Let’s get small

Tapas — those Spanish-born, small and enjoyable plates of meats, cheeses and vegetable savory bites—represent a middle ground in dining that’s too infrequent in Las Vegas.

Granted, tapas are bar cuisine, but in a town that likes its drink, that’s a good fit. And tapas are also conversational; they’re best when shared. They aren’t meant for solitary leanings over poker machines. They’re also not gargantuan in size, as is so common in restaurants here. In short, they’re friendly food.

For all the good-times conviviality tapas offer this city, until recently only a pair of places have served legitimate offerings—Café Ba Ba Reeba on the Strip and the popular Firefly on Paradise Road. Thankfully the tapas trend has gone south—in a good way—with the recent opening of R.E. Tapas Kitchen and Lounge on Silverado Ranch and Bermuda. That’s just east of the South Point Casino, in case you’re trying to triangulate.

R.E. is the creation of dashingly named owner and executive chef Errol LeBlanc, who cut his teeth locally at places like Green Valley Ranch, Aureole and Les Artistes Steakhouse. His establishment offers a near encyclopedia of interesting tapas plates in an open, coolly decorated place that is surely now one of the most stylish strip-mall corners in the entire valley.

Tapas aren’t explicitly American appetizers, so there are no nachos or stuffed potato skins at R.E. Rather, there is a distinct and welcome sliver of Spain in the place. A plate of Tapas 101, featuring sharp Manchego cheese wrapped with Serrano ham, shows the place’s bona fides, as do albondigas (meatballs) on skewers. Other straight-out-of-Seville choices are deep-fried croquettes of potato-coated chorizo and cheeses. Fried calamari strips would be right at home in Barcelona. R.E. begins its European culinary reconstruction with lumpia, little fried cylinders of chopped Medjool dates, cabrales cheese (a blue varietal), walnuts and pancetta bacon.

LeBlanc’s menu properly front-forwards seafood in good tapas form. Gambas al ajillo are firm rock shrimp sautéed and jazzed up with garlic and a moderate dash of chili. Prosciutto-wrapped Santa Barbara prawns are substantial and have a smoky flavor. A pulpo asada brings chilled grilled octopus to the table handily. With ceviche, LeBlanc looks westward to Spanish-influenced South America. Served in a swank martini glass with an ice-filled cradle, it’s scallops, shrimp and halibut cured in a citrus juice, bell pepper and cilantro mélange, and it’s fine and fresh-tasting. An individually sized paella is Spain in a pan.

With many of its meat-based tapas, R.E. branches out to the Italian peninsula. Osso buco is served here as three mini cross-cuts of veal shank. They are braised to an incredible tenderness in Chianti and veal jus. LeBlanc pointed out to me that his staff makes all the kitchen’s stocks from scratch, a time-consuming and costly proposition for an independent restaurant. You can tell the difference, though, from the umami-laden mouth-feel of the sauce. A pretty agnello (lamb) shank is one of R.E.’s larger offerings. Colorado lamb chops are another meaty choice. I personally like R.E.’s beef carpaccio—paper-thin slices of rare tenderloin served with shaved parmigiano-reggiano and lobster potato salad.

LeBlanc also dabbles in molecular gastronomy with his smoked duck breast. It comes sliced and sizzling with a ramekin of cranberry-cumin “caviar.” He accomplishes these little chewy pearls with an alchemical process involving pureed fruit, sodium alginate and a chemical reaction. It’s not a texture for everyone, but it’s more interesting than cranberry chutney or preserves, if you’re game. LeBlanc also plays with architecture in his ravioli dishes, where loosely folded pasta drapes around fillings like shredded osso buco and cabrales.

If you’re not in the mood or mind-set for avant-gardisms, you can go for updated Americana stylings at R.E., too. The chicken lollipops are finger food, sure, but they are jazzed up with cabrales dipping sauce. And in what LeBlanc says is a barn-burner popular item, the state-fair food concourse is reinterpreted with his mini corn dogs filled with chorizo and sided with a chipotle mustard.

Getting back to Spain, R.E. of course serves one of the great cold soups of the world, gazpacho. Here it’s served with a nice medium mince texture and lemony snap. Other items from the vegetable kingdom include garlic marinated asparagus spears; rolled eggplant (with a cheese filling); stuffed artichoke hearts; and sautéed mushrooms.

Small but not insignificant salads are on the menu, including the striking but simple grilled romaine heart. It is graciously covered with crumbled cabrales and slices of serrano ham.

R.E. does desserts in a similar small-plate fashion. LeBlanc shows some sweet-tooth moxie with inventions such as pistachio cake with honey yogurt and kumquat; white chocolate panna cotta with fruit caviar; and a warm semolina pudding cake with berries and cherry-wine sorbet.

Not to ignore the liquid pleasures R.E. offers, a respectable and inexpensive wine-by-the-glass list favors Spanish vintages such as a sparkling Segura Viudas cava or a warm-weather-friendly Hermanos Lurton rosé. These and additional Italian and Argentine pours aren’t boutique bottles, but affordable table quaffs to match the plate-after-plate mode of eating tapas. Sangrias are a specialty, too.

One of R.E.’s greatest qualities is its pricing. Tapas range basically from $3.50 to $7.50 per item, so it’s easy to budget six or seven plates shared among three or four friends. Oh yes, it’s a perfect place for a nice chat, and not once have I heard “Bamboleo” blast from the speakers.

R.E. Tapas Kitchen and Lounge

467 E. Silverado Ranch Blvd.

Suggested dishes: gazpacho, $3.50; beef carpaccio, $5.50; calamari fries, $5.50; chorizo and cheese croquettes, $5; osso buco, $10.