Denis Culinary Tours

Bluestem tasting menu items Restaurant Week in January got me thinking about the variety of menu options available year round.  There is much more to eating out than “à la carte” – literally, “according to the menu,” with pricing for each item – available in Kansas City. Both tasting and prix-fixe menus can be found in cosmopolitan KC.  They are different; for starters, most people here can pronounce “tasting.”   Not so for prix fixe – which is enunciated as pre (pause) fix.  And all it means is a fixed price for typically three courses.  It’s normally a few to several dollars cheaper than ordering à la carte. Prix fixe has been a staple in Europe for years, especially France, where they don’t need pronunciation lessons and are pretty horrified to discover it sometimes is even written here as pre-fix.  (Not anywhere really good, however.) It has advantages:  for the restaurant, the choices are more limited so there’s less cooking, less chance ...

The Kansas City Mardi Gras Festival Saturday, March 1st   |    8pm-11pm Join the biggest Mardi Gras party in Kansas City at the KC Live! Block as we bring Bourbon Street to Kansas City! The party features street performers, fire jugglers, stilt walkers, crawfish eating contests, a Cajun  food fair, fortune teller and more! This is a free event! Must be 21+ to attend Upgrade your Mardi Gras party to include a 3 hour, all-inclusive bar package at 15 bars in the KC Live! Block. 2 General Admission tickets for $25   ($15 dollar discount) 2 VIP tickets for $40   ($30 discount) Click Here to get your tickets!

Sautéed Shrimp in Horseradish Mustard Sauce Serves 4 Total Time: 20 minutes 12 large shrimp, deveined and shells removed 5 zucchini, sliced 4 tablespoons of Café Provence Horseradish mustard 3/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese or Comte Cheese 1/2 cup whipping cream Olive oil or vegetable oil for frying   1. In a saucepan, bring the whipping cream to a boil. When it reaches a boil, add the horseradish mustard, stir together to create the sauce, and set aside. 2. In a sauté pan over medium-low heat, sauté the zucchini in a bit of olive oil. When it is lightly browned, remove from the pan and evenly distribute it in four oven-proof shallow bowls and set aside. 3. In the same pan, sauté the shrimp in olive oil 3 to 5 minutes or until they turn pink (careful not to overcook). Salt and pepper to taste, then set aside. 4. Top the zucchini with the grated cheese, drizzle each serving with sauce and broil until the cheese is melted. Remove from t...

I I’m nearly a Kansas City lifer – born in Manhattan (yes, the Kansas one), all my youth in Roeland Park, brief stints in Lawrence, Seattle, and Chicago, and then back “home.”   I tell you this because eating or drinking in Kansas City hotels is not a customary event for me, other than for charity events.   But last weekend, friends, husband and I went to the downtown Marriott for no reason but to check out their bar, BarCentral, and restaurant, MetropolitanKC.   For a Kansas City lifer, it was a pretty great night, all in all. First of all, their bar does not look like a hotel bar but a kinda comfy, stylish, relaxing place to meet, greet, drink, and also eat.   There are gathering spots (sofas and chairs surrounding low tables) as well as a long flashy red-backed bar, sleek and inviting.   Despite a conversation with Polly, a most engaging young woman who was sure we’d rather stay with her than walk all the way to the restaurant (a good 50 feet mayb...