public at the brickyard

craft beer and food oasis in old town. among the cultural and culinary desolation of establishments like heroes and emerson biggin’s lies a small, unassuming sanctuary for craft beer, atmosphere, and gourmet food - public. i stopped in for the second time on the sunday after winfield last month and for a brief moment, i actually wanted to live in wichita, which says a lot....no offense folks - former lawrence local here.

we sat on a sunny patio with friends and ordered a spread of house fries (holy shit),briskettacos, sliders, one of the salads, and a shrimp & grits special, backed up by a damn fine bloody mary and litany of craft beers (most of which i’ll note that i had never seen in kansas). while i do like knowing that my beef isn’t coming from china, i’m typically not overly fussed with “locally sourced” this, and “artisanal” that. this was one of the few restaurant meals i have had in recent memory where the quality of the local ingredients actually came through in the flavors. heirloom tomatoes, a burger that tasted like a burger, etc.

the service was warm, with folks that tended to know and possibly even care (gasp) about the beers and food - not often seen around here. great place to spend a lazy sunday afternoon grazing or weekend night getting shitty on white whales. i’ll definitely be back.


-----06 jan, 2013-----

awesome. a welcome and much needed addition to old town. accessible, but interesting menu, comfy atmosphere, and thoughtful craft beer selection. loved the pickles andbriskettacos.

i declare public as a great place to eat tasty food and drink good beer!

cozy atmosphere, good eats and heady beers. glad to have a new place to stop at while traveling through wichita that has both a solid menu and craft beer selection.

at the waitress’ recommendation, we tried all the local favorites. between four of us we had the house fries,briskettacos, sliders, shrimp and grits (on special) and a house salad. all the food was great and in my opinion the fries and tacos stole the show.

seriously, how do you get fries to taste like that? the texture was perfect (sturdy outside soft in the middle) and the seasoning coupled with the moreish dipping sauces gave them a gourmet complexity. i know, they’re just fries...but they are seriously some of the best i've ever had.

thebrisketon the tacos was cooked perfectly (which is not easy to do, as those of us bbq-ers know). less is more with these tacos. they’re simple on their own but the salsa-ish sauce and fresh sour cream really set them off.

we had the chance to speak with the owners and the man behind the beers. it’s clear they like making people happy and are passionate about food, as well as about supporting wichita’s local scene and sourcing quality beers. looking forward to stopping back through wichita for more!

fantastic upscale pub food. they have amazing sliders. perfectly seasoned...which is hard to do. i'm not a big fan of mustard on a burger but in combination with the aoili it was awesome.brisketwas also fantastic. if you can go...go. if you can't go with a friend, go alone. and have a beer.

three words: sweet potato fries.

my book club went to public last night, and it was great! it definitely has nice pub atmosphere, and everyone liked their food. i had the smoked chicken pot pie, and others at the table ordered the brie-nini, the bison burger sliders, and thebrisketsliders. no one was disappointed! the staff was attentive, and it might have my favorite atmosphere of anywhere in town. i'll definitely be returning!

nice atmosphere. had the grilled cheese and tomato soup. why would you make a grilled chz with cheddar & another oily chz that doesn't melt. soup was gritty with a bad metal taste. not good at all. i ordered a drink 2 times and never got it. i really wanted to like the place, disappointed. my husband'sbriskettacos were just ok.

wow it looks and tastes great!. i have been there to eat a few times now and really love the atmosphere and the food. also not to be overlooked is the beer selection. if you love craft beer like i do, they really know what they are doing. thebrisketand bleu cheese pizza is great. everything is made in the restaurant with local meats and breads including the "wichita wings" smoked chicken wings and amazing bbq sauce. these are not your ordinary chicken wings. well worth visiting!