Denis Culinary Tours

Summer sizzles at Morton’s Grille with dinner for two for $50 For the month of July, Morton’s Grille is offering a special dinner for two at the perfect price. Starting July 1, choose two appetizers, two entrees and a bottle of wine for only $50. The menu features a selection of Morton’s Grille signature favorites. Choice of appetizers: Tuna Poke Tot’chos Buffalo Chicken Meatballs Morton’s Salad Chopped House Salad Choice of entrees: 6oz. Center-Cut Filet Mignon 16oz. Double-Cut Pork Chop Bacon Fat Braised Ribs Horseradish Crusted Salmon “Cobalt” Chicken Sandwich Double Stacked “Ravenous Style” Burger Choice of wine: J. Lohr, “River Stone,” Chardonnay, Paso Robles Mirassou, Pinot Noir, California Colores del Sol, Malbec, Mendoza Morton’s Grille is located on the Country Club Plaza at 4646 J.C. Nichols Parkway, Kansas City, MO 64112. 816-531-7799 Hours of operation: Monday-Thursday: 3-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday: 3-11 p.m. S...

12 Baltimore -  KC's Longest Happy Hour The Hotel Phillips in the heart of downtown truly qualifies as a remarkable location. For one thing, it was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, fifty years after it opened. It has art deco down pat and a gilded elegance you seldom see here.  Just walking into the hotel takes you back to a time we see only in the movies.  Its restaurant and bar, 12 Baltimore, has a lovely, looonnnggg happy hour – from 3 – 7p.m. weekdays, which means, for many of us, dinner is available at a highly reduced rate – all the apps are half price. Beers are cheap, cheap I say and they have drink specials every night – the best are $3 margaritas on Mondays, 1/2 price signature cocktails on Tuesdays, or $4 wine (Coastal Vines) on Fridays. They also have a $6 blue Royals vodka lemonade drink on days the Royals play, though I haven’t had it yet. The place has a laid-back vibe and feels cozy – you can come by yourself and...

Bo Lings New Summer Drinks There are several new Drink Specials available at Bo Ling's Country Club Plaza location this summer. They currently offer a variety of wines by the glass at a great price Monday through Wednesday.  Also, They have added a new specialty cocktail, the Citrus Hurricane. A rum based, spiked lemonade style beverage, the Citrus Hurricane comes across smooth and powerful per its name! Lastly, They have added the lovely J. Rieger whiskey to their bar menu. This locally made, revived vintage recipe from the Rieger Hotel and Exchange is the first Kansas City whiskey and is wonderful for the novice, curious or experienced whiskey drinker. Pair one of these new beverages with our Daily Special Sushi Roll or your favorite entrée! Bo Lings 4701 Jefferson Kansas City, MO 64112 Ph. 816-753-1718            

The American Restaurant - Nick Wesemann Although my mantra, or at least my desire, has always been eat dessert first, pastry chef Nick Wesemann at the American Restaurant has always known that the last thing that touches a diner’s lips could well be what s/he most readily remembers.  Dessert is the crowning touch, often creating a truly lasting impression.  A semi-finalist for Best Pastry Chef (one of only 20 throughout the country) by the James Beard Awards this year, Wesemann has pointed out that such acknowledgment surprises and pleases him, especially because it adds recognition of the cuisine talent in the Midwest and his restaurant.  I’ve always wondered who actually selects these chefs, and it’s quite a process – this year, there were around 40,000 initial entries,  done in early fall.  The semifinalists, announced in February and finalists, announced in March, are voted on by over 600 people, mostly (I think) restaurant critics, magaz...

Behind the kitchen, beneath the dining room, before the present You sit down, perhaps at a white-garbed table, perhaps not.  Maybe the walls are old bricks, maybe they’re sheathed in drywall.   You enjoy the ambiance, whatever it is, and perhaps even remark on some of the accoutrements – the flowers on the table, say, an unusual picture, perhaps even the bar and its lighting. Sitting there, you’re probably unlikely to ponder the history of your location.  But, as you await your drink, take a moment to think about where you are eating.  You may be surprised to learn some of the history behind a few of our eateries.    Dining at Union Station Let’s start with one you may know about, Pierpont’s in Union Station.  You probably have admired their bar and the elegant dining room, but what you may not know  is that the restaurant’s three story structure originally housed the women’s smoking room (gasp!) and the women and children...

Dip Into Summer Menu Try the BBQ Brisket Cheddar Cheese Fondue, Wisconsin Wedge Salad, Summer Seafood Catch Entrée and our Chocolate Fondue Banana Split complemented perfectly by our Summertime Sipper cocktail and Shandy Flight. DIP INTO SUMMER MENU Cheese Fondue BBQ Brisket Cheddar Cheese Fondue: Where pitmasters meet fondue. Smoked barbecue brisket shredded into medium-sharp cheddar and Emmenthaler Swiss cheeses, then topped with fresh tomatoes and scallions Salad Wisconsin Wedge Salad, A crisp iceberg wedge with sliced Roma tomatoes, Gorgonzola cheese, hardwood smoked acon and peppercorn ranch dressing. Entree Summer Seafood Catch entrée with an Old Bay® boil fondue cooking style, Pacific white shrimp, scallops, lobster & shrimp ravioli, andouille sausage and succulent crab claws served with corn on the cob, red bliss potatoes and a mustard crème fraiche dipping sauce Add a lobster tail $10.95 Add more crab claws $10.95 Chocolate Fondue Banana Split Milk Cho...

Let me get this out of the way:  I have never been a huge sushi fan.  Until recently that is, when I was treated to a huge plate of possibilities by Richard Ng, co-owner and chef at Bo Lings.  It’s mostly a texture thing to me but much to my surprise, I really loved it . . . and here I am writing about it. I always have thought of sushi as a Japanese food, but a quick sojourn into sushi history tells me it started in China as early as the fourth century.  It was introduced to Japan in the ninth century and spread as the number of Buddhists increased, since they don’t eat meat. The pickling process of fermented rice as a fish preservative is akin to pickling and why the sushi kitchen is called a tsuke-ba or “pickling place.”  Sushi really didn’t make it into the United States until the late 60s and in 1970, the first sushi bar opened in Little Tokyo in Hollywood – natch.  Now, sushi has taken off and there are many beautiful and tasty creations a...