Denis Culinary Tours

I ventured to 135 th Street recently to Prairiefire and the two plus month old Grimaldi’s Coal Fired Pizza place.  I’d call it upscale pizza (as do the managers) – not just because of the price  which in pretty much in line with non-chain gourmet pizzas – but the environment. It’s brick, spacious, big bar, great large pictures of famous people who’ve eaten at the mothership Grimaldi’s, inventive chandeliers, cloth napkins and highly attentive service.  These were all good things, but not as important as the bottom line, pizza.    And the pizza is really, really good.  Two primary reasons for this (besides the hand-tossed dough).  One, that coal fired oven, which is huge and very, very hot.  The coal is the best quality anthracite and heats that brick oven up to 1200 degrees – leaving the front areas for the pizzas at around 530 degrees.  What this does is somehow create a crust that is thin, somehow crispy, yet still foldable – vita...

Whether you’re a great home chef or not, for many of us there comes the time when we say, “Enough!  I can’t (won’t) (don’t want to) do it this time (anymore) (ever again)!  The “it” refers to making the food for a large, or even small, gathering.  Whether it’s a full scale celebration for 60 or an intimate dinner for four, people today are reaching for different solutions – ones that used to only be called catering. There seems to be some confusion about the various options available, or who does what, when, and how.  As a consumer and potential “party planner,” in the broadest sense of the word, there are some things you need to know about catering. First, we are talking only about events not held in the hotel, restaurant, or site where the food originates.  It may be in your home, a space you have rented, a park, or someplace you’ve talked the owner into accommodating you and 89 of your closest friends. Second, the categories.  There are basicall...

Sweet, Perfect Desserts at Pierpont’s As much as I love desserts and writing about them (hence, this series), I have to tell you I seldom get to try three at once.  That is largely due to the malevolence called sharing. My portly companion and I feel too guilty usually to eat an entire dessert by ourselves.  Also generous friends usually know the sharing-with-me-rule but still, since they share usually, too, that reduces the choices. But the other day at beautiful Pierpont’s in Union Station, I tried three delicious desserts all by myself that you will love. First thing you need to know it that for some of us, it’s hard to bypass the “ Death by Chocolate Cocktails ,” since they definitely qualify as a dessert with a bonus.  I am going there some day with friends just to try the Double Dutch Chocolatini, the Moondance Martini (Jameson’s, Godiva Dark Chocolate, Bailey’s, and Guiness), and the King Alexander.  My friends will have to give me tasting privileges on...