Denis Culinary Tours

Fast Breaking Deliciousness In the last couple weeks, I’ve broke my fasting relatively early to try two different places on the Plaza for a real breakfast.   Not just coffee but a true breakfast with eggs and bacon and carbs and all my favorites which I never do at home.   There are really only two choices right in the heart of the Plaza for that and of course, that’s the iconic Classic Cup Café and then the new – to the area – Rye Restaurant , which maybe isn’t necessarily thought of as a breakfast place. The Classic Cup is frequently touted for its long-term status, its people watching, its patios, its wine events, and its famous buttermilk pancakes.   Though I have long wanted to try their bread pudding and just call it a day, I typically opt for one of three benedicts or one of five omelets – though three eggs do make for a hefty breakfast.   Their French omelet is especially tasty – smoked bacon, spinach, apple and brie. I’m going to either get t...

You Sweet Thing, You It’s appropriate that I’m writing this on International Women’s Day (even though I decry the need for this “holiday” which has been around since the 1900’s) because I’m writing about Rye ’s desserts, all crafted by Chef Megan Garrelts. You probably know she is again a James Beard Semifinalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef. Her previous nomination was for the pastry (a very broad category really covering everything from bread to doughnuts to cakes and elegant concoctions) at Bluestem, the other restaurant she co-owns with her husband. Her pastry expertise and creativity is the foundation of all the desserts at all three restaurants – to say she’s busy is an understatement. But on to the goodies . . . The Rye dessert menu has a little something for everyone. There is the famous lemon meringue pie of course, sprightly tart and sweet and in my opinion, even as a confirmed chocoholic, the perfect ending to any meal. Her MOKAN pie is another favorite – her...

The American Awarded James Beard 2018 Design Icon Award The James Beard Foundation announced today that The American Restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri, known equally for its architectural and culinary artistry, has been awarded this year’s Design Icon Award. 2018 Design Icon honoree The American Restaurant opened on Valentine’s Day 1974 atop Crown Center in Kansas City. Designed by Warren Platner, it became the conceptual parent of all the over-the-top top-of-the-building restaurants that followed, including some by Platner himself. Platner described it as, “Bridging the contrast in scale between great volume of space and the minute detail of food and tableware, between public gathering and personal intimacy, the design entertains the diner and gives distinction to the server in this emporium of elaborate meals.” One travels to The American by elevator, arriving at the top of the three story-high restaurant in a carefully designed but modest entry space. As the visitor de...

The (Not-So-Secret) Secrets of 11 Great Chefs “I’ve Got a Secret” was an old TV series, even before my time almost (1952-67) but then it was revived a couple of times in various formats which I never saw.  The schtick was that a panel tried to guess a contestant’s “secret.” The definition of secret was pretty broad but it was supposed to be amazing, unusual, humorous, or embarrassing.  The contestant could be a famous person or someone more like you or me.  I remember there was a lot of back and forth banter and that my parents liked the show a whole more than I did. Maybe that’s because the secrets never seemed all that fascinating to me, or that’s how I remember it anyway.  A secret should be really that – deep, mysterious, intriguing.  The whole problem with that concept today is that there seem to be few secrets – everybody knows everything about everybody.  Thank you, internet. Well, that’s not really totally true.  What if, I thought, w...

Esteemed publisher Kathy Denis and I had lunch last week at Webster House , one of my favorite haunts.   Not that that old school is haunted in any sense of the word.   They’ve freshened up their menu again which Chef Brandon Winn does seasonally at least, so we felt compelled to eat heartily.   The mushroom soup managed to be light but hearty with the mushroom flavor unmistakable – and the slices and chunks of mushrooms helped that of course.   Determined to be healthy, I ordered the house salad then said we’d split.   Kathy got the pan-seared scallops with butternut squash puree and an apple cider reduction and they were perfect.   Since I’d been so healthy so far, I then proceeded to wolf down most of the short rib tartine whose eponymous rib just dissolved in my mouth along with the caramelized onion and smoked pepper jam.   We shared both dishes (somewhat) and finally, sated, sat back and sighed happily. And then our cute and very obl...

Throughout the month of March, Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar will celebrate the mighty mollusk with weekly chef specials, contests, giveaways, all-you-can-eat oyster night, pints of Emersum Oyster Stout, ad a National Oyster on the Half Shell Day party, and the 4 th annual Jax Oyster Eating Contest. A portion of sales throughout the month, and all revenue generated from the Oyster Eating Contest, will be donated to the Midwest Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society KC , a local organization that works to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Each week throughout the month, Chef de Cuisine Jeff Dietzler will serve a signature oyster special inspired by oyster-loving cultures from across the globe, as well as an expanded mignonette and raw oyster menu. Among these is the Emersum oyster , cultivated exclusively for Jax Fish House by Virginia's  Rappahannock River Oys...

Kansas City, to my mind, has never been a particularly great place for hotel dining and drinking. (Oh, sure, there was the Peppercorn Duck Club and Skies, I still miss them both.) You are welcome to disagree but among my friends and me, we never think about getting happy in a hotel in this town. Traveling, sure. But now I’m starting to think we should put hotels on our list. Case in point: The Drum Room adjoining Providence New American Kitchen in the Hilton downtown. Their happy hour runs from 4 – 6:30 p.m. – I like that extra half hour. Also there’s parking across the street which is less expensive than most of the lots around and who knows, you might get lucky with street parking. You’re downtown, folks. But during that time, you can actually have dinner if you have that burger craving all good Midwesterners fall prey to – it’s just six bucks as are their duck fat fries (I ALWAYS ask for extra crispy no matter where I go) that come with a beer and cheese fondue. ...