Laura "This is how you switch board" W.'s Profile

I love Oklahoma Joes, but sometimes you just want to eat and not wait in line for an hour. Even though RJs doesn't have the big name, I think it's about as good.

A great thing about RJs is the service. I am the daughter of two southerners and their BBQ tends to be pork sandwiches, so I know very little about ribs. When we came in for carry out, the kitchen manager explained to me every bit of difference between each rib type and helped me pick which ones I wanted to order. We've also gone to RJs to watch games and they continue to check in on you even after you've been sitting there for hours.

RJs has Free State and Boulevard on tap, and they also have great drink specials. I love their sweet potato fries and ribs, but one of my favorite things I've had there was their breakfast. We ordered a side of bacon and it came out to us looking like dog food...but it was a pleasant surprise. So thick and smoky, probably the best side of bacon I've ever eaten at a restaurant. If you're looking for a new brunch place, I highly recommend trying RJs.

We have a fun time and good food each time we go, so we'll definitely continue to patronize this joint.

Once upon a time, I had this amazing hairstylist at Headmasters in Lawrence named Wes. He did hair for Sarah Jessica Parker (err, at least I think he did). He. Was. So. Real. And every hair experience with him was more incredible than the one before (especially the "climax" in which he meowed at my follicles this one time).

Then he moved to New York. Suck. And I was forced to try to find new hairstylists. I found some that I liked personally and thought their haircuts were decent. I found some with good haircuts that were impossible to get a hold of. I found one person who absolutely butchered my hair. And no one could handle my bangs.

When I heard about Belle Epoque, I was sort of ambivalent about going. I figured I might as well try someone else since nothing had worked for me yet but I wasn't super thrilled about having to put my hair in the hands of yet another new stylist. Being able to set my appointment online was pretty exciting though, and having a text message confirmation was another plus.

When I arrived, I apologized profusely for being late**. Adrienne (my stylist) and Luther (I think?) did not seem to mind. Adrienne sat down and did a one time, ten-minute consultation about my hair. I appreciated this because I feel like new stylists don't know all there is to know about your hair and usually this hair to stylist meet-n'-greet gets super rushed.

Adrienne MASSAGED MY SCALP. Oh my god. She talked me through every single process in drying and styling my hair. She gave me recommendations for fixing the issues I addressed earlier. And guess what? SHE F*#%ING CUT MY BANGS RIGHT. This might not seem like a big deal to you but when you have cowlicks and nothing seems to lay correctly and no one does what you ask them to do FOR YEARS....it's a big deal.

I bought some of the product she used but she was not acting all sales-y so I didn't feel pressured into buying stuff. The haircut was a good price and cheaper than most of my previous haircuts, plus there was a $10 Yelp discount I took advantage of. And I'm happy to say, I'll remember the date of my next appointment because of the text message confirmation they'll send. I really had a great experience and I'm very glad that I gave Belle Epoque a chance.

**NOTE: This salon is located near the Sprint Center. If your haircut happens to be scheduled at the exact same time as a very big deal Duke versus K-State basketball game (or, say, a Justin Bieber concert), planning ahead for traffic and parking might be a good call.

I have a friend with a super hip mom and super hip hair that she gets cut at Friseur. So when I needed a place to get my hair under control I decided that I go the way of the super hip mom and get my hair styled by LeAnn.

I don't believe Friseur has a receptionist so getting in touch with anyone there was a bit difficult. After three tries, I finally got a hold of LeAnn. At my old hair places I could call and get in to see my stylist in the same week-- not this place. I luckily was able to squeeze in a lunch date with LeAnn for the next week.

I arrived a few minutes before my appointment and wasn't greeted by ANYONE (no receptionist?). I sat for about twenty minutes without talking to anyone, concerned (okay, PANICKING) that I maybe had the wrong place, wrong time or no appointment at all. Finally another stylist came out to talk with another client and I was able to confirm that I was in the right place and that LeAnn was just running late.

When I finally got to see LeAnn, she was fab. She was realistic about my hair and definitely worked with me to figure out what to do with it. She also dries hair FIRST and THEN cuts it, which really works best for me. I have a crap ton of cowlicks around my forehead and they ALWAYS get cut wrong when wet. I really liked the way she cut and styled my hair, and she didn't use that much product (which I really appreciated because, you know, I don't like to be a greaseball). The salon is very chill and I really liked the atmosphere.

I liked LeAnn's personality, the cut and the fact that she didn't try to sell me on any product (which really bothers me). The haircut was $38 which was less I've paid at other places for not-as-good haircuts. And after further research, I've found that Friseur donated hair to the Gulf oil cleanup project, as well as money from product sales to the Haiti earthquake cleanup project. A philanthropic hair salon? I can get behind that.

The gettin'-in-touch issues I had were annoying but now that I know where I'm going they won't bother me as much. I would suggest that anyone new going to the salon be aware of these issues. And also try to sched at least a month in advance of the day you want your cut, it's a bit hard to get in.