A well-known Wichita diner about to launch a unique after-hours pizza business
.jpg "Timirie Shibley shows off Doo-Dah Diner’s new meatloaf pizza, available to go in the evening hours.")
The popular Doo-Dah Diner at 206 E. Kellogg has a big new kitchen that sits unused after 2 p.m., when the restaurant closes for the day.
Meanwhile, owner Patrick Shibley is known for his creative streak and for his background in restaurant food and menu development that started long before he had his own business.
Now, Patrick and his wife, Timirie, have come up with a new idea that will keep their kitchen running throughout the day and give the chef a chance to flex his culinary creativity.
Soon, the diner will launch a service called Doo-Dah’s Pizza After Dark. They’re not sure exactly when they’ll start it — it might be a week or two — but it will allow customers to order hot and ready-to-eat 12-inch homemade pizzas made using the same ingredients the diner uses in its other menu items, things like grits and pork belly and green chili and meatloaf.
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Customers won’t be able to order the pizzas for dine-in, but the Shibley’s will utilize the drive-through window on the west side of their building — which they broke in during their to-go Fat Tuesday feast. People who want the pizzas will be able to order them online or by phone and then pick them up at the window between 4 and 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays.
While picking up their pizzas, customers also will be able to get items from the diner’s take-and-bake refrigerator, like chicken and noodles and mac and cheese. And the pizzas will be available for delivery through third-party delivery services.
On Wednesday, the Shibleys invited a few people to help them test out the pizzas at the diner, and we were treated to some pretty over-the-top creations that were reminiscent of some of the diner’s favorite menu items.
There’s a smothered breakfast burrito pizza, for example, that featured chorizo, green chili, jalapeno bacon, cheddar cheese and jalapenos. There was a pork belly and grits pizza that started with a layer of grits, was topped with sweet pieces of marinated pork belly and was served with a side of syrup for dipping — and it somehow really worked. So did a meatloaf pizza, topped with bits of the diner’s popular meatloaf and a rich, tomato-y sauce.
People seemed to most love the French Dip pizza, which was topped with demi glace, shaved prime rib and caramelized onions and came with a side of au jus for dipping. I was a fan of the double decker, which was an invention that stacked two combo pizzas on top of each other.
There’s also a cauliflower crust margarita pizza for the gluten-free crowd, and the Shibleys will use the cauliflower crust to make the other pizzas on the menu upon request. But the regular crust was a delight — with airy, outside “bones” and a thin base that was still substantial enough to support everything the chef wanted to pile on top of it.
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The Shibleys, who a while back bought a pizza oven at an auction, have hired a longtime customer with a background in restaurant kitchens — Brian Meredith — to manage the pizza side of the business. He was in the kitchen with Patrick on Wednesday helping get the pies out to the taste testers.
The Shibleys are still trying to decide what to price the pizzas, and they want to make sure the recipes are just right before they start their new venture. I’ll let you know when they’re ready to go.
And by the way, don’t go suggesting to them that they turn their gluten-free banana bread and their famous monkey bread into dessert pizzas because we beat you to it.
This story was originally published February 25, 2021 at 10:47 AM.
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