Grapevine's new culinary gem

South Florida CEO, August, 2005 by Yeleny Suarez

Plantation's 30-year-old Grapevine Gourmet Cuisine market added a culinary gem to its strip mall location in December: KM, a dinner-only restaurant inside the market.

After 16 years as chef-partner at the Armadillo Cafe in Davie, Kevin McCarthy (the KM in the restaurant's name) and wife Stacie McCarthy paired up with Grapevine owners Carol Frieser and Paul Frieser to create the new eatery.

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The cozy establishment seats about 40 at cherry wood tables dressed in black tablecloths and topped with disposable brown paper. Crayons are provided for personalizing the dining decor. We were seated at a table facing the window, with its sheer mustard shade held open by a lavender bow. We should tell you right now that people come to KM for the food: the ambiance ranges from plain to non-existent.

The waiter helped us pick our starters, and then promptly brought out a blue wrought iron breadbasket filled with warm, fresh flatbread, sesame bread and other rolls.

Barely 10 minutes after ordering, we were digging into our starters. Our waiter's advice about what to order proved sage: Our thick, fluffy, crab cake served on a champagne mustard sauce tasted fresh enough to have come from the sea only hours earlier. We also savored our black and white soup: two different soups, precisely poured, the white bean puree covering exactly half the bowl, and the black bean puree covering the other half, meeting just in the middle. The soup was topped with a light swirl of orange and yellow aioli (mayonnaise sauce), so beautifully presented we hated to dig in and ruin the visual.

The main courses, many with a Southwestern flare, featured exotic fish and fresh vegetable dishes. We sank our teeth into the medium-well skirt steak in a three-peppercorn sauce, accompanied by horseradish mashed potatoes, thin sliced onion rings fried in olive oil, mixed greens with corn, and thinly cut carrots. The meat was incredibly tender; there was no need for a sharp knife, although one was provided. We also went for the McCarthys' signature Porcini mushroom demi-glazed crusted sea bass, accompanied by baby bok choy (a type of cabbage) and vegetable risotto. The thick fillet of sea bass was perfectly cooked.

The meal was huge, but the fresh ingredients and piles of veggies helped pave the mostly guilt-free road to dessert. KM's selections range from chocolate fritters to classics such as strawberry cheesecake and creme brulee. We went for the warm apple tart topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream with swirls of caramel, accompanied by fresh strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. It was a fruity piece of heaven.

KM at the Grapevine: 256 S. University Drive, Plantation. 954-475-1357. Dinner: Wed.-Sat., 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.