Denis Culinary Tours

SUSHI ROLLING CLASSES Want a Private Sushi Rolling Class? 1.  Require 5 guests minimum and up to 12 in a class. 2.  $25 per person - includes one of our top Chefs from Japan, either Fumi or Koji, the class, the ingredients for the roll, you keep and eat the roll and a souvenir.   3.  You can purpose drinks, food during the class, etc.  We will provide you a table for the class and one for dining.  4.  We only do these classes on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. any time To have this Chef come to a private home - we charge $500 minimum; for 2 hours.  The $25 per person still applies along with anything else a la carte you might want.  The class details would be the same; He would bring the "class" with him basically.      Nara Japanese Restaurant 1617 Main Street  Kansas City, MO 64108  Ph. 816-221-6272  Website

It’s All About the Pit While the term Pit Master is one everyone in the barbecue biz may be familiar with, the rest of us probably have heard but really don’t understand it.  “Think of it as being the executive chef in a high-end restaurant,” smiled Tim Keegan, Executive Pit Master extraordinaire at Fiorella’s Jack Stack Barbecue .  “Most Pit Masters have at least five years’ experience in an open pit, that’s a wood fire.  They control everything – the meat choices, the cuts, the fire and meat temperatures, the rubs, the sauces, everything.” Jack Stack, with five restaurants, has five Pit Masters and the “youngest” has about nine years’ experience.  They get up VERY early and are usually at work by four or five in the morning, put in a 12 hour day typically and then go home to dream about barbecue.  They each have two assistants who are “in training” for the Pit Master job. Jack Stack began life as the Smokestack in 1955 and Tim was ...

One Great Chef:  Erik Camacho The title of this blog should be “Defying Expectations.”  I went for lunch with my publisher the other day and we went to Pinstripes in Prairiefire.  I am not going to talk that much about our lunch, though we got four different items including a very unusual version of carrot cake sitting in a pool of caramel that was tantalizing and acorn squash with burrata that was a true unique treat, but we also met their executive chef.  There are eight Pinstripes, mostly in the Midwest, and their head chefs’ titles are Bistro Chef.  Whatever.  They’ve clearly found a gem in Erik. Chef Erik’s background is a little bit unusual.  He was in the army for 11 years, working on tanks.  When he came home to California, he really didn’t know what he wanted to do.  But he’d been cooking for his large family for years and thought, “Well, I love to cook, why not culinary school?”  So that’s what he did.  He w...

I’ve heard of a bialy but never had one – until today. My impression was that it was some kind of bagel-y thing (it’s not, really), but beyond that, I knew nothing.  I am apparently not alone in my ignorance.  Bialys are not exactly prolific in the Midwest.  New York, Miami, Chicago, areas with a large Jewish or Polish population, more so.  Just like people from the east coast bemoan our big, fat, sometimes tasteless bagels, most have learned to live with the absence of a bialy. Until now. There’s a newish place on 39 th street where you can get both a great bagel and a bialy.  It’s called Meshuggah Bagels and they live up to their tag line: “Bringing New York to Kansas City, one bagel at a time.”  What that means is a bagel with a chewy crust but not one that tears your teeth out.  It should include a just slightly firm interior – but not doughy or too soft but still forgiving. These are kosher bagels and there are several kinds – ...

Brunch hating has already trended, peaked, and doubled back in the so-called eating capitals of the United States. But in Kansas City, by golly, we like brunch – and there are many good reasons for our love bites (and handles).  It sometimes seems to overwhelm breakfast, but both are significant dining choices here. Raggmunk from Krokstrom Klubb and Market But while breakfast may be more about sustenance and business meetings, brunch is about eating and drinking. It’s also about spending time catching up with your friends and family, relaxing, and yes, maybe lazing through an entire day based on just one meal.  Whether you call it brunch or blunch like The Westside Local does, what’s not to like? We clearly don’t have to talk about its popularity, but let’s do talk about how this “institution” came to be. Why the Word “Brunch?” All the food historians say its chronicle is a bit hazy after they deconstruct the word (breakfast + lunch, as you no doubt know) as a ...

I don’t live too far from André’s Confiserie Suisse which is on Main and 50th Street just off the Plaza. Both bad and good news for me. This family-run establishment, here since 1955, has another location on 119th Street in Overland Park which they’ve called Andre’s Rivaz, which opened in 2002. While confiserie means a shop selling sweets and confections, André’s has expanded that meaning, believe me. They are especially famous for their truffles and tortes, but there’s so much else, including bars, cookies, chocolate almonds and orange peels, and much, much more. My almost very favorite is the Matterhorn with its creamy inside and dark chocolate coating. One is about two desserts, even if you’re a chocoholic. But, too, the macaroons are a small taste of heaven.  Andre’s expanded a while back and their lunch menu is eclectic and varied – it’s not just quiche for ladies anymore. . . though quiche is usually a choice every day and they do make the best quiche in K....

A sunny Saturday afternoon and being only slightly hung-over from what turned into a late night before (PotPie, always good!), I wanted a burger.  It's not that often that I say that. Off we went to Westside Local for their covered patio.  This is not elegance, picnic tables and benches largely dominate, but our wrought iron table on the side was shaded and protected . . . by a large dog of indiscriminate breed.  We didn't know he was protecting us, and everyone else, when a bulldog shouldered by, thereby causing a thunderstorm of barking punctuated by very loud, mostly useless cries of their respective owners to quiet, stop, no, etc.  Whaddya expect, really? Other than that disruption, the food was good, very good.  One of the best grilled cheese sandwiches in town, hands down. Bill had already started in before I could get my camera out, as you seen in the pic.   My burger came the way I ordered it; fries are great.  Service was OK, b...