Robin Garr's LOUISVILLE Restaurant Reviews

CLOSED in June 2003.

81	Sunset Grill 318 W. Indiana Hwy. 131 Clarksville, Ind. (812) 945-3496

A guy named Joe put his question bluntly in our online Louisville Restaurant Forum: "When is someone going to open up a good full-service restaurant on the Indiana side of the river? Future restaurant owners ... come over here ... we dare ya!"

My response was simple: "Sunset Grill! Very pleasant setting, comfortable place, great service, decent food. It's about as 'full service' as it gets, and if you haven't tried it, I recommend it."

Actually, my tip on this inviting place came from another E-mail correspondent, who sent me a note in the form of an enthusiastic review: "It met all expectations, and then exceeded itself," my informant in Jeffersonville wrote. "It has such a warm and cozy, yet open atmosphere, that this is the only restaurant that truly defines the term 'at home feeling.' Soooooo ... got that Kentucky passport in shape for the Sunnyside of Louisville?"

With a review like that, I couldn't resist, and we jumped in the car on a pleasant winter evening and headed across the bridge on the short trip to Clarksville.

Sunset Grill occupies a historic building called Montrose, the old John McCulloch House, an Italianate-style farmhouse built in 1870 on land once owned by George Rogers Clark. A sizable, stylish red-brick house with white trim and arched windows, its surrounded by a stucco veranda that's been glassed in to make an all-weather sun porch.

Inside, the house is divided into a number of dining rooms with fireplaces and attractive old-house decor. We enjoyed a table on the spacious sun porch, which offers a view of the property's shade trees and lawns (not to mention the shopping strip that lines Highway 131).

Colorful cafe curtains in autumn colors don't detract from the view, and the heavy reddish-maple tables offer spacious comfort. Silverware, including heavy steak knives, come rolled in white polyester napkins.

The extensive menu offers a range of dishes that I'd call upscale American-style with international touches. About 20 appetizers, soups and salads range from $3.25 (for the soup of the day) to $9.99 (for a steak salad with sauteed mushrooms and fried "tobacco" onions. Among other enticing starters, a baked Brie appetizer with Amaretto, almonds and fresh fruit is $8.99 and a ration of oversize shrimp coated with coconut batter is $8.49.

Two dozen entrees, subdivided into chicken, beef and pork, seafood and pasta dishes, are $9.99 (for pasta Alfredo) to $17.99 (for "Twin Tornadoes," a pair of beef filets, one prepared with a portabella mushroom sauce, the other crusted with green peppercorns). Entrees range from down home (beef pot roast, $11.99) to far-from-home (teriyaki salmon, $13.99).

Sunset Grill's wine list is short and basic in its selection but reasonably priced, with Fetzer house wines by the glass from $4.50 and about 15 wines by the bottle or glass, with just about everything under $30. The beer list is short, too, and features mostly mass-market labels, but there's usually something good and local from Bluegrass Brewing Co. on draft: The Louisville brewpub's Altbier ($2.50) made a fine choice.

A portabella mushroom appetizer ($5.49) got our meal off to a fine start. A tender, juicy, "meaty" grilled mushroom was cut into slices and topped with grated Parmesan, served on a lettuce leaf and garnished with a strawberry and a surprisingly ripe-looking slice of tomato for the season; it was accompanied by a tasty, zippy horseradish-and-mayo sauce.

A complementary basket of wheat rolls came along too, light and warm, served in a wicker basket with sweet whipped cinnamon butter.

The Sunset house salad ($5.49) was a good one, provided that you don't expect a cunning collection of organic field lettuces. It was a straightforward bowl of crisp romaine, chopped hard-boiled egg, shredded carrots and red cabbage, with surprisingly ripe red tomatoes for the winter season and a couple of thin slices of crisp melba-style toast apparently made from the dinner rolls. The house "sunburnt ranch" dressing, served on the side, was creamy with enough warm spice to make you sit up and take notice.

A Caesar salad ($5.49) was crisp romaine tossed with a simple, mild dressing and topped with a lot of shredded Parmesan. It was flanked by a tomato wedge and, in lieu of the usual croutons, a slice of melba-style toast.

Dinners arrived on shiny white earthenware plates. Both in concept and execution, the food was simple but well prepared.

A grilled seafood "trio" ($15.99) featured a good-size square of fresh salmon, three fat shrimp and a half-dozen nicely grilled if smallish scallops atop a mound of tasty if rather institutional rice "pilaf." All the seafood was perfectly prepared, cooked just right but not overdone, a strong signal of competence in the kitchen. Sauces included a tangy red cocktail sauce and an olive-oil "scampi sauce." There was nothing wrong with them, but the fish and seafood were so good that they really don't need sauce, and I appreciated the server's thoughtfulness in suggesting that they be served on the side. The plate was attractively set up with a couple of red-onion rings, chopped scallions, and a sprinkle of dried parsley flakes for garnish.

A 10-ounce ribeye steak ($13.99) came seared with appetizing grill marks and was cooked rare as ordered, no mean trick for a relatively thin (3/4-inch) steak. It was accompanied by an oval plate loaded with thick, creamy and dense mashed potatoes laced with fresh scallions, and topped with crunchy shreds of fried "tobacco onions."

Homemade apple cobbler with ice cream sounded like something that Sunset Grill would do well, but we decided to save that - and other such calorific options as sundaes and banana splits - for another visit.

A fine, if middle-of-the-road, dinner for two came to a reasonable $45.12, and exceptionally friendly and competent service earned a $10 tip. $$$

(February 2002)