Denis Culinary Tours

I love steak, but secret confession: I usually don’t eat steak out, thinking that other dishes sound so much more interesting and are a better test of a chef’s skill. However, we went to the Final Cut Steakhouse at the Hollywood Casino on a recent Friday night and I was pretty much blown away.   They are running a promotion currently called Friday’s Feature and the word feature doesn’t do it justice. Before I describe this fabulous feature, a word about the Hollywood Casino.   You have to (get to?) walk through the casino to the restaurant, which faces the Kansas Speedway.   Once inside the restaurant, you totally lose the casino – it’s just not there anymore.   The restaurant feels like a classy steakhouse – which, believe me, it is.   A cozy bar is the entrance and there are true Hollywood artifacts sprinkled throughout the place – from Dorothy’s blue pinafore to Celine Dion’s dress to a James Bond tuxedo – not that all the artifacts are clothing as th...

Ring in the New Year at Kansas City's Biggest NYE Party! Get your all-inclusive tickets now for just $89 before prices go up! Ticket Includes: -All-inclusive and top-shelf bar package from 9 p.m. - 1 a.m. at 14 different venues -All Access to 14 different bars and clubs -Complimentary food from 9 p.m. - 11 p.m. -A live band -Midnight celebrations including a spectacular fireworks show, confetti cannons, party favors and the Midwest's biggest ball drop!

Ever since Webster House opened, way back in 2002 when the Kauffman Center was barely a glimmer in someone’s mind, I’ve loved eating (and shopping, alas) there.   A recent evening with a large group of hospitality professionals was no exception.   The food is always exceptional: meticulously prepared, flavorful, and pretty – that night even a relatively simple dish like roasted pork loin medallions was executed with flair.   The asparagus was crisply tender, just as it should be, and the mashed sweet potatoes were plate-licking good.   Our house salad was fresh greens from Two Sisters Farm with an excellent champagne vinaigrette and of perfect size.   The petite tiramisus were the final delicious finishing touch.   The fact that my table was full of fun people (not that the others weren’t of course) made for a terrific evening. The restaurant is always doing something new and interesting, besides serving excellent meals consistently to diners and gro...

Is this the year you’re eating your way around the world?  Unless you’re the editor of a travel/food magazine, probably not.  Our suggestion? Take a quick virtual trip with us instead, with many of the cuisines and none of the travel pain.  So get ready for the non-traveler’s quick guide – just the basics of foods and flavors.  Mexican is one of the oldest ethnic cuisines in Kansas City with Southwest Boulevard at one time being about the only stop.  Not so anymore. Like all foreign meals, flavors vary depending on the region. It is impossible to condense the culture and history of Mexico (or any country) and its impact on food, so suffice it to say that the Indian basics of corn and cactus were inculcated with European (especially Spanish) reflections of additional fruits, vege-tables, meats, grains and spices of the Old World.  For instance, today you’ll find differentiation based on meat (beef) in the northern portions of Mexico; in the southeast, y...

begins and ends at Kansas City Marriott Downtown Downtown Kansas City   is where urban revelers will get their 2014 started on a high note. Kansas City’s largest hotel, the Marriott Kansas City Downtown, and the Kansas City Convention Center team up to create a New Year’s celebration to remember – right in the heart of KC’s electric downtown scene. The hotel offers a choice of package options: The  New Year’s Eve Grand Package  is an all-inclusive New Year’s Eve experience includes two tickets to the downtown event of the year, deluxe accommodations, Champagne at check-in, party hats and horns, breakfast for two in  MetropolitanKC , and late check-out. A highlight of the package is the gala at the Kansas City Convention Center Grand Ballroom. The evening includes an elegant dinner with themed food stations, including seafood, carving, sushi, salad, risotto and a miniature dessert extravaganza with an assortment of tartlets, dessert bars, holiday cookies and...

Enjoy Hereford House at home for the holidays! Choose from three packages for up to 15 guests Prime Rib Feast, Prime Rib and Dessert or Prime Rib only Just think what you can do with all your free time if you are not cooking!   Order Form Click Here    

Le Fou Frog 21 November 2013   Soupe Watercress with Truffle Cream  $4/$7   Salades Chevre, Watercress, Root Vegetables with a Hazelnut Vinaigrette  $12 Smoked Duck Salad with Pear, Parmesan, Spinach, and a Peppercorn Vinaigrette  $12   Hors d’Oeuvres Sauteed Chicken Liver and Juniper Berry Sausage with Apple, Mustard and Lentils  $12 Sauteed Wild Mushrooms, Asperagus, Madeira with a Thyme Crisp  $14 Braised Cabbage Roll with Pork Belly, Root Vegetables and Rosemary  $12   Poisson Golden Trout encrusted in Almonds and Garlic with Mushroom and Red Wine Sauce  $25   Viande Wild Boar Stew with Chestnut, Lingonberry, and Juniper Berry $25   Dessert Bananas Foster $8 816- 474-6060 or  Click here  

Collection and Julian with Celina Tio by Chris Becicka   For my first blog entry for Restaurant Guide of Kansas City, I thought I should write a profound introduction.  But nahhh . . . . instead, let me just mention a couple of things and we’ll fill in the gaps later.  This blog, Chris’ Corner , is going to cover eating out in Kansas City.  What a concept, right?  Yes, but I’ll also talk to chefs, talk about trends, special foods, special techniques, tidbits I learn.  It will always be short -- which, by the way, is really hard for me to do but I know about today’s attention spans.  It will appear, for now, at least every other week, so check back to this website. Here goes. I was interested in how a chef/owner runs more than one restaurant at a time.   So I talked to Celina Tio who has more energy than I have fat cells and who owns/chefs at Julian , her Brookside bistro and The Collection, on the edge of the Power and Light District. ...

Kick Off The Holiday Season at the 4th Annual Holiday Open House & Tree Lighting Thursday, November 21st  5pm - 8pm  14th Street (Between Walnut and Main Street) FREE EVENT   Join Kansas City Power & Light District as we kick off the holiday's. See Santa Claus and his reindeer, listen to holiday classics, grab happy hour at surrounding restaurants  and bars, enjoy hot cocoa, get starting on your holiday shopping and more! The first 200 people receive a souvenir travel coffee mug. Get started on your holiday shopping The KC Annex at the Garment District Boutique, Envolve Boutique, The Polished Edge Fine Jewelry, KC Garment Collective, Cosentino's Market Downtown and Zafar Salon, Spa & Boutique. Families welcome. Anyone under 21 years of age must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. The event takes place on 14th Street, between Walnut and Main Streets, across from Bristol Seafood Grill-Downtown KC.

Cafe Provence will hosts the release of the Beaujolais Nouveau  with music and Food Specials featuring the Beaujolais region. Thursday, November 21th    Beaujolais Nouveau, Prix Fixe $48 (regular menu will be available) The menu will be posted on the web site this week.      "Made in France" is a group of French local musicians, Alain (guitar), Franck (Guitar/vocal) and Eric (Lead vocal) living in the KC area and playing the French music you love. Come to Café Provence and add that "je ne sais quoi" to your evening.     #cafeprovence #Beaujolais #winedinner

Available before Veteran's Day · Bar Louie: FREE meal (up to $12) on November 10 or 11. · Red Lobster: FREE appetizer from list of 10 options from November 11 to 14. · McCormick & Schmick's: Veterans are offered a FREE meal, from a choice of 10 entrées, on November 10. · UNO: Free entree or individual pizza with an entree or pizza of equal or greater value on Sunday or Monday. Breakfast on Veteran's Day · Denny's: FREE all-you-can-eat pancakes from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. · Krispy Kreme: FREE doughnut and coffee for veterans. · Village Inn: FREE breakfast, with a choice of buttermilk pancakes, a Belgian waffle or French Toast. · Bob Evan's: Free hotcakes on Veteran's Day, Nov 11th · Perkins Restaurant & Bakery - Monday, November 11, 2013 - Enjoy a free Magnificent Seven meal on    Veterans Day. Includes 2 eggs served the way you like, 3 buttermilk pancakes, and your choice of 2    bacon strips or 2 sausage links. · Hy-Vee: Free breakfast from 7- ...

Pachamama's Owner/Chef Ken Baker is pleased to present this exquisite 5 course, wine-paired dinner featuring the environmentally friendly, sustainably-produced offerings from Soter Winery. Located in the Williamette Valley, Soter Winery takes advantage of the valley's long growing season and temperate climate in order to fully develop the flavors of the delicate Pinot Noir grape. Williamette Valley is described as a 'sweet spot' for growing Pinot Noir, and is home to other critically-acclaimed wine makers. Chef Ken has taken these wines, self-described by the winery as having "a distinctively exotic personality," and exhibiting notes of blackberry, black cherry and white pepper, and paired them with bold, rich flavors, complimenting not only the wines but also the Autumnal weather.  The reception begins at 6pm, with dinner to follow shortly thereafter. Reservations are required for this dinner. Please call 785.841.0990 to make your reservations...

Harvesters and local grocery stores call on community to help Check-Out Hunger Food and fund donations during Harvesters’ holiday campaign make a big difference for families in need.   (Kansas City, Mo.) – The 22 nd annual Check-Out Hunger campaign to support Harvesters—The Community Food Network is underway at 140 grocery stores throughout the region. The holiday campaign is the largest annual fundraiser for Harvesters, which feeds the hungry through its network of more than 620 nonprofit agencies. “Despite some improvements in the economy, more families than ever will struggle to have enough food this holiday season,” said Valerie Nicholson-Watson, president and CEO of Harvesters. “Hunger is a huge problem in our community, and we’ll only solve it by working together. Every dollar and every can donated during Check-Out Hunger helps provide meals for our hungry neighbors.” Across Harvesters’ 26-county service area, more than 378,000 people are food insecure. F...

Wicked Wine Walk in the Power & Light District Tomorrow Evening!

First Year Release of  Chambourcin Nouveau   The four wineries of the Somerset Wine Trail will release for the first time ever four different Nouveau  style wines the weekend of November 22, 2013.  This will be the first celebration of its kind in the Kansas City area and marks the reemergence of the Somerset winemaking region located just south of the Kansas City Metro in Miami County, Kansas. Somerset Ridge Vineyard & Winery, Nighthawk Vineyard & Winery, Middle Creek Winery, and White Wind Farms will all celebrate the 2013 harvest each releasing a Nouveau style wine made from the Chambourcin  grape. Each wine was made with clusters that were de-stemmed but not crushed, had a short fermentation on the skins and no barrel aging, resulting in fresh, fruity, ready to drink wine without extracting bitter tannins. Chambourcin is a French-American grape grown primarily in the American Midwest and the Loire Valley of France. It makes deeply colore...

OCTOBER TREATS! LAST CHANCE TONIGHT! 1/2 OFF SMALL PLATES along with HAPPY HOUR: 1/2 OFF WINES BY THE GLASS 1/2 OFF DRAUGHT BEER 1/2 OFF WELL DRINKS and $5 CAIPIRINHAS! ALL NIGHT TONIGHT! HALLOWEEN October 31st! 4:30 PM to CLOSE (only available at the bar or in lounge seating only) SMALL PLATES MENU St. Louis Style Spare Ribs $8 A half pound, slow braised and then grilled over our wood burning fire and covered in a Kansas City style BBQ sauce Spicy Chicken Thighs $6 2 thighs marinated 48hrs and then slow roasted over our wood burning rotisserie then tossed in our signature Passion Fruit-Habanero sauce Linguica and Mash $7 Brazilian pork sausage served with garlic mashed potatoes Rice and Beans $6 Classic black beans or Feijoada (Brazilian pork & black beans) over Brazilian Rice Stroganoff and Rice $6 Brazilian Stroganoff served over Brazilian rice Mussels $10 Steamed in white wine and garlic served over our Taboule BBQ Bee...

Brew and Fondue October 21st - 27th Eat, drink and be merry. Brew & Fondue has arrived, and you can enjoy four courses of fondue perfectly paired with four craft beers by Sam Adams. Enjoy our Boston Lager Cheddar Cheese Fondue, spinach and Mushroom Salad, Entree course consisting of Lobster Tail, Angus Beer Sirloin, Shrimp, Atlantic Salmon, and Andouile Sausage, and ending with our Dark Chocolate Fondue with Raspberry Puree. $39/person includes the four-course dinner and beer pairings   Best Fondue Friends Forever Monday, October 28th Join us for a special Ladies Night Out featuring $5 cocktails, friend quizzes, and games! Our favorite local artist, Stark, will be in attendance with handmade jewelry and knits perfect for fall. Enjoy cheese fondue, salad, and chocolate fondue for only $16/person. Add a petite entree for only $8. Reservations highly suggested.   Femme Fatale de Fondue Monday, November 4th You never know where a ...

Halloween Supper Club $50 per person (before tax & gratuity) Call 785.841.0990 to make your reservation   Join us this Halloween at 6:30pm for the dinner of this lifetime. Tucked away in the Star Bar's Blue Room dungeon, lit only by candlelight, and surrounded by the ghoulish terrors of the past, diners will gaze on the sustenance with shock and awe. Feast upon the creations from the Mad Chefs, surrounded by other costumed revelers, and celebrate the convergence of the living and the dead. Costumes are not required, but they are highly recommended. Please call the restaurant at 785.841.0990 to make your reservations.   Halloween Supper Club Menu The Lull Trick or Treat Bags of Sweet and Savory Bites The Feeding Caldron from the Black Lagoon  Moonless Night Noodles, Pumpkin Butter Brodo, Crackling Roots   The Fattening Dr. Frankenstein’s Beast Roasted Joints from the Beasts, Hewn, and exhibited with othe...

What to eat before a soccer game? In general they eat too few calories and take in too few carbohydrates. Their diet also lacks key vitamins and minerals. What is the ideal daily diet for a soccer player? Developing a solid nutritional strategy and selecting the right foods to eat can be challenging. Given the variety of today's food choices and methods of preparation, it’s easy to see how players can be confused over what to eat each day. However, a few guidelines can help guide them to a solid diet, one that will pay dividends on the field. Depending on the day’s activity, an intense match or light training, players need to replace anywhere between 20 and 27 calories per pound of body weight (45-60 calories per kilogram).  For a 160-pound (72.5 kg) college male, that equals 3,200-4,300 calories per day.  For a 110-pound youth female (50 kg), 2,200-2,900 calories per day are needed. However, simply eating enough calories is not enough. Players should understand that it...