After making a name for itself over the last five years, Bar Dough [2227 W. 32nd Ave.] now aims to make its way into your own kitchen. Executive Chef Russell Stippich watched closely as fellow restaurants pivoted during the shelter-in-place orders—each having to navigate ways to promote products for diners at home. Instead of offering the same takeout options as other eateries, chef Stippich got creative, coming up with rotating, take-home meal kits designed to alleviate boredom and spice up at-home cooking.
Each kit comes with all necessary ingredients—from oils and herbs to proteins and sides—but for chef Stippich, that wasn’t quite enough. So, in order to recreate the atmosphere of Bar Dough in customers’ homes, chef Stippich includes a specially curated playlist for diners to listen to while they cook. Eager to try the experience, we welcomed Bar Dough into our kitchen and picked up an Ensalata Pizza Kit.
While I chose one of the several tempting pizza kits for my in-home Bar Dough experience, there are a variety of options on its totally takeout-friendly menu. Diners can fully customize their own pasta dinners with selections of sauces and toppings, and there are rotating DIY meal kit specials (like papparadelle or bucatini) complete with pasta, sauce, and grated parmesan. Freshly baked breads and sweet treats are also available for those looking to add a little something extra.
For my first step of at-home pizza-making, I jam out to the old-school hip-hop playlist. Then, I get started on the main event. The recipe cards provided are simple to follow, and each ingredient comes conveniently premeasured; I take inventory of all the ingredients (garlic oil, Finocchiona salami, baby kale, red onion, and Grana Padano, check) and start my oven. Uncharacteristic of me, I got into kneading the pizza dough on-beat to a song by rapper Common (I might have had too much fun with the playlist and building my pizza, but I guess that’s the point). Plus, sipping on my take-out Aperol Spritz really topped the evening. But if Aperol isn’t really your thing, there’s an entire takeout drink menu featuring wistfully crafted cocktails, wines by the bottles, and draft and bottled beer. Sip and savor the night (or nights) away and fall in love with cooking again with Bar Dough’s delicious, weekly rotating meal kits and refreshing cocktails.
Photography by Joni Schrantz
