48

Friday, November 9, 1984

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

HONEY TREE
AT TALLY HALL
31005 ORCHARD LAKE RD. at 14 Mile • Farmington Hills

BEST OF EVERYTHING

CIASSIFIEDS

GREEK FOOD

DANNY RASKIN

For All
Your Needs

• SOUVLAKI • SPINACH PIE • GREEK SALAD • BAKLAVA • RICE PUDDING

GREEK FOOD 855-4866

MA

Restaurant

SERVING YOU FOR 7 YEARS IN THE SAME WALNUT LAKE RD. LOCATION

2080 Walnut Lake Rd. at Inkster
Featuring

West Bloomfield

Superb Milk Fed Veal • Fresh Seafood Dail y
Served in an authentic traditional New York Italian -style atmosphere

Reservations Suggested For Your Convenience
851-2500 after 3 p.m.

Your Hostess:

Ruthe Wagner

Your Host:

Al Valente

VOTED
DETROIT'S #1

SUNDAY BRUNCH*

*Metropolitan Detroit Magazine Reader's Poll

November '84 issue

And only 57.75 Children 7 and under $4.95
Served from 10 to 2 p.m.

Kingsteu :Jinn

1475 N. WOODWARD

Just S. of Long Lake Road • Bloomfield Hills

642-0100

3anciuEt

C DOZ, Touz gacTozilE

Saturday Afternoons and
All-Day Sundays

Continental Cuisine
Dancing

Lunch 11 a.m

Entertainment By ATTRACTIONS
Dinner 4:30-1 a.m.

Reservations:

362-1262

755 kV. Big Beaver Concourse, Top of Troy Bldg., Troy

A,

A LARGE GREEN sign out-
side awaits your arrival . . . and
much surprise . . . upon visiting
the new Crickets family-oriented
restaurant . . . overlooking Or-
chard lake Road . . . in the Pine
Lake Mall, just north of Pine Lake
Road.
It's the former Tony Roma's site
. . . but about the only similarity
is that both had outer walls and a
roof . . . Now owned by Sue and
Pat Mason, it had been completely
renovated from floor to ceiling .. .
and opened latter part of August
with seating for 162 in two rooms.
So many familiar faces . . . It's
the new "in" place to go for casual
dining . . . from gourmet burgers
( 1/4 lb. or V2 lb.) to salads to pastas
to Mexican dishes to stir-frys to
pizzas, to entrees like veal, filet,
N.Y. strip, ribs, frog legs, shrimp,
catch-of-the-day specialities, to
side dishes, appetizer munchies,
own-creation omelettes, etc.
One of the things you won't find
on the menu, but there, is the
brick loaf onion rings . . . They're
a big seller at Crickets.
About that name, by the way
. . . it came purely coincidentally
. . . Nothing whatsoever to do with
the Crickets gourmet cuisine eat-
ery in Chicago . . . or the former
Crickets in Bloomfield Plaza .. .
Sue sort of picked the name out of
thin air, so to speak . . . and it's a
good one.
She was previously a franchiser
and owner of most Palace restau-
rants . . . while hubby Pat is an
investment broker.
Their general manager, Abe
Dukes, was with the Egg & I res-
taurants 22 years . . . So between
Sue and Abe, you can count 37
years of good, sound restaurant
experience . . . coupled with com-
mon sense and gracious per-
sonalities.
Bob Barnett is evening man-
ager at Crickets and Abe's assis-
tant manager . . . also with a
bright smile to go along with din ;
ing expertise.
Chef David Pfeiffer has been at
Crickets since before its opening
. . . coming here from the Round
Table in Plymouth, Mich. and
doing a laudable job.
The dark and dreary look of be-
fore is totally gone . . . In its place
is a cheerful setting of booths and
tables . . . where so many people
know each other . . . And the
entrance is now a wide doorway
instead of the narrow entry.
There is a combination of con-
temporary and Roman looks .. .
united with New York and
California designs . . . A huge,
curved plate glass surrounds a
well-appointed bar . . . and white
pillars offset appointments of
green ceiling, green wooden slat
window drapes, paneled light oak
walls, recessed lighting, striped
and pattern table cloths, white
chairs . . . and so much more in the
light, airy atmosphere.
People can't believe the change
. . . Only thing left after gutting
was the ceiling . . . changed from
that dreary brown to the Crickets
green.
As we said, this is a very
family-oriented restaurant . . .
The bar is a sideline . . . food is
main factor . . . Crickets doesn't
even have a Happy Hour in that

sense of the phrase . . . This is a
restaurant where the liquor
license is strictly an additive for
convenience only.
It was so pleasant looking
around and seeking tables upon
tables filled with people knowing
each other . . . For a sudden flash,
there was almost the slight hint of
a Darby's scene.
Our waitress, Sherry Jones, has
one of the prettiest smiles around
and her delightful efficiency
was a pleasure.
On the table was a bread basket
. . . with fresh, soft garlic
breadsticks made at Crickets .. .
and Lahvoch, the wonderful mat-
zah cracker usually seen only in
more expensive eating spots.
Sherry brought me the chicken
and shrimp sautee which, from
orders being brought out, seems to
be one of Crickets biggest favo-
rites . . . It was a treat . . . delici-
ously prepared with breast of
chicken and jumbo shrimp
julienne . . . sauteed with fresh
crisp vegetables and served over
rice pilaf . . . This dish comes with
side of tole slaw, but we opted for a
plate of cold, choicely green let-
tuce and one of the dressings
made by Chef David Pfeiffer .. .
(He also makes his own soups and
sauces).
Sue watches the front and Abe
oversees the kitchen . . . plus
walking around saying hello to so
many friends . . . Sue and Bob do
most of the greeting . . . She is a
very warm, congenial person who
thrills at seeing people enjoying
themselves . . . This last factor is
so very important . . . the true
name of the game in restaurant
success . . . Customers who are
pleased will return . . . which is
what an owner in his or her right
mind truly wants . . . not just
one-timers who don't come back
. . . The knowledge of restaurant
people like Sue, Abe, Bob, Chef
David and their employees is all
important . . . toward making cer-
tain this happens.
The customer must be satisfied
to return . . . Restaurants live and
die by this ultimate result.
Crickets is open seven days a
week . . . Monday through Thurs-
day 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. . . . Friday
and Saturday, 11 a.m. to midnight
. . . and Sunday, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
FAMOUS OLD Hungarian
Village restaurant on
Springwells at 1-75 has been re-
opened . . . Dave Ganus, who op-
erated the eatery for years with
his family, has come out of re-
tirement to manage its operation.
Enchanting mtlodies of the
Hungarian Gypsy Orchestra co-
mingle with aromas of sublety-
seasoned foods . . . taking folks
back to 1930 when Hungarian
Village was first opened in the
Village of Delray, now a part of
the city in Southwest Detroit .. .
Lunches and dinners are served
daily except Monday . . . The
gypsy group entertains Friday
and Saturday from 6 p.m.
THE 51st BALFOUR Cele-
bration, recently, at Ford Au-
ditorium . . . was another sellout
presentation . . . with over 2500
attending . . . as its committee
again did a super job in maintain-
ing the high grade of Balfour af-
fairs . . . from the _ one-time magni-