Swiss Café

3175 E. Tropicana Ave.

454-2270

You've gotta love the Swiss Café. I know the food is iffy, and heavy, but at least the service is spotty and the décor is the epitome of kitsch, but even with this combo platter of mediocrity, the Swiss Café holds a soft spot in my heart. It even holds the distinction of having the single most God-awful placemats I've ever eaten off of. They're made of some rubberized foamed screen mesh composite known only to Wal-Mart chemists. They must have the shelf-life of uranium since it had been seven years between meals here and there they were, still waiting to offend my eye and stick to my elbows.

So why you ask do I still like the place? Well maybe it's because Wolfgang and Mary Haubold were a slice of sophistication when I moved to Vegas twenty years ago. Back when prime rib and cheap buffets defined dining here. This little café offered light as a feather curried chicken crepes, and real sole meuniere that transported you far from the podunk food town you felt stuck in. Time and food savvy may have passed this place by, but the spaetzle, red cabbage and anything but buoyant German sausages are still worth a trip. The cooking doesn't seem as refined anymore, and Wolf (or whoever is manning the stoves) incorporates way too much cream in way too many sauces. But I still can't resist a meal here for old times sake, or whenever I need to carbo up.

Moving from the old fashioned to the au courant, new American cooking with some Emeril-like twists is being done to a tee at Rosemary's. . .but you know that. What you probably didn't know is that because of the stellar efforts of Chefs Michael and Wendy Jordan, KNPR had its most successful fund raiser ever at Rosemary's. All of which gave me a delicious evening and spared us both from having me beg you for money in our summer pledge drive. Toques off and a giant merci beaucoup to the folks at Rosemary's.

This is John Curtas.

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