Recipes

Located a long way from any ports of call, Wichita is perhaps the last place where you’d expect to find a diverse culinary scene. From its early days as a rough—and—tumble cow town on the Chisholm Trail, the city first achieved dining sophistication through the efforts of the Thursday Afternoon Cooking Club, now the oldest such club in the United States. Steakhouses in the north end invented and popularized what some consider the city’s signature dish: garlic salad. Waves of immigrants from...