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| - Monday night is a great time to stop by this off-the-strip neighborhood restaurant because bottles of wine are 50% off. The food was better than expected, too. One of their more popular items is baked brie ($13). It's a hunk of brie sitting on top of caramelized onions and wrapped in flaky and delicate pastry. It's a massive baseball-sized mound with a knife piercing the top. It's surrounded by toast, pear, apples, and grapes. This is one appetizer meant to be shared.
The mussels ($13) were tough, but the white wine sauce that they were sitting in was phenomenal. Any bread that we had left over was used to sop up every last drop of sauce.
The caesar salad was decent and the tomato soup was creamy and full of flavor, but too chilled for my liking.
The chicken parmesan ($21) was good, but standard fare. The three thin breasts of chicken were coated in a breading that didn't stand a chance of staying crispy under all the sauce and cheese poured on top of it. A side of spaghetti accompanied the dish.
The ribeye special was beautifully charred and still tender and medium rare in the interior. It can't compete with top steakhouses in quality, but the wine and mushroom sauced boldly enhanced the flavor. A few carrots, asparagus, and potatoes surrounded the steak.
The restaurant isn't exactly kid-friendly, but there were several kids around, including ours. There's no kid's menu but they were happy to make a plain grilled chicken breast and fries for our little one.
On a second visit we started with their tapas plate. The Greek meatballs were the best thing on the plate. Savory and full of bold flavors, I wish there were more than three of them. The other items -- the goat cheese cigars, olives, and vegetables were decent, but paled in comparison to the meatballs.
The plating of the caprese salad was different than your typical caprese. The end caps of the tomatoes were sliced off and stacked with mozzarella and topped with toasted pine nuts and balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
We shared the short rib entree and the kitchen was nice enough to split the dish on to separate plates. I enjoyed the the depth of flavor of the sauce, although it was a touch sweet. But, the beef was too tough. Add to that a dry, chalky risotto and a minuscule serving of carrots and it was mediocre dish.
Service was spotty on both visits. The first time due to our waiter being asked to wait on numerous tables scattered around the restaurant. The second time the waiter and kitchen staff were hanging out at the bar watching a Notre Dame game.
Grape Street is a clear notch below the top off-strip restaurants, but it's worth a return visit.
3.5 Stars
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