Denis Culinary Tours

SPOTLIGHT: When a Pizza Place is Not JUST a Pizza Place . . . Phil Bourne and Waldo Pizza I caught Phil Bourne, owner of Waldo Pizza, twice in the last week – once at his restaurant, the other time on the phone.  Waldo Pizza has long been a favorite of ours – and almost everyone else in the broadly surrounding neighborhood as near as I could tell.  I’ve never been to the Lee’s Summit restaurant (1543 NE Douglas Street) The pizza joint has been there since 1987; Phil bought it on April Fool’s Day in 1993.  Originally from St. Louis, he’d been in the record business for a while, but his brother owned a casual restaurant and he thought it might be fun.  He started working at Waldo Pizza two years earlier – from dishwasher to delivery person to waiter before the original owners said they were tired of it and Phil made them an offer. Since then, he has basically turned it into simply the kind of pizza place he would enjoy himself.  It’s St. Louis ...

JJ’s restaurant plans to reopen in late summer in the new Plaza Vista building, 18-months after the original restaurant was demolished in a fiery explosion that killed one worker and injured others. Jimmy Frantzes considered rebuilding on the original JJ’s site but it was too expensive. "It is ironic to start over in the Plaza Vista site", Jimmy said. The new restaurant is going to have a prominent location with a large outdoor patio overlooking Roanoke, and the complex offered abundant parking. As for the original JJ’s site, a corner yellow brick facade and front entryway tile are nearly all that remain. The Frantze brothers haven’t decided what they will do with the property. Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2014/04/23/4977102/jjs-restaurant-to-reopen-across.html#storylink=cpy Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2014/04/23/4977102/jjs-restaurant-to-reopen-across.html#storylink=cpy Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2014/04/23/4977102/jj...

Crepes with Raspberry-Balsamic Glaze and Mascarpone Ice Cream Serves 8 Total Time: 1 hour FOR CREPES 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups milk 1/2 cup water 6 tablespoons butter, melted (plus additional for cooking) 3 eggs 4 tablespoons granulated sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt FOR RASPBERRY BALSAMIC GLAZE: 2 cups fresh raspberries 8 Tblsp balsamic vinegar reduction* 4 tablespoons sugar FOR ICE CREAM Cafe Provence Mascarpone Ice Cream* *Available at French Market. 1. In a blender, process the flour, milk, water, butter, sugar, eggs and salt in a blender until the mixture is smooth. Add the milk 1/3 cup at a time, until the batter is a liquid consistency. Set batter aside for 20 minutes. (Resting the batter is very important.) 2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the raspberries, balsamic vinegar, and sugar to a simmer. Allow the mixture to simmer for about 5 minutes. Crush the cooked berries and strain the mixture, if desired, before serving....

Cheese Whiz Calm down.  It’s OK.  Not to worry.  You haven’t missed it YET.  I’m trying to quell the savage cheese loving beast I live with.  He’s salivating over National Cheese  Fondue Day and worried he somehow, in the cold months of winter, missed it. Again, calm.  Calm.  Focus.  For although National Cheese Lovers Day (January 20) is past, there is still . . . April 11 th !  If you’re already a member of the Melting Pot’s Club Fondue, you’ve received the magic email that gives you specials in the month of April at the restaurant which has the creamy, decadent meal down to a fine art.  Luckily, National Cheese Fondue Day has kinda morphed into a month at the Fondue Pot’s Plaza location so I went early to taste and test – primarily because this is a place that’s fallen off my radar over the years. What I discovered the other day, once downstairs, is a cozy yet big enough restaurant with spaces for families, ...

Join us for the 14th Street Wine Walk Saturday, April 26th, 2014 Stroll along 14th Street in the Power & Light District and enjoy various wines and tasting plates at each participating venue. GA tickets are $25 & VIP tickets are $40. Proceeds benefit the Young Leadership Committee of JDRF.   Must be 21+. General Admission tickets are $25 and VIP tickets are $40. Limited tickets available. Buy tickets at missiontix.com/KCWineWalk . #KCWineWalk

Talking with Ken Baker My last heart-to-heart was a few months ago with Celina Tio of Julian, Collection , and The Belfr y. The other day I got to spend a little quality time with Ken Baker, Proprietor and Chef at Pachamama’s in Lawrence.  I love talking with professionals like him who are articulate, interesting and fun, all at the same time.  First, if you’ve not been to this shiny restaurant for a while, hike on back.  It’s got a very cool vibe (how much does that term age me?) and an expanded (Star) Bar and outdoor dining area, should we ever be able to eat outside again.  Their happy hour with specials every night is worth the trip alone. But enough of that.  I wanted to know about the man wearing the apron. Turns out he started his own catering business in high school.  He was mostly inspired by a neighbor in the food industry from Africa who loved to cook – and gave Ken his first set of knives.  After graduating from KU (in politic...