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Twisted Fresh opened in November.
Franchises, like radio sidekicks, sometimes feel like they appear out of the ether. I wasn't around for the birth of Mr. Goodcents in 1989, I just know them as a place to get a dependable tuna sandwich.
But I think I might now have an idea of what it was like at the first sub shop after visiting the recently opened Twisted Fresh (22030 W. 66th St., Shawnee). I think we all could be witnessing the birth of the next great local sandwich chain.
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The Thai Twist is thairiffic.
There's a half-dozen tables and a grill counter where you order in the brightly lit, tiled space, which opened on November 10. The twists (wraps), sandwiches and burgers are all between $6 and $7.50 and come with a choice of chips or fruit (apple). Twisted Fresh also serves tacos ($6.50 to $6.75) -- double-deckers with a flour tortilla wrapped around a white corn taco.
Over the weekend, I chowed down on the Hot and Spicy Thai Chicken Veggie Twist and Cajun Chicken Tacos. The twist had a crisp, crunchy
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It's nice to see the double decker taco on the menu.
slaw, tender grilled chicken and a nice pop of heat from some Sriracha honey aioli. The tacos were piled high with avocado, shredded lettuce and a corn and bean salsa. It was how you want a taco salad to taste, fresh and full of different textures.
Just a note, the sandwiches are cooked to order and that can mean a solid wait of 10 minutes when it starts to get busy. Once they work out the assembly line kinks and come up with some shorter names for menu items, it would be easy to see Twisted Fresh succeeding at The Legends or downtown.
But let's not get too far down the road with franchise plans. As long as Twisted Fresh continues to focus on fresh ingredients, this is a winning concept in Shawnee.
Twisted Fresh is in the Monticello Village Shopping Center. It's open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday. Call ahead at 913-441-0444 or fax in an order to 913-441-0407.