Munsons Prime

Recently had a celebratory dinner here. To be honest, the only reason this place received a second star was the quality of the meat and the fixings that were served family style. The sides were honestly great. The largest problem is that a good cut of meat is frozen then thrown on a grill without being seasoned in any way. I mean no salt no pepper nada. You get a $ 45 filet that tasted like smoke. Smoke nothing else and like they walked out back and cut down a poplar. A good steak speaks for itself and requires no condiments on it. Not here, the good cut of meat is ruined by deep freeze temp then being thrown on the grill in that state. The $ 50 KC strip was ordered medium well and came to the table barely medium rare. Yes it was a thick cut but if it wasn’t frozen (that’s one of the reasons you don’t freeze them) you could have cooked it to order for the person that ordered a $ 50 steak. Honestly, if you want to be a high end steakhouse, which at your prices you are trying but failing, learn to treat the meat properly. Definitely not worth the cost.

This review is being written after ten trips over five months equally split between lunch and dinner services. SAVE YOUR MONEY! For anyone driving by it seems like a restaurant but it’s not its a showcase for their beef (whatever that means). The service is lousy to mediocre at best, there is no sense of professionalism in the waitstaff. That doesn’t mean the staff doesn’t care I just don’t think they know or have been trained properly. Management is non existent, there was a red headed night manager that at least seemed to care but I have not seen her in my last few visits. What resembles management seems to hang at the bar or in the kitchen. The couple of steaks I’ve had were cooked nicely but very bland, the selection and cuts are hit or miss which is incredible considering they run the cattle operation. I literally saw a ribeye cut as thin as a steak-​um for almost thirteen dollars. The two steaks I purchased were $ 40 and $ 52, I could have gone to Ruths Chris or Mortons and had twice the meal and impeccable service for that kind of money. The Ranch Meals I had were pretty much stuff I would expect to be served in the high school lunch line. The beef pot pie was just a disappointment, a thickly breaded top half full crock and lukewarm and does it actually matter what it taste like at this point. The ice cream which does have a good flavor comes out half melted and loaded with ice crystals… about the only bright spot was the addition of the hamburger to the menu. The 8oz burger is the only one to order the others are too big to shove in your mouth. So after ordering several burgers that’s about the only thing I dan recommend to you at Munsons. Eight dollars for an eight ounce burger with good steak fries best deal in town and I say that with reservations. All in all the food is pretty poor and the service is pretty poor too but I guess it really doesn’t matter since its not a restaurant but a showcase. The biggest disappointment is the Munsons just don’t respect my money or yours.

I have driven by this place many times and decided to take my wife there. Never eaten in Junction City before. The first thing I noticed was an almost empty parking lot. A steak house with no cars on a Saturday night? In Kansas? I had made a reservation but there was no need to. There were two other tables that had customers. The place looks sharp but was too quiet and sterile. Not even any kind of overhead music. I am not one to hurt other people’s chance to make a living but it is clear that the people chosen to host and serve were not suited well for the job. It’s hard to focus on a four course meal when you have a pot bellied tattooed waitress lumbering over your table. I felt uncomfortable every time she came over. There were no menus and it all started out so confusing. My wife and I did enjoy our meal but the place lacked energy, style and most of all… Class! Hard to believe this place will stay open (been operating since September 2014?). I can’t see that I would return there ever again. Please rethink your staffing positions with regards to customer interactions. I don’t think this place is ready for prime time no matter what they call it.

I have been torn about what to write in this review. I always prefer to eat at and support local businesses whenever possible, so I don’t want to be too hard on this place as I know what a review can do. But I have decided that I must write this review, and hope that this place gets better in the future. I will keep this as short as possible.
I am from about 45 minutes away, and see this place as I drive by all the time, so we thought we would give it a shot. Good thing that we read the Unilocal reviews before going there, as that made the trip more comedic and there was a lot less anger than there could have been.
As others have posted, the inside was very nicely remodeled. It needs a little something, but definitely a nice place with potential.
We called about a week ago to ask about bringing our own wine… if there is one thing I have learned living in Kansas my whole life, it is very rare to see a decent wine list. On the first call, we were told no, second time we were told we could for a $ 10 cork fee.
We were met at the door by a gentleman (I am assuming it was the owner but not sure) and he was very nice and accomodating. We were seated promptly, and our waitress came over to the table, and gave us a funny look at the bottles of wine at our table… guessing this was the first time anyone brought their own wine. We asked for a corkscrew, and she went to the bar and brought one back and handed it to me. We opened our own bottles of wine, then had to ask her for wine glasses when she came back. This was also the first time we had to ask for water.
She came back to the table and asked us if we were ready to order, and I told her we had not even seen a menu. She went and stole one from another table, as they must only have a couple. It had burgers, kids menu, and apps on it, so I asked her about the steaks (they are rock solid frozen in a freezer as others mentioned) and she told me that yes they did have steaks. That was it — no explanation on the «procedure». So we all ordered the prime rib special they had, and mine was with a potato and corn on the cob. She did not ask us to what temp we would like that prepared. We also order the Rocky mountain oysters and fried green beans as apps. This was the second time we asked for some water.
The apps came out first, and they were delicious. At this point, things are maybe looking up, maybe there is potential. We were then served the tray of summer sausage with cubed up Kraft Cheese and triscuits. They were good… cant really screw that up. Now, you can argue whether this is «steak house» food, but it was what it was. This was the third time we asked for water.
We then were served the «Seasonal Surprise» which ended up being some sort of tomato soup. Tomatoes really aren’t in season in February in Kansas, but whatever. Two of our place settings were set w/​o spoons, so we had to ask for spoons to eat the soup. They also brought us a basket of bread to enjoy with our soup and some coleslaw. Some liked the coleslaw, some thought it was too vinegary, but it was edible. Rolls were a mix of cinnamon-​ish rolls, and something else. Not bad, but very different. This was now the 4^th time we asked for water, and finally got it. Don’t know if JC city water is bad or this was well water, but it was the worst water I have ever tasted at a restaurant, and no one at our table could drink it. I guess I am now a water snob.
Our food came out after one spoonful of soup, and at this point, we are running out of room on the table… the dirty dishes are piling up and no one seems to care or want to help. On Valentine’s day, THEY SERVE THE GUYS FIRST. They have to go back to the kitchen get the ladies meals. The corn is inedible, the potato was bland (and served in aluminum foil), and the PRIME RIB was cooked to Med-​Well to Well Done. They were like pieces of rubber. Even though the menu says it is served with sour cream and horse radish, we had to ask for that. One of our diners made the comment that this meal was the quality of a school lunch.
Then dessert came, and this was the highlight. It was homemade vanilla ice cream, and it was the highlight of the meal. It was great. However, they did not bring us spoons when they brought the ice cream, so we had to wait and watch our ice cream melt quickly as we waited for spoons. We also received cupcakes that were dry, but were delicious when crumbled into the ice cream.
Oh, and at this point, the corkscrew is still sitting at our table. Guess they dont open too many bottles of wine at this place.
They bring our tickets, and hand them to the ladies. We got a good kick out of that one. We paid (about $ 70 per couple with tip) and promptly left. This is where we encountered the «piece de resistance». As we are leaving, the older gentleman who we assumed was the manager had been drinking at the bar the whole time, and was passed out asleep on the nice furniture by the lobby.

I had a roast beef lunch today which was quite tasty. came with apple sauce and a mustard sauce for the meat. cole slaw was delicious but the baked sweet potato was wonderful. it came with brown sugar and butter. done to perfection. Service was quick and not too much or too little. yum!

The establishment is nice but to make it quick and to the point, firstsergeant B’s review is spot on. Definitely not worth the money. I can’t cook and I am pretty sure I can make a better meal for a lot less money. We feel like we put $ 60 down a shredder.

The inside is really nicely redone. They say they do family style serving. You pay $ 9.99 per person and then you pay for the meat that you choose. First you go up to the freezer, yes the freezer, and choose a frozen piece of meat. The night we were there it was all steaks and pork chops. There were no burgers or anything for children. They did explain that you can share the meat selections. For you meal, you get an appetizer — cheese, their summer sausage and their «slim jims». Then comes the salads — coleslaw and their seasonal special. The coleslaw was just green cabbage with a light dressing. Their seasonal special was a couple slices of Roma tomatoes with a couple pieces of asparagus. The asparagus was said to be pickled, but it tasted like they took it out of a can. They try to cook your meat to what you request, but since it was frozen, since my wife prefers med rare, I asked for med for her and medium rare for me. Hers was more rare than medium rare and mine was definitely rare. That’s what happens when you cook a frozen steak. The meat came out with the vegetable (we choose corn on the cob) or you could have chosen baked beans. You also choose a potato, we chose the white/​yellow potato (a baked potato) or you could have had a sweet potato. The also brought out the «bread» — breakfast cinnamon rolls. Then the dessert their homemade ice cream, which seemed more like ice milk, which was watery and ice crystals. For something that is supposed to be family style dining, you think they would have more for an entire family. After the meat was added to the bill, you would have to say it was an expensive meal, which was not worth it.