Galt Ocean Mile eatery is all about the wine
Chef Lenore Nolan-Ryan’s Grapes Wine Cafe now open
It isn’t just a new look and a new name at Grapes Wine Cafe and Market, which opened Jan. 29. Chef Lenore Nolan-Ryan has totally rebooted her Fort Lauderdale business.
In the same space on the oceanside Galt Ocean Mile that just a few months ago was her eponymous Catering and Cooking School she is now debuting Grapes, which is a boutique-y boîte with dishes served on vintage china with heirloom cloth napkins and sterling silver cutlery. Entrees arrive at tables inside and outside in copper pans while charcuterie and cheese selections are presented on handcarved wooden boards.
The retail element offers wine, pate, olives, nuts, roasted peppers, homemade soups, breads and crackers, jams and jellies, olive oil and vinegar. Cheeses are sold in individually wrapped portions and there are also bottles of Chef Lenore’s Vinaigrette and packages of Chef Lenore’s Brownies.
The space can accommodate 32 people inside and seat an additional 20 outside.
Here’s more about Grapes in excerpts from a conversation
with Nolan-Ryan.
What do you think this will add to the culinary mix of Galt Ocean Mile?
“It’s wine-based food and a wine-based menu. The entire idea is to infuse it with the wine that we are serving. My idea is to bring those two things together in a menu. And it doesn’t have to be Italian and it doesn’t have to be Greek. That’s what’s in Galt Ocean Mile, Italian and Greek. I’m all over the world with my food. Cooking pasta in red wine so it becomes red, or a red wine sauce with braised beef and cipollini onions. And I want it to be a neighborhood restaurant where people stop and have a glass of wine or a plate of cheese on the way home or come in for a celebration or dine on Fridays and listen to jazz.”
So are the wines curated to go with the menu or vice versa?
“They complement each other, the wine and the food on the menu. But they also inspire each other. It’s synchronicity. Your wine should make you want another bite of food. And your food and your wine should create this magic on your palate.”
How much help is there in selecting the right wine for the right dish?
“It’s all on the menu. That is also why I’m here and why Erin Fontes [of Vinos Galt Ocean Mile] is here. We want to share. I’m looking for people to have an experience. It’s not just about dinner. It’s not just about the food. Even if you’re sitting by yourself having some wine and cheese. I just love talking about it.”
How long have you been working on this?
“I had a dream one night about it. I got up the next day and started looking online [for] what others... are doing all over the country. I’ve been working on this since September. I went to San Francisco and Washington, D.C., and saw what they were doing. But here, we are an open community, even during the pandemic, because most of us can put tables and chairs outside — as long as we adhere strictly to the CDC guidelines.”
I know that your sister, the interior designer April Nolan Kossuth, did the decor. So what instructions did you give her?
“I never really give April instructions. April knows me so well. We talked about the name. She came up with Grapes. I could see the grapes and the color purple and teal and with that we already had one of my favorite colors. We brought in some great art work, Oriental carpets with big bold colors. You know, it’s the same location and it looks so much bigger. And in her dining room she had the gorgeous solid mahogany 10 foot by 4 foot table. I said, ‘I want this table. I had it in the dream.’ And she said, ‘Lenore, I’m not giving you my table.’ Well, guess what? It’s sitting here. It’s just gorgeous and that’s our community table that seats 10.”
What drives you?
“For me about it’s all about the people and it’s all about the food and bringing people together in a warm neighborhood safe environment where they can enjoy what I have created. I believe, and I mean I honestly believe, this is what I am here for.” Charcuterie board
The menu
Entrees include Ligurian pasta with pancetta, olives, tomatoes, olive oil, and white wine for $16; butter-basted steak with cognac and red wine peppercorn sauce for $28; grilled salmon with spinach, white wine, and tomatoes for $25; white wine chicken with heirloom mushrooms for $22 and red wine and blue cheese lamb hache with tobacco onions for $25.
There will also be small plates and happy hour dishes such as Catalan meatballs in red wine gravy for $6; stuffed grape leaves for $4; white wine roasted mushrooms and goat cheese garlic toast for $8; Phyllo Cup Trio stuffed with goat cheese, spinach, and crab for $6 as well as hummus, crudites and bread for $7.
The wine list includes 12 curated labels and two Champagnes by the glass. There are 30 or so wines and two Champagnes offered by the bottle for $25 to $100.
If you go
■ Grapes is located in the Galt Ocean Plaza at 3311 North Ocean Blvd., (A1A), in Fort Lauderdale.
■ For reservations, take-out or delivery, call 954-491-2340 or go to GrapesWineCafeAndMarket.com.
■ Hours are 4-10 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.
■ Bubbles and Brunch is 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sundays (with a separate a la carte menu).
■ Happy hour is from 4-6 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.
Weekly events and promotions
■ “Cooking Live with Lenore” demonstrations Tuesdays from 6-7 p.m. either in person or via online at Facebook.com/groups/TheSultryPalate.
■ “Wine Not Wednesdays” from 4-10 p.m. with a selections of wine at half price.
■ “Chef Lenore’s Trio Cheese and Wine Pairing” from 4-10 p.m. Thursdays. Choose three wines and three cheeses from options that change every week.
■ “Live Jazz Friday” from 6-10 p.m. with guitarist Michael V. Occasionally, Nolan-Ryan says she also sings.
■ “Surprise Saturday” is 6-10 p.m. and is a mixed bag of menus and events including “Live to Travel, Love to Eat” where Nolan-Ryan creates the cuisine from a certain city or region, Girl’s Night Out dinner parties, wine dinners with winemakers, Kobe beef tastings, etc.