Denis Culinary Tours

Make that when I’m at North Italia Restaurant . (Which, as you probably know, is really south in Leawood at 119 th and Roe.)  This Italian bistro is always upbeat and bustling but the other evening, make that late afternoon, I went for their happy hour, which I haven’t done for a while.  Their happy hour ends at 6 p.m. so going at three when it starts or a bit later makes sense.  At least to confirmed happy hour devotees like me.  Drinks, at least wine and sangria, are cheap – five bucks for a glass and $16 for a bottle and beer is four dollars or the same $16 for a pitcher.  So I can start out pretty pleasantly.  My favorite things are on the HH menu, short as it is.  First, the zucca chips which are light, crispy, and salty.  You get a big bowlful for three tiny dollars and I think only about the healthy zucchini I’m eating, not the oil and salt. Their chef’s board is $10 instead of $16 and the assortment fluctuates.  Va...

If you’re not a visitor to Kansas City and staying there, your first thought for breakfast may not be the historic President Hotel’s Walnut Room . But whether you ARE a visitor to K.C. or a resident, your first thought should be, let’s eat here. This beautifully redone hotel opened in 1926, closed in 1980, and then reopened as a Hilton in 2005. The memorabilia in the hallway downstairs make it worth your trip all by itself in my opinion. The restoration of the Walnut Room to “high 40s glamour” makes it easy for that eggs benedict or the standard American breakfast or the omelette (that’s the French spelling you know) you’ve created for yourself to be enjoyed. That’s after the coffee has been delivered – my first priority in a breakfast place.  I tend to go to divish places for breakfast so this was a nice diversion. The problem with the aforementioned dives is that the coffee is always bad. In fancy places, the meal is always pretty expensive. I think I’ve found an a...