Question of the Day - 22 July 2021

Ah, the old Alpine Village Inn. We remember it well and fondly. So, it seems, do you. 

A restaurant of the same name began serving German food to Las Vegans downtown in 1952, then moved four times before settling, in 1970, into its long-time location at 3003 Paradise Rd., directly across from what at the time was the Las Vegas Hilton and is now Westgate.

The main dining room was intensely decorated like a Bavarian village square, with Swiss clocks, wrought-iron grillwork, sloping roofs, a staff wearing Sound of Music-style uniforms, a train set complete with miniature village, and a truly festive atmosphere. The Rathskeller downstairs was a bar and sandwich shop with peanuts (you threw the shells on the floor) and popcorn on the tables and oompah piano playing that inspired long sing-along nights. The Inn’s best-loved dishes included a cottage-cheese dip and homemade creamed chicken soup served in pewter bowls.

Up until the mid-‘90s, Alpine Village was one of the three or four oldest restaurants in Las Vegas. Alas, it closed in March 1997. We were sad to see it go. But the majority owner, Lou Wiener, passed away a year earlier and his estate recognized that the 27-year-old building would have to undergo a substantial renovation to bring it up to the standards of the new Las Vegas. Instead, they closed it; we remember that there was an auction of the décor, paraphernalia, and kitchenware and tableware. It was soon torn down to make room for the parking lot that remains, 24 years later. 

Lou Wiener was a legendary character in those days. He moved to Las Vegas with his family in 1931 when he was 16 and graduated from Las Vegas High School a year later. After graduating from University of Nevada Reno as an undergraduate, then UC Berkeley School of Law, he returned to Las Vegas in 1941 and became the 17th attorney in the Clark County Bar Association. He then spent 55 years practicing law, retiring in 1996 at the age of 80; at that time, he was the longest-tenured attorney in southern Nevada. As you can imagine, he represented just about everyone, from Ben Siegel to Howard Hughes, from Frank Sinatra to Kirk Kerkorian. Alpine Village was one of many investments Wiener made over the decades in Las Vegas. 

Alpine Village Inn's main competition was Café Heidelberg, located not too far away at 610 E Sahara Avenue. it opened around 1971 and didn't close until 2021, having outlived Alpine by 15 years. 

After the Alpine Village closed, the surviving owners shared their popular chicken-soup recipe with the Las Vegas Review Journal. Here it is (with a little help from Al On The Net, who pointed out some inconsistencies -- and addressed them).

Alpine Village Inn Cream of Chicken Soup
 

For the roux: 

1/2 cup vegetable oil 

1 cup all-purpose flour 

For the soup: 

2 quarts water 

2 teaspoons celery salt 

2 teaspoons Accent 

1 pound ground chicken 

1 medium-cooked onion 

2 medium-cooked carrots 

2 teaspoons salt 

1/4 teaspoon pepper 

1 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet 

2 tablespoons chicken bouillon 

1.5 cups roux 

To prepare the roux, heat the vegetable oil until smoking. Add the flour and stir with a wire whisk. The oil and flour roux should be the consistency of mashed potatoes. 

To prepare the soup, boil all ingredients together for about 30 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Ladle the mixture into a blender, about two to three cups at a time, and blend until almost smooth. Pour the blended mixture back into a large pot, add the cooked roux, and continue to cook until the soup thickens.