Sour Grapes

Grape Leaves wilts from a dearth of food and a dismissive attitude

A A A Comments (0) By Jen Karetnick Thursday, Dec 21 2000

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Joshua Prezant

The mediocre vegetarian sampler is one of many disappointments

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954-747-3247. Open for lunch and dinner daily from 11:30 a.m. till 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday till 10 p.m.

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Main courses were rather limited given the restaurant's reluctance to stock appropriately. The choices basically came down to salmon topped with sumac-scented onions and pine nuts or a pick of kebabs. The salmon would have been better had it been fresh rather than fishy, and the assortment of kebabs -- lamb, beef, and chicken -- would have pleased if they had been cooked for less time on a cleaner grill. Judging from the tough, burned nuggets, the grill hadn't been scraped since the beginning of, well, Ramadan. The overly potent garlic dip accompanying the meat could keep Pepto-Bismol in business. Basmati rice pilaf, which partnered all the entrées, was nicely fluffy and aromatic but was marred by what looked to be frozen, packaged peas and carrots.

Main courses also come with dessert: a choice of baklava, baklava, or baklava. We enjoyed the nutty pastry, which was neither greasy nor overly drenched in honey. But the Turkish coffee with which we wanted to wash it down was more like half-strength espresso, singularly unimpressive. Indeed, the flavor it deposited on our palates seemed a fitting end, as the entire experience at Grape Leaves has left us with a taste bitter enough it could have been a whole chapter in Kitchen Confidential