Finishing Our Day in Manhattan (Kansas)

It had been a rainy day and evening was growing close… We decided to check out a few more historic homes in Manhattan before we went looking for the restaurant that I’d picked out for our evening meal…

There are a plethora of individual homes on the National Register in Manhattan.  I had 14 homes listed on my trip planner…plus 14 other places or historic districts.

This is the Elliott House at 600 Houston Street.  This two story red brick, limestone and stucco Tudor Revival home rests on a limestone foundation and it’s topped with a hipped roof.  It was built ca. 1927 – 1928.  The Manhattan Chamber of Commerce selected the Elliot house to be pictured in its promotional literature throughout the 1930s and 1940s.

Factoid:

·       Alice Sebbins Wells was from Manhattan.  She was the first American-born female police officer in the USA, joining the Los Angeles Police Department in 1910.  She was promoted to Sergeant in 1934 and retired in 1940.

·       Casandra Peterson was born in Manhattan as well.  She is much better known, as best known for her portrayal of the horror film hostess character “Elvira, Mistress of the Dark”.

The Fitz House is at 1014 Houston Street.  This home was built in 1914 by and for Professor Leslie Arthur Fitz.  The exterior includes features from both the Tudor Revival and Arts and Crafts, (Craftsman bungalow), architectural styles.  Fitz was the first Professor of Milling Industry at Kansas State Agricultural College, making significant contributions in the field of grain science and milling.  That department exists today as the Department of Grain Science at the expanded and renamed Kansas State University. 

Note:  

·       In the early 1900s, Houston Street was the desired residence of prominent businessmen, attorneys, and university faculty members.   Referred to as "Cut Glass Avenue”, in 1909 Houston Street was the first paved street in Manhattan, and the original, handcrafted, native Cottonwood limestone curbstones installed back in 1904 are still present today.

The two-and-a-half story Shingle-style Hulse-Daughters House is located at 617 Colorado Street.  This 3,500 sq. ft. home was built ca. 1892 at a cost of $3,000.  It was selected for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places for its architectural significance and its association with community leaders.  The house was first home to the family of David C. Hulse, a local builder and furniture retailer.  Later, the property was owned by Curtis B. Daughters, a leader in local and state Republican Party politics.

Note:

·       At the time that the paperwork nominating the Hulse-Daughters House for inclusion in the National Register, the house had been sitting vacant and abandoned for almost 2 decades.  It had just been purchased and the hope was that it would be restored to its previous glory.   As you can see, wishes do come true!

My plan for dinner had been to have a little Mexican food at Taco Lucha which is at 1130 Moro Street in the ’Aggieville’ area of Manhattan Kansas.  It had 57 postive ratings to 3 poor ratings in Trip Advisor and the menu looked interesting.  The problem was that it was raining the proverbial ‘cats and dogs’ and we couldn't see to find Taco Lucha.  Sorry…maybe next time!  Taco Lucha’s website is at http://www.tacoluchamanhattan.com/.

So, as you can see from the photo, we gave up our wet and brief search and decided to go Chinese… Weirdly enough, Tasty China House (not a great name), is located at 1120 Moro Street…and Taco Lucha must be almost right next door!

Factoids:

·       Aggieville is the name of six square blocks near Kansas State University consisting of college-age oriented bars, restaurants and shops in Manhattan.  Over 100 bars, eateries, shops and other businesses are located in Aggieville.

·       It came to be called ‘Aggieville’, after the school's mascot, the Kansas State Agricultural College Aggies.  Even though the school's mascot was changed to the Kansas State Wildcats, the original name for this area stuck…

·       Aggieville was home to riots in 1984 and 1986.  These were some of the earliest collegiate sports riots to take place in the United States.

Back to the restaurant at hand…’Tasty China House’.  This is a spacious restaurant with a bit of an industrial feel.  I’m sure that the space is needed, especially on weekends during the school year in this college town.  The restaurant was clean and well maintained and it included a full bar…

We each ordered a 'small' bowl of Hot and Sour Soup. ($2.90) It was a very large bowl, very spicy and very good!  The usual won ton crisps that many Chinese restaurants automatically bring to the table were not “the usual”.  They were a couple notches above ordinary.

As per Tasty China House’s website, the restaurant, which opened in 2012, is “dedicated to offering the best authentic Chinese food to our customers”.  The manager of Tasty China House is actually from China.

 

Note:

·       Roughly 300,000 Chinese students are enrolled in US colleges and universities...about a third of all foreign students in the country.

For her entrée, Laurie ordered the Mongolian Beef with onions in a nice brown sauce…extra spicy with brown rice! ($11.95) Can you believe how much food she got for the money?  Better yet, it was excellent!

Tasty China House is not your typical local Chinese eatery… It has a number of entrées on the menu that you usually only find in big city Chinese restaurants in established areas of town.  Here a few examples:

·       Sauteed or Spicy Pork Intestines ($10.95)

·       Cumin Lamb ($18.95)

·       Spicy Stewed Chicken Wings ($12.95)

·       Seasoned Pork Ear and Tongue ($9.95)

·       Preserved Duck Egg with Tofu in Spicy Red Hot Oil ($7.95)

·       Winter Melon with Meat Ball Soup ($9.95)

·       Kung Pao Squid ($12.95)

·       Spicy Dried Sauteed Whole Shelled Shrimp ($13.95)

·       Tapioca Milk Tea…several flavors ($4.75)

·       Spicy Beef Tendon ($10.95)

·       Jelly Fish with Dark Vinegar ($12.95)

·       Braised Duck Necks ($10.95)

I went with the Dragon and Phoenix…a combination of General Tso’s chicken and Royal Peking Shrimp. ($12.95) Once again the quantity was over the top!  The chicken was very good and the shrimp were excellent!

We would really really like to have this restaurant located anywhere in the Knoxville area where we live!  The value was terrific and it matched the food… The variety of choices offered on the menu was both wonderful and intimidating but we’d love to have the opportunity to be intimidated!

Tasty China House is located at 1120 Moro Street in Manhattan Kansas.  Phone: 785-320-7768.  Their website with that huge menu can be found at http://www.tastychinahouse.net/default.asp.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave