In the past month, Lawrence welcomed a new restaurant on 7th Street. Wake the Dead is a breakfast bar that serves doughnuts, coffee, fried chicken and all your breakfast favorites (some with a tasty twist to them).
From the sparkly cake donuts to the crispy strips of bacon, Wake the Dead is a savory place to be. While the restaurant might be small physically, it has a huge personality. It is relaxed and a great spot to catch up with friends, yet you will find some spooky skeletal decorations everywhere you look. The menu is filled with wittily named choices that will have you smiling and taking even longer to decide what to order.
Food
Crunchy and fluffy cake doughnuts fill the bakery case at the front of Wake the Dead. As you order you have to stare at these gorgeous little morsels. If you are like me, you won’t be able to resist and will end up with a few too many doughnuts to take home. I tried the Coconut Creme and the Unicorn doughnuts. They were spectacular, but my love for coconut has me craving another Coconut Creme already. The coconut flavor isn’t overpowering and the doughnut batter was cooked perfectly so it was a little crunchy on the outside while still being soft in the middle. The edible glitter on top may have also effected my purchasing decision.
If you can’t decide between the doughnuts and the crispy, savory chicken tenders, you don’t have to. Upgrade your fries to their special doughnut fries. Slices of fluffy doughnut dough, fried and served with your choice of a sweet dipping sauce like whiskey peach or peanut butter.
The chicken tenders themselves are well seasoned, with visible herbs and spices in the breading. They also come with a choice of dipping sauce such as bourbon BBQ, sriracha aioli, or honey mustard.
Drink
Wake the Dead has turned your favorite childhood cereals into adult beverages that will have your taste buds cheering. My personal favorite is the Fruit Loops Cereal Milk Cocktail. It is made with passion fruit rum, and is deliciously fruity. It really does taste like the left over milk in a bowl of Fruit Loops.
Wake the Dead is a great new place in downtown Lawrence to try out. My experiences at Wake the Dead have never left me disappointed. Since Wake the Dead is open Tuesday- Friday 7 a.m. to late, Saturday 8 a.m. to late, and Sunday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., it is the perfect place to stop in for an early morning coffee, after work drinks or a late night snack.