Columnist Muriel Stevens: A progressive dinner at Hilton is memorable

Friday, Jan. 17, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

REMEMBER progressive dinners? They were all the rage in years past.

The premise is a simple one. Gather together friends who like to cook and entertain and have each participant cook their best dish and serve it in their home. After each course, the group moves on the next house. It helps, of course, if all the houses are reasonably close to each other. Whoever volunteers to do dessert ends up with all the guests.

Progressive dinners were still in vogue in the '70s. So much so that Diner's Club assigned the late food writer Leonard Lewis Levinson and me to write an article for their magazine about having a progressive dinner in a hotel.

Kirk Kerkorian's International Hotel had just become the Las Vegas Hilton. The hotel liked the idea of an article that showcased most of its restaurants.

It was a wonderful evening, beginning with appetizers in Leonardo's, soup in the Bavarian room, the main course in Benihana and dessert in the Mexican restaurant -- Kaluha crepes, an original dish created by the chef, Joachim Domenech. Each restaurant competed against the others, providing memorable food and service.

Now, many years later, memories of that sensational dining event were rekindled when I was invited to the Las Vegas Hilton for another progressive dinner.

Except for Benihana, none of the original restaurants remain. In their place is a variety of fine restaurants more in keeping with today's taste and lifestyle: Benihana Village, Garden of the Dragon, Andiamo, Barronshire, the Hilton Steakhouse and Bistro Le Montrachet.

Our adventure began in the appealing Garden of the Dragon. Maitre d' Wailen Fong had chosen our appetizers: minced chicken in crisp lettuce cups; crisp, yet tender potstickers; a dish of salt and pepper shrimp and tender pieces of zesty salt and pepper pork chop; and crunchy, plump fried won ton.

Each dish was so tasty, we were hard put to remember there was much more to come.

Next came Cromwell salad, in the comfort of the English-style Barronshire, a traditional prime-rib room. This satisfying house salad is Caesar-like and includes small shrimp. As I watched the massive silver carts being rolled to the tables, I knew I just had to taste the Yorkshire pudding. Our serving wench not only obliged with a taste of the pudding, she brought a small casserole of what she declared to be "the best mashed potatoes in Las Vegas." So, there we sat eating our salad, taking bites of the Yorkshire pudding and downing spoons of the creamy, comforting mashed potatoes.

Andiamo Italian restaurant was the choice for entrees. After a discussion with Andiamo Chef Ray San Sota, who was kind enough to leave his busy kitchen to describe some of the dishes. We ordered the grilled veal paillard with citrus sauce, charcoal grilled mahi mahi with herbs and the black and white linguine with shrimp. Naturally, we all tasted each other's food. Each dish was beautifully prepared and presented. Service under the watchful eye of maitre d' Paolo Salerno was ideal.

By now a semblance of reason had set in, and we had a serious discussion about dessert. We would, we decided, order only two of Le Montrachet's delectable creations and share them. Proud of our restraint, we made our way to the elegant Le Montrachet dining room.

Le Montrachet offers a separate carte of desserts created and designed by Stanton Ho, the Hilton's award winning chef. For two years in a row, Chocolatier magazine named him one of the "Top 10 Pastry Chefs in America," and he has won numerous other awards. His skills are awesome, and so are his desserts.

While we were pondering the menu, Ho sent word he was choosing our desserts. Could we be rude and not let him? Of course not, which is how we ended up with all the desserts on the menu, a total of six. We didn't know we were getting all of them -- four arrived first.

We shared the Bistro creme brulee, a rich French custard with the traditional burnt sugar crust accompanied with fruits, berries and tiny petits fours; The Sun, The Moon and The Stars, a glorious presentation of Hawaiian chocolate mousse on a round of praline and a round of apricot-yogurt sorbet on a pool of mango and raspberry sauce -- the artistry of this creation is outstanding; Opera, a rich coffee-flavored mousse layered with a dense chocolate mousse cappuccino ice cream and espresso sauce; and white peach Melba, a large vanilla cookie tulip shell filled with white espresso ice cream topped with aromatic white peach halves and raspberry sauce and a crown of exquisite spun sugar.

We had barely oohed and aahed our way through the desserts when the final two arrived, along with a visit from the wicked, wonderful pastry chef.

Somehow we managed to taste Crepes au Riz, a crepe "flower" filled with rice pudding, carmelized apples and cinnamon schnapps on a Tahitian vanilla and Mandarin orange sauce; and Gazpacho Tropic, a fruit melange accompanied mango, coconut and papaya sorbet and in the center a "palm tree" made from a rolled Florentine cookie. Ho's desserts have to be seen and tasted to understand the skill of the artist.

What a singular way to enjoy dinner.

Lawry's Las Vegas

Tuesday night at the invitational opening of Lawry's in the Howard Hughes Center, guests got to see firsthand why the restaurant chain, known for its prime rib, has had such success. The ribbon-cutting was to have been at 5:30. Dinner reservations were available to guests from 6 p.m.

Mid-afternoon, the Lawry management team learned from a last-minute inspection (which they were not aware they needed) that they could not open. Did they cancel the event? Did they panic? Maybe for a minute or two, then they sprung into action.

A call to the Rio for help was answered immediately by Food and Beverage Director Brian O'Shields, who made the Miranda room and kitchen available and offered to help wherever needed. Lawry chefs, including Michael Ty, the executive chef for Las Vegas, set up the kitchen and started cooking.

Arriving guests were given a tour of the restaurant and then whisked to the Rio via limousines.

With the aid of the Rio, Lawry General Manager Dick Powell, Marketing Manager Nancy Mercellus and the Frank family who own Lawry's turned a liability into an asset provided a story that will no doubt be told time and again.

Lawry's opened its handsome new eatery to the public today. It's a beefeater's dream. Reservations are suggested.

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