Culinary students sweep Cocktails & Cookies

Feb. 25, 201310:16 a.m.

Tiffani Price, the coordinator of the Butler Community College Center for Hospitality and Culinary Arts, and Gregory Cole, an instructor

I was a judge at Friday night’s Cocktails & Cookies event, a fundraiser for the Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland that asked local chefs to turn Girl Scout cookies into something even more fabulous.

They did. It was hard to choose a winner from all the peanut buttery, coconut-y, chocolate-y, mint-y goodness on the tables at the Wichita Scottish Rite Center. Places such as Cero’s, Cocoa Dolce, Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Doo Dah Diner made items ranging from cake pops to French macaroons to ice cream sandwiches. My co-judges Tanya Tandoc, Guy Bower and I were sugared to the point of delirium by the time we were finished sampling everything.

The amazing peanut buttery winner

The big winner of the evening was the brand new Butler Community College Center for Hospitality and Culinary Arts. Students and staff from the program, which launched this fall, won not only the judges’ choice category but also the peoples’ choice.

They made a perfect layered dessert that utilized three Girl Scout cookie varieties: Thanks-A-Lots, Caramel deLites and Peanut Butter Patties.

Congrats to the winners. Also, a little bit of trivia: Gregory Cole, the enthusiastic instructor who accompanied the students to the competition, is the founder of Little Bits cookie company.

By Denise Neil | Tags: , , , , , Filed under Fundraisers | Comments

You know it’s nasty when restaurants close

Feb. 21, 20138:28 a.m.

No Tanya’s soup for you today

WHERE ARE WE SUPPOSED TO EAT?????

Oh yeah, we’re not supposed to drive.

It’s rare when a restaurant closes on a scheduled day to be open, but the fact that several around Wichita are closing or opening late today is a testament to how much white stuff we have on the ground.

Tanya’s Soup Kitchen — one of the city’s top purveyors of cold-weather food — announced yesterday via Facebook  that it would shut down for the day. Doo Dah Diner at 206 E. Kellogg announced the same thing this morning. I also saw that Chick-fil-A west has decided to delay opening until 10:30 a.m., which means no chicken biscuits for you.  Chick-fil-A west later decided to close for the whole day.

Also, Chef Jason Febres at Taste & See at 3825 E Harry St. just announced on Facebook that he’ll be closed for lunch today but hopes to reopen for dinner.

The Anchor also decided to close for the day.

The moral of the story: If you’re out today, check with your favorite restaurant before sliding over.

UPDATE:

Newport Grill at 1900 N. Rock Road reports that the parking lots at Bradley Fair are cleared and that it will open for dinner at 5 p.m. tonight. And Linda Davis from Wichita’s two Jimmie’s Diners wrote to tell me that they’re open as usual.

Redrock Canyon at 1844 N. Rock Road also will be closed on Thursday, managers report.

By Denise Neil | Tags: , Filed under Uncategorized | Comments

Doo-Dah Diner changes hours

Dec. 18, 201210:47 a.m.

Doo-Dah Diner owner and chef Patrick Shibley, clowning in the kitchen

The Doo-Dah Diner at 206 E. Kellogg  may possibly have been misnamed, says owner Timirie Shibley.

The restaurant, which has developed a steady word-of-mouth following since it opened three months ago, isn’t really all that diner-ish, customers have noted. The dishes, which include biscuits and gravy, meatloaf and chicken fried steak, all are fresh-made from scratch by Shibley’s husband, longtime restaurant fixture Patrick Shibley. The food might be a bit more cafe than diner, she says with a laugh, but c’est la vie.

Now, the restaurant is changing its hours because of a demand from customers. Previously, the restaurant’s only day off was Saturdays, but weekend breakfast seekers have been disappointed by that and asked the Shibleys to add Saturday service.

Starting this week, Doo-Dah diner’s new hours are 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. It’ll now be closed on Mondays.

The Shibleys just introduced a new breakfast special that’s a monster of a meal and includes half-servings of three of its most popular dishes — the crispy corn beef hash, the “Timmy’s Benny,” and the banana bread French toast. It’s “a meal and a half” at $12.99, Timirie said.

For more information, call 316-265-7011.

By Denise Neil | Tags: Filed under Diners, New hours | Comments

Doo-Dah Diner coming in September

Aug. 16, 201210:37 a.m.

Patrick Shibley will be the chef and owner at Doo-Dah Diner.

Doo-Dah Diner is a breakfast, lunch and coffee place scheduled to open next month in the spot at 206 E. Kellogg recently vacated by Jade Garden Cafe, which was open for about a month and a half before the owner had to close it because of a family health issue. Other recent tenants have included Cathy’s Diner, Lili Mae’s and R&S BBQ.

The owners are Patrick and Timirie Shibley. Patrick has had a hand in many restaurants around town — he was manager at Ya Ya’s for a while and was one of the people who helped open Gaslamp Grille.

In addition to breakfast and lunch, the restaurant will offer coffee drinks and milkshakes. Patrick will be the chef, and Timirie will run the restaurant.

“We’re going to do some really cool, whimsical stuff,” Patrick said. “It’ll be a fun little energy place.” Hours will be 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. Patrick promises to share menu details soon

By Denise Neil | Tags: , , , Filed under About-to-open, Breakfast, Coffee | Comments