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Restaurant Review: Doc's Steak House

Want to step into a time machine? I know how. Go to Doc’s Steakhouse on North Broadway and hold onto your hat. Doc’s is retro all the way, from cobbled exterior to entirely brown interior. This is old-school Wichita.

Doc’s is a real experience, in every sense of the word. It is located on North Broadway, between a couple of Mexican restaurants, a Vietnamese market, and a pawn shop. It is a part of Wichita history, where our Mad Men would drink and eat meat and drink martinis, and deals of all kinds were brokered. Nothing about it is modern in any way, except for the televisions.

Doc’s serves steak, mainly, and other old-fashioned food, like fried chicken livers and hand-breaded chicken fried steak. Mostly, everyone I know goes there for their perfectly cooked, inexpensive steaks and floury, giant baked potatoes.

Last time we went, we had the breaded shrimp as an appetizer, very crunchy and very fried, with tangy cocktail sauce. I had the Canadian strip, coated in salty Montreal seasoning and grilled a perfect medium rare. Wayne had the sirloin, beefy and lean, cooked to a surprisingly juicy medium.

I can’t fail to mention the GARLIC SALAD. This “salad” is basically lettuce-y coleslaw, with lots of mayonnaise and lots of garlic powder, and tiny bits of carrot. It is strangely addictive, eaten on Club crackers, and is a Wichita legend. It is a secret recipe. Everyone I know loves it. It can be ordered in giant portions. Doc’s say they can’t ship it, but it is the one thing you must try when you go.