All Aboard!

Cool Beans!

It was a phrase my daughter used to say in junior high.

Now it's a unique new restaurant housed in the Hutchinson Depot. Randy & I recently gave it a try. I will definitely have to go back because I want to try more things on the menu.

I am perfectly OK with eating at chain restaurants. OK, I'd prefer to skip McDonald's since we are long past the Happy Meal stage of our lives.

But I am not a snob when it comes to restaurants. However, I do want good food for the money.

If I'm going to pay a premium to have someone else make my meal, I want it to taste good. I'm funny like that.

I do like finding those locally-owned little hideaways that provide a trainload of atmosphere along with tasty fare. And Cool Beans at the Depot fit the bill.

I was a little surprised when I got my sandwich. I was expecting walnuts, grapes and a raspberry yogurt spread along with my turkey.

But it was my fault. I ordered Utopia instead of Jubilation. I had stood at the posted menu for so long trying to decide between all the tasty-looking selections that I said the wrong thing when my big moment to order came.

But Utopia was almost as good as it sounds. The bread was tasty - always a plus when it comes to a sandwich. It had turkey, cheese, bacon, chopped up veggies.

And it was really messy to eat. Messy usually equals good, especially when some guacamole is oozing out of the cibata bread.

Randy also ordered the Cheeseburger Soup. Look closely. That's a pickle floating on top. It also had chopped dill pickle in the soup itself. It was OK, but since I'm not a huge dill pickle fan, I would probably stick with an actual cheeseburger.


It was served on plates made from melted records.

The decor was straight out of the 1970s: Flower Power all the way! The tablecloth reminded me of the mod-flowered sleeping bag and beach towel I got for 8th grade graduation. Cool, man!


I will definitely make tracks to Cool Beans again. I would recommend it. But remember: It's only a lunch joint. The train will have left the station by supper time.

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