Summerlin club caters to eating enthusiasts

     By Scott Gulbransen
     View staff writer
      Two years ago, Jerry Bernstein was looking for an interesting way to meet people in Summerlin. He and his wife had just relocated from the East Coast and wanted a fun way to meet people in the Northwest.
      "I've always liked dining out and missed doing so with a group of friends," said Bernstein. "So I approached Summerlin and started a club."
      Born out of Bernstein's desire to enjoy Las Vegas' restaurants with his neighbors was the Summerlin Dining Out Club. The 50-member club meets once a month at the Trails Community Center and then dines out as a group.
      "We meet as a formal club and end up socializing for a while after the business of the meeting is completed," Bernstein said. "Then we do what we do best -- eat. We go out as a complete club once a month to a restaurant we pick at our meeting."
      On this night, the club is meeting and has been presented with an interesting problem -- the restaurant they have planned to attend as a club has suddenly gone out of business.
      "Sometimes things happen and we end up going with an alternate plan," said Kathie Soldoff, current president of the club. "But in the end it really doesn't matter where we go. This club is more about friendship and sharing a laugh with one another. This has been a great way to meet people and we just really enjoy spending time with everyone."
      Soldoff and her sister Nancy, who serves as the vice-president, rely on the group to meet people in their neighborhood. For them, the dining out club provides a social setting they can't find anywhere else.
      "We're kind of too old for the young crowd and too young for the retirement crowd," Nancy Soldoff said. "It's very hard to meet people here in Las Vegas. Here we meet a lot of different people and it gives us a social circle we didn't have before we joined."
      The Soldoffs said most members of the Summerlin Dining Out Club are married couples, but that doesn't discourage them.
      "We're not going out to dinner or coming to club meetings to meet a husband," Nancy Soldoff said. "I think some people don't join because they feel that pressure and they shouldn't."
      While meetings and membership drives take up much of the club leaders' time, the most arduous task is finding restaurants willing to take the savvy group. It's not that local eateries don't want crowds but the club presents interesting problems.
      "It's hard because we want to be seated together and always ask for separate checks," Kathie Soldoff said. "The hotel-casinos don't like us too much but we go anyway. There are other places that really enjoy our visit. But we understand it does create some problems for them so we understand."
      There is no question that each member of the Summerlin Dining Out Club doubles as a food critic. In small talk before the meeting started, several members have harsh words for a new local restaurant.
      "I wasn't real impressed with the food," said one member. "Great atmosphere but the food left something to be desired."
      Even though food is the main topic of conversation for the formal meeting, the members of this group soon begin to discuss life in general.
      Robert and Beverly Few moved to Las Vegas in October 1996. They moved to Summerlin from North Carolina and did not know anyone when they moved into their new home.
      "We were looking for a way to meet some people with common interests," Robert Few said. "We came all the way here from the other side of the country and were kind of lost on how to meet people. This really filled the void and now most of my best friends in the whole world are from this club."
      When Robert Few talks about the club he talks as though it is his extended family. Beverly Few recently underwent an extensive operation and the members of the club all were there in her time of need.
      "They came by to see me and were always calling to see how I was," Beverly Few said. "The people in this club genuinely care for each other. We all really have become an extended family."
      Ted Abrahams came to Summerlin from Long Island, N.Y. He was looking for a group of people to share a meal and conversation.
      "It's so much more enjoyable to go out to a restaurant with a great bunch of people than by yourself or just two of you," Abrahams said. "This club has been great fun and it really makes the meal memorable."
      While most of the group has known each other for a while, new members are coming into the group at every meeting.
      Julie Schrock and Alan May are attending their first meeting. The couple moved to Las Vegas from Santa Barbara, Calif., and is looking for a way to socialize with others who enjoy dining out.
      "We're both in the pharmaceutical business and it's very hard to get out and meet people," May said. "This is something we saw in the local newsletter and thought it would be great."
      The club costs just $5 per person per year and is open to all Summerlin residents.
      "It's a great way to enjoy the finest food in Las Vegas with the finest people in Summerlin," Bernstein said.