So, I talked back a while about Doc’s, the Wichita institution that closed its doors a while back and how I found myself, quite by chance, in Wichita, the week before it closed. I talked about how tragic it was that non-chain restaurants close every day in America and how anyone that cares about food as a cultural marker or an art form should support local small restaurants, in order that America’s true culinary heritage be preserved. And then I talked about how the steak I had at Doc’s was literally the worst steak I’d ever had and how they probably deserved to close.
But anyway, the most famous item at Doc’s had always been the garlic salad. The exact recipe had been a closely guarded secret for decades and it was only upon the decision to close the restaurant that it was released to the public. And, boy, it is not good. I’m not the biggest fan of salad, but I ate this salad the same week that I encountered Martinelli’s Chopped Salad in Salina, KS, quite literally the best salad I’ve ever had, so I was hoping maybe I was on a run of great salads. Well, no. I don’t really know what even distinguishes this from a kind of bland, somewhat garlicy coleslaw type thing. Doc’s is a real disappointment on this food journey; it’s one of the most overrated establishments I’ve yet encountered. I still have one review to go; will Doc’s redeem itself or can I continue to be glad that it closed its doors? We’ll see. But as for this one . . . 1 star.
tl;dr – iconic dish isn’t horribly offensive, but it is very bland and forgettable. 1 star.