Columnist Muriel Stevens: Beauty and variety on the menu at La Terrazza

Friday, Feb. 20, 1998 | 10:54 a.m.

Now that the new Palace Tower at Caesars Palace is complete, access to the new restaurants is as easy as coming through the Strip entrance. Some adjustments have been made in the front that add more lanes for valet parking. More valet parkers have been added. The additional lanes make it much easier to get in and out of the driveway.

To get to the restaurants, new or old, just walk straight through the casino. The Palace Court and Bacchanal come first. Just beyond, at the entrance to the Palace Tower, is the new Italian restaurant, La Terrazza.

The spacious, rustic design is most inviting. There's a lounge for people watching and for enjoying drinks, pizzas and a variety of focaccia breads.

The focaccia and pizza are also available in the restaurant at lunch and dinner.

La Terrazza is a beautiful restaurant, with many special features. Elegant appointments, furniture, art work and accessories fill the rooms and the walls. This is rustic design far removed from checkered tablecloths and candles in Chianti bottles, yet it is warm and comfortable, with little pretension.

There were four of us at dinner so we were able to try a number of dishes. At my friend's suggestion -- they had dined at La Terrazza before -- we ordered the focaccia with robiola cheese and truffle oil ($12.50), and the pizza with wild mushrooms ($11.50). Wood-fired ovens are tricky to master. Too many times I've had wood-baked pizzas that were charred on the bottom and pale on top. Our pizza and focaccia were baked perfectly. The thin, crisp focaccia oozed mellow robiola cheese from each little indentation.

Insalata nostrana ($8.50) -- haricot beans over greens with generous shavings of Parmigiana, and a thick, rich, mixed lentil soup ($4.50) with small chunks of vegetables, olive oil and thyme were satisfying second courses. The lentil soup is wonderful and so generously portioned it could be a light meal.

The filet of red snapper ($23), my choice of entree, included baby shrimp, sea scallops, and a light sauce. It was light and delicate and delicious. A bread veal chop ($38), seared filet of beef ($29.50) and rack of lamb Roman style ($34) as well as daily specials are offered. Pastas ($12-$15.50) and a risotto with lobster sauce ($19.50) are other options.

A separate dessert menu features such temptations as a warm mascarpone tortine with coffee ice cream and fresh berries, tiramisu, and my favorite -- a divine blood orange flan with pear and assorted berries. I'm wild about blood oranges and have been since I was a child. The red-streaked flesh yields a sunrise hued orange juice with a hint of berries in the flavor. La Terrazza's flan had that same glorious color and flavor. Desserts are $4.50 at lunch; $6 at dinner.

La Terrazza also serves a Sunday Brunch. Included on the a la carte menu are hot and cold antipasti, pizza and focaccia, a risotto and such Italian breakfast specialities as frittatas (filled omelets) and crostatina di formaggio -- a pancake of cheese, potatoes, scallions and mushrooms. Brunch hours are 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m.

La Terrazza dinner hours are 5:30-10:30 p.m.; lunch hours are 11:30-3 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Reservations are suggested. Call 731-7110.

Spotlight on chefs

Green Lips Cafe on Sunset and Green Valley Parkway will spotlight a number of chefs at its Spotlight Chef of the Month wine dinner March 2. The wine selection was chosen by Steven Geddes, Wine Educator at Southern Wines and Spirits. Each course will feature a different wine.

Rio Chef Matthew Triba and Green Lips Chef/Owner Gabriel Grigorescu will open the event with a medley of canapes and hors d' oeuvres; Steven Geddes (yes, he cooks, too) will present a winter squash soup with toasted pumpkin seeds; Rio Chefs Kola Ngimsangaim and Richerd Marmion will offer jumbo shrimp stuffed with lump crabmeat and sauced with a Hotel de Paris beurre blanc; Chef Dudoit Colburn of Renata's will orchestrate the entree -- herb-crusted rack of lamb with a sauce of Cabernet Sauvignon, and a puree of potatoes with truffles -- costly, but divine. Sandra Gusse, assistant pastry chef at Napa restaurant in the Rio, will present a French apple tarte with caramel sauce for a dazzling ending.

All of this can be yours for $65 per person. Space is very limited. The restaurant seats just 38. Prepare to make some new friends. Large parties sit together; couples and small parties share a table.

Reservations are a must. Call 450-3104.

Short orders

*A hip wine club is on the horizon.

Wine B.R.A.T. (Benefitting Responsible Adults of Tomorrow's Society) will be debuting the Las Vegas chapter of the national organization March 5 with Vinopalooza at Club Utopia, 3765 Las Vegas Blvd. S., across from the Monte Carlo. This one-night wine fest includes wine, food, a fashion show, palm reading, handwriting analysis and other good stuff. Tickets are $20. Proceeds will benefit Aid For AIDS of Nevada. Vinopalooza is open to everyone; membership in the organization is limited to those 21-40 years old. Wine B.R.A.T.S. was co-founded in 1993 by three wine family heirs, all under 30 -- Jeff Bundschu (Gundlach-Bundschu), Jon Sebastiani (Viansa Winery) and Mike Sangiacomo (Sangiacomo Vineyards). Local co-founders are Mike Gilmartin and Sonny Ahuja.

Tickets can be purchased at both Beverages & More locations. For additional information, call Gilmartin at 457-2438.

*When is it OK to be not so sweet? When sugar-free treats are the only ones allowed. Sugarless Shack at 2570 E. Tropicana, No. 15, offers a number of sugar-free treats. Among the "Diabetic Fantasies" are sugar-free toppings, five different kinds of rice cakes, Nestle's chocolate drink mix with just one gram of sugar, chocolates and candies of all kinds and a large selection of sugar-free drinks. They also offer gift certificates. Call 450-9728 for more information.

*For a limited time only, Port of Subs sandwich shops are offering a barbecued chicken sandwich. The medium size is large enough for two. Don't expect zesty, down home barbecue sauce -- Port of Subs uses Cattleman's barbecue sauce, which is slightly sweet and mild, but it's very tasty and the skinless, tender chicken is real. Named "What's Hot," the barbecue chicken sandwich is available at all Port of Sub locations in Nevada.

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