Denis Culinary Tours

Hereford House’s quite excellent lunch menu! As a long-time resident of K.C. and its burbs, I thought I knew everything about Hereford House I needed to know.  Hand-cut steaks, four locations (east, west, north, and south) plus Pierpont’s in Union Station, great burgers (hand ground from their steak meat every day), good happy hours, and this year, sixty years old.  What I didn’t know about especially was their great lunch specials every day of week, like a 12 oz. ribeye for just $25 on Mondays or what turns out to be a pretty famous meatloaf on Thursdays.  On a recent lunch date with publisher Kathy Denis last week, we were treated to their newest steak – the Hereford special strip steak.  What makes this different is the fact that it’s “marinated” overnight – dried porcini mushrooms, salt, black and crushed red pepper, and a couple of other ingredients.  The result is the juiciest and most flavorful strip I’ve ever had – and I’m a ribeye girl....

What's In Season  Fall is a fantastic growing season throughout our region in terms of variety of produce. This time of year, fresh local fruits and vegetables are filling the Farmers Market. Here's what's local and in season right now: Veggies: Acorn Squash, Asian Spinach, Basil, Beans Beets, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Butternut Squash, Cabbage, Cabbage Sprouts, Carrots, Chestnuts, Chili Hot Peppers, Cilantro, Corn, Cucumbers, Cucuzza Squash, Daikon Radish, Eggplant, Field Tomatoes, Fresh Herbs, Garlic, Gourds, Green Beans, Green Peppers, Habanero Peppers, Jalapeno Peppers, Kale, Kohlrabi, Lemon Grass, Long Beans, Mushrooms, Okra, Onions, Peppers, Potatoes, Pumpkins, Radishes, Rainbow Chard, Red Potatoes, Spaghetti Squash, Squash Blossoms, Sweet Banana Peppers, Sweet Corn, Swiss Chard, Tomatillos, Tomatoes (green house), Turnips, Velvet Beans, Yellow Squash, Zucchini Fruits:  Apples, Asian Pears, Gra...

ENJOY HISTORY FROM HOME  To celebrate our 60th Anniversary, we're offering an exclusive, limited-time carryout package that includes two of our top-selling and oldest menu items - Beef Brisket and Pork Spare Ribs. Our Family Classics Feast package includes: Salad for 6 2 lbs. Brisket 1 Slab Pork Spare Ribs 2 quarts of Classic Sides (choice of Hickory Pit Beans, Cheesy Corn Bake, Creamy Coleslaw, or Old Fashioned Potato Salad) Just $89.99. Serves 6 people. Available from 10/15 to 11/30. No substitutions.  Call to place your order now:  Martin City 816-942-9141   Overland Park 913-385-7427  Freight House 816-472-7427  Country Club Plaza 816-531-7427  Lee’s Summit 816-621-7427  

More Than Happy Hour The other day I was in McCormick and Schmick’s having a happy hour lemon drop ($7.00) and contemplating what a great happy hour they have – voted #1 nationally in fact by USA Today .  Their scrumptious fish tacos and a full-size burger (each just $5) or their seared ahi tuna or coconut shrimp ($9) are definitely just a few of the reasons I like it there.  Oh, there’s also the fact you can get a martini or Manhattan for $4.50. But I also had dinner there very recently and it, too, was very fine.  Our party of five was in one of the more secluded booths and we could hear each other speak while using our indoor voices, more and more a rarity these days.  The food was . . . exceptional, every dish. I had the almond crusted Idaho trout, perfectly pan seared with a butternut squash orzo – which I hadn’t planned on finishing since I knew we were having dessert – but I ate it down to perfect plate shininess.  One person had a huge lob...