Columnist Muriel Stevens: Grape Street Cafe a tasty find

Friday, May 1, 1998 | 10:18 a.m.

When I first met Larry and Tabitha Kurofsky, co-owners with Chef John McKibben and his wife Dina of Grape Street Cafe, in the Summerhill Center at Buffalo Drive and West Lake Mead Boulevard, they had just opened the attractive cafe and wine bar. Not yet discovered, Grape Street was for this restaurant writer a breath of fresh air.

Grape Street's decor is inviting. It has the appeal of a French bistro, with used brick walls and custom wrought iron chairs and tables. A dining counter faces the open kitchen, offering a view of the chefs at work.

Adjacent to the restaurant is the retail wine cellar -- the selection is quite good and prices fair. Larry is a knowledgeable and astute wine buyer. The restaurant's wine list includes at least 50 wines sold by the glass. Port, sherry, Madeira, and other aperitifs and dessert wines are also available by the glass or bottle. Should you prefer a wine from the cellar not on the menu, any bottle from the retail shop (with a meal) is priced at just $5 over the retail price.

A case at the back of the wine cellar is filled with a good selection of speciality and imported cheeses. A board above the cheese case lists other made-fresh-daily takeout items: Meatloaf, calzones, lasagna, vegetable or pasta salads, quiche, frittatas, stuffed croissants, roasted garlic and much more.

Each time I've dined at Grape Street, I've bought the delicious grilled vegetables and the roasted garlic puree to take home -- both can be used to enhance any number of dishes. Two-dinner combinations ($15-$28) for two or four people, and an hors d'oeuvre platter for four-to-six people ($20) are also available.

Grape Street's menu is in effect from 11 a.m. to closing. Offered are appetizers ($5.95-$8.95), meal-sized salads ($5.95-$14.95), hot and cold sandwiches ($6.25-$7.95), a selection of pastas ($7.45-$15.95) and pizzas ($7.45-$9.95). Service of dinner specials ($11.95-$19.95), including a house salad, begins at 4 p.m.

Grape Street's menu is a good mix of classic and contemporary cafe fare, with many signature dishes. The baked Brie appetizer is a pouch of pastry filled with melted Brie, toasted hazelnuts, caramelized onions and apricot preserves and comes with French bread and slices of apple. The combination is a winning one. The restaurant also makes a wonderful chopped salad that arrives heaped high -- the greens are mixed with generous amounts of crisp bacon, avocado, bleu cheese, tomatoes, red onion and grilled chicken tossed with a champagne vinaigrette. It can easily be shared, but I prefer to take home the leftovers.

All of the sandwiches are served on a homemade French roll and include a side of bowtie pasta salad. The Portobello Philly is an outstanding meatless version filled with the succulent mushrooms, sauteed onions and peppers and topped with smoked Gouda. Another innovative sandwich is the salmon burger with a dill-scallion sauce served on a panella roll.

The same creativity carries over to the desserts ($2.50-$8.95): Phyllo ice cream sandwich; dark chocolate fondue served with pound cake, bananas, apples and pineapple; bread pudding with whiskey sauce and vanilla bean ice cream; pear d'amore -- a wine poached pear baked in a French almond cake, topped with vanilla bean ice cream -- and more. Their excellent Stilton cheese is the centerpiece of a savory rather than sweet after-dinner treat ($9.95) -- a wedge of Stilton, walnuts, fruit, French bread and a glass of Fonseca bin 27 port is a lovely finish to any meal.

Grape Street hours are 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Friday and Saturday. Reservations are accepted for parties of eight or more. Call 228-9463.

Green Lips Cafe

Green Lips Cafe's "Spotlight Chef of the Month" dinners are winning a loyal following. The most recent one featured Michael Demers, sous chef at Napa in the Rio. The dinners are the brainchild of Green Lips' owner Gabriel Grigorescu. They're well-priced and always interesting and delicious.

Demer's menu was executed with the skill and passion that are the hallmarks of a rising young chef. Among the diners was Napa's celebrity chef Jean-Louis Palladin, who has been so helpful to the young chefs under his command.

Dinner began with a spicy gazpacho ladled over heirloom tomatoes and a dice of cruchy vegetables. Soft shell crab presented with a julienne of crisp, deep-fried carrots was an elegant second course. The Oldenheimer Johannisberger Vogelsang Kabinett Reisling 1994, chosen to accompany it by Southern Wine and Spirits Wine Educator Steven Geddes, was a fine pairing.

So was the Bethel Heights Vineyard Estate Pinot Noir 1995 that accompanied the main course -- stuffed breast of squab with spring onions, wild mushrooms and a red wine sauce. The flavorful stuffing was placed under the skin of the tiny breasts which were cooked barely rare, then placed atop a savory melange of vegetables. It was a triumph for Chef Michael.

Dessert, prepared by pastry chef Sandy Gusse, was a delicate Spring Charlotte Royale with a tangerine coulis. It was an irresistible finish to an exciting meal.

The monthly chef's dinners cost $65 and are all inclusive. Call Green Lips Cafe at 450-3104 for dates of future dinners. Call early as space is limited and these popular dinners sell out quickly.

Short orders

*Grape Street Cafe serves Sunday brunch from 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Dine inside or on the covered smoker's patio. Brunch includes fresh fruit, assorted breakfast breads and muffins, juice, a choice of coffee, espresso or cappuccino and a choice of entree. Prices are $12.95 per person; kids under 12 are $6.95.

*More Grape Street -- The demand has been so great for the wrought iron chairs, bar stools, tables and accessories used in the restaurant, they are now available for sale. Hand-forged in the Philippines, all of the items are warehoused nearby and arrive locally in about one week.

*Top of the World restaurant at the Stratosphere will host its second Wine Dinner, featuring the wines of Bordeaux, May 7 at 7 p.m. The imaginative seven-course menu includes a poached skate wing appetizer, grilled quail and tabbouleh, escargot and escarole ravioli, an intermezzo, buffalo tournedos Rossini, a salad of spring greens and a souffle for dessert. Seven wines -- Chateau Olivier Blanc 1992, "G" of Chateau Guiraud 1992, Chateau Maucaillou 1995, Chateau Olivier Pessac-Leognan 1995, Chateau Petit Village Pomerol 1995, Chateau Clerc Milon Pauillac 1995 and Chateau La Rame 1993 -- will be paired with the dishes. All of this for a fine, all-inclusive price of $72.50 per person. For reservations call Jennifer Gast at 380-7777, ext. 7742.