44

Friday, September 28, 1984 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

BEST OF EVERYTHING

DANNY RASKIN

Now Serving Dinner Sundays 4 to 9 p.m.
Brunch Begins Oct. 7, 10:30 to 2:30 p.m.
Wishing Our Customers and Friends
A Happy and Healthy New Year

245 S. Eton

Corner of Maple
Birmingham

647-7774

Stop in and visit

Nifty Norman's

14035 Commerce Rd., Walled Lake

624-6660

ni fty

Luncheon Reservations Accepted
Fashion Shows

Wildflower

And

Dimitri's

of Southfield

Wish Their Customers
and Friends

A VERY HEALTHY
AND HAPPY

NEW
YEAR

THERE IS ONE major ingre-
dient sorely lacking . . . and re-
peatedly neglected or overlooked
. . . in the operation of many good
restaurants . . . good common
sense.
Of course, this could probably
hold true for almost any type of
business . . . but the world of din-
ing out has at least three other
important factors that in lots of
cases can compensate to some
measure . . . food, service and at-
mosphere . . . These are prime
facets, but the hidden element of
common sense, which is so very
important, many times has been
the real cause for a restaurant's
success or failure.
Take this . . . combine it with
the other factors . . . and you have
a winner.
Such is the case with Vineyards
Restaurants complex on Franklin
Road and Northwestern Highway
. . . When Marvin Alexander, E.J.
Etkin, Phillip Fisher and Richard
Kughn took over . . . they hired
the best experience available .. .
Upstairs, formerly called Con-
stand's, and lower level Franklin
Grille were opened last November
. . . Marlowe's nitery showed its
new face in December.
Things went well, but not as ex-
pected . . . Common sense dictated
that the type of food had to be
changed . . . and somebody within
the general partnership must
take hold.
Host and hostess Marvin Ale-
xander andwife Toni have done
much to turn things around at
Vineyards complex . . . and with
good common sense the backbone
of their versatility, they have
transformed this beautiful edifice
into the favorite of celebrities,
personalities, business moguls,
major companies, and ladies and
gentlemen from every walk of life.
The Northern Italian-French
cuisine upstairs has been done
away with . . . although some Ita-
lian flavor is retained . . . such as
making their own pasta . . . in
favor of the more popular fare in
this region . . . Continental-
American dining.
There are candlelights on all
tables . . . adding to the class ele-
gant atmosphere that the Vine-
yards presents . . . While a pianist
plays soft background music,
patrons are presnted with a de-
lightful dining out experience.
Vineyards has a new executive
chef, also . . . Mario Eteman . .
whose expertise has brought the
value of an accredited kitchen .. .
where students of Oakland Corn-
munity College or Schoolcraft
College, for example, may learn
their art and receive school cre-
dits.
But it's Mario, himself prepar-
ing the foods and making certain
customer satisfaction is achieved.
There's no more pay-per-item
dining at the Vinyards . . . that,
also, has been done away with .. .
In its stead are two modes of din-
ing . . . prix fixe includes seven
courses (Vinyards is one of the
very few places that gives dessert)
. . . or the regular menu with
salad, vegetable and fresh bread.
About the bread, there's no
chance of having that from the
day before . . . Like Mario's other
foods, it has no preservatives .. .

and so lasts only one day . . . All
his cooking is made from scratch
. . . not even substitutes are used
. . . Fishes like Dover Sole are
flown in daily . . . and the way
Mario's kitchen debones fish, it's
almost like a challenge to find
even one tiny bone.
Upstairs dining room manager,
very cordial John Muster,
watches his waiters and waitres-
ses with pride . . . Competent
people like Bob Taylor and John
Hill, both of whom worked at the
Trio; Robert Davis, Mark
Palenko, Dale Appel, Rich Hoyt
and the personable young lady
who waited on us, Rochelle
Wegener.
Little touches are apparent .. .
like a neat busboy putting fresh
pieces of bread on each plate with
a song . . . Rochelle and the others
not reaching across, but walking
to the proper sides when serving
. . . Mario buying nothing in cans
. . . making his own mayonnaise,
salad dressings, sauces, soups, ice
cream, etc.
The Vinyards upstairs, with
double tablecloths and napkins
(it'll soon have its own laundry),
fanned pleasantly in tall wine
glasses, is the epitome of quiet
elegance . . . Oriental carpeting,
well-chosen paintings, rich green
walls, green padded armchairs,
fireplace, walnut paneling and
seating for 60 at tables . . . Adjoin-
ing it is a room of alcoves with all
booths. It seats 58.
When entering, if persons de-
sire to wait for others, or their re-
served times, a cozy lobby bar is
available . . . with couch, 18
stools, counter and a beautiful
locked wine cabinet . . . Waitres-
ses take cocktail orders from those
who desire.
Amidst the elegance of Vin-
yards Restaurant, formerly
named Constand's (canopy out-
side has been changed to this
name, also), we dined in graceful
splendor . . . The white clam
chowder soup in a large bowl was
superb . . . creamy in a rich, au-
thentic homemade base with no
sparing of clams . . . and impor-
tantly, not a single trace of those
tiny little bits of teeth-grinding
sand.
The house salad of marinated
purple cabbage, Belgian endive,
Romaine lettuce and tomatoes,
served with vinaigrette dressing,
is cold, fresh and tasty . . . Both
lettuces are delightfully crisp .. .
Appetizer of shrimp sauteed with
garlic and cognac was positively
excellent . . . Our entree was one
of those Mario can prepare
butter-free . . . and so states on his
menu as "For the cholesterol con-
scious" with asterisks in front of
items which may be selected .. .
The Medallions of Beef Barolo
brought by Rochelle, was exactly
as ordered . . . medium rare .. .
three very choice circles of beef so
tender they could be cut by the
back of a knife . . . served with
Italian Barolo wine sauce.
Downstairs, the Franklin
Grille with its 86 seats, managed
by Tom Constand, retains an
English grill motif . . . with tiled
floor, checkered tablecloths and
oyster bar . . . Franklin Grille has
become quite noted for its Mes-
quite cooking of fish, steaks, bar-