Jack Ritter, Dom LaPoint, Andrew Phalen, Jake Shew, Cuyler Dunn, Kenna McNally and Ashton Rapp contributed to these rankings

Various restaurants and establishments have sprouted up around the campuses of LHS and KU. Many of these restaurants, on either 23rd or Iowa, are frequently visited by Lawrence High students and stand out in good and bad ways.
The Budget staff decided to rank the best and worst restaurants to go to during lunch based on personal experience and feedback from the student body.

Here are our top choices in the area:

Fresh Mediterranean
A dark horse in the rankings, Fresh Mediterranean regularly puts out high-quality food, at an honest price.

Many students and staff aren’t aware of Fresh Mediterranean’s existence in the Cenex gas station off 23rd, but those who do are surely aware of the quality and great-tasting food.

Speed of service is on par for any build-your-own restaurant.

Getting something good at Fresh Mediterranean is just a matter of what you personally enjoy and order. If you don’t like it: try ordering something else, you’ll enjoy it.

Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers
Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers is a one-trick pony, but the one trick is a triple backflip-somersault-gainer over a tank of live sharks, on fire, with alligators. Cane’s does one thing very well: chicken strips.

With a very limited menu and fair price, Cane’s constantly presents great food loved and appreciated by students despite the long drive.

Again a one-trick pony, but as a Budget contributor puts it, “I’d be damned if they didn’t do that trick well.”

Before the rest of our top choices, we’d like to touch on a few other restaurants that stand out for the wrong reasons.

KFC
“Finger-lickin’ good”? Blatant lie.

Greasy food, limited menu selection, middle-of-the-road speed of service, KFC just struggles to find something to do right. Adding on to that is not great prices besides a select few deals, KFC is a restaurant The Budget Staff would recommend avoiding.

Arby’s
What is there to be said about Arby’s that people don’t already know?

A long drive from LHS, bottom-of-the-barrel food, expensive prices for what you get. They try to make up for their awful food with good curly fries, but even Gordon Ramsay couldn’t make fries good enough to make up for the dumpster fire that is the rest of their menu.

“They just have gross deli meat,” junior Dana Nichols said. “The statement ‘we have the meats’ is true, but it’s misleading. The quality of their meats is very poor. And their service is not really quick at all.”

Now back to our top choices.

McDonald’s
The quintessential fast-food restaurant.

Quick service, cheap prices, good menu variety, McDonald’s has stood the test of time since its inception in 1955. A quick drive across 23rd and plenty of options to choose from, McDonald’s is an extremely appealing option for lunch during school without breaking the student’s bank.

“I like how cheap the food is, double cheeseburger meal you know what I’m saying? That number 7. I love that sweet tea too,” said junior Cale Scott.

Most people don’t have strong opinions about McDonald’s, but the fast drive/service, uncostly food, and on-par service certainly attracts interest from the student population.

Hawaiian Bros
Despite being a relatively new restaurant having opened in the past few years, Hawaiian Bros definitely has come out of the gate running.

With fresh ingredients and short wait times, Hawaiian Bros is a great choice.

But be aware: the cost of Hawaiian Bros isn’t very appealing to a student avoiding high costs.

While the menu is on the smaller side, there is still plenty of variety in what to order and many combinations of main dishes and sides to try. All of that combined with a short drive make Hawaiian Bros a must for student lunches.

Chipotle
Similar to Arby’s, what is there to be said about Chipotle that isn’t already known?

This time its in a good way.

While some object to steeper prices, the majority of students and faculty have truly appreciated the quality, freshness and reliability of Chipotle.

Its menu isn’t incredibly diverse, but it offers lots of options, all of which they do well. There is really no wrong answer when ordering from the Chipotle menu. A solid and consistent option for lunch every time.