I’m always on a hunt for the latest and greatest new restaurant, so I often forget about older spots that are still playing to large crowds.

Yia’s Yia’s is a case in point. It is the last of the full service PB&J restaurants still standing, after Grand Street Cafe, Coyote Grill, Paulo and Bill’s and Yahooz closed or were sold. It continues to be packed at all hours, and is a constant in a sea of Leawood restaurants that is always in motion.

At the urging of a friend who frequents Yia’s Yia’s on a regular basis, a group of us went for lunch recently. We took advantage of the salad and sandwich combo, which allows you to order any salad and sandwich and get a half of each.

The lobster sandwich sounded like a riff on a classic club, with smoked bacon, baby arugula and tomatoes with ancho mayonnaise. Grilled on sourdough bread, it was more like a lobster salad, with the bits of lobster tossed in the mayonnaise rather than layered in chunks. It was tasty, but just off–the flavor of the lobster was lost in the mix of ingredients. The Grilled Beef Tenderloin was piled high with roasted mushrooms, caramelized onions, sundried tomatoes and cheese on a chewy ciabatta bun. A burger, roast turkey, grilled chicken and vegetarian sandwiches are also offered.

Bill’s Chicken salad is still a staple, having been popular on all of the PB&J menus for decades. The Grilled Salmon salad is also alive and well, the crispy shoestring potatoes  providing a welcome crunch to the salad. There is also the ubiquitous cobb, as well as a Caesar, pear and gorgonzola, Greek and steak salad.

Full entrees and wood fired pizzas round out the extensive menu and, in a nice touch, instead of serving butter with their bread, baba ganoush is brought to the table.

The tri-level restaurant was packed for lunch and reservations are still hard to come by on the weekends. There is also an outdoor seating area that is very popular in warm weather.

My visit to Yia Yia’s was a reminder that new is not always better. There’s something to be said for reliable.