48 Friday, January 25, 1985
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Chef's de Cuisine
BEST OF EVERYTHING
ON THE BOARDWALK
Orchard Lake Rd., South of Maple
AT APPLEGATE SQUARE
Northwestern Hwy. at Inkster Rd.
Southfield
•
•
•
•
Dining and Cocktails
For Dinner Reservations: 353-2757
Open 6 Days a week: Mon.-Thurs. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m.-11 p.m. I
Bar Mitzvah • Anniversary
Bat Mitzvah • Birthday
• S,weet 16
Wedding
• Banquet
Shower
• All Occasions
661-1920
5586 Drake Road at Walnut Lake Road
r
DANNY RASKIN
Let Us Create Your
Next Affair
Restaurant
CHAMPAGNE BUFFET BRUNCH
.
EVERY SUNDAY - 10 A.M. TO 3 P.M.
Featuring Over 25 Items PLUS Great Desserts & Champagne
4
MONDAYS ARE FRESH PASTA NITES
$ 7 95adu Its
$
9 5 12 and under
95
A DIFFERENT VARIETY OF HOMEMADE PASTAS EACH MONDAY
Authentically Prepared On The Premises
Our New Hours: Mon. Thru Sat. 5 p.m. to 12 Mid.
L
OPEN FOR ALL OCCASION PARTIES. ONLY
MONDAY THRU SATURDAY
11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Your HOsts:
LOUIE BRICOLAS
MANUEL CHAVEZ
I
4
COMPLETE
MERIWETHER'S
Jr
MEAL:It
#*-e
AtA
/■.111 VW. MO
MI =IV AV • • =V. MIMI ...MI ■ ■
MN
• VIM._ I .7..a Ira NM
ON ...A MB ■ t
VII
VW a • 1W MIS III WM a MIMI VIM. MINI t i, V UMW
IM•11/11111•1111.1•NSINVIIMINIMINOY
7.95!
#4,
It happens every Mondaythrough Saturday from 4 to 6 p.m. and includes
your choice of Meriwether's "Fresh from Nature Entrees." There's the
Chicken Teriyaki Vegetables, Chicken Meriwether, Petite Top Sirloin,
Fresh Boston Scrod and our unique San Francisco Stirfry.
And your complete dinner includes your choice of Seafood Chowder or
Steak Soup, salad and our famous teacup bread. Plus, your choice of
coffee, tea or milk and Haagen Daz ice cream or sherbet for dessert.
Join us soon for a fabulous feast you won't soon forget!
American bap's.a and whet
mai, credit card+ accepted
Meriwether's sa
25485 Telegraph Rd. • Southfield • 358-4950
a Owildffuer ilagaumnf
THE STORY OF Cinderella
might easily be appropriate for El
Zocalo Mexican Restaurant on
Bagley and 23rd . . . What was
once a small, dingy neighborhood
bar has been transformed into
what many consider the essence
in south-of-the-border dining.
The decor alone is quite unique
in its style . . . very Latinish class
. . . away from the typical over-
done sombrero and serape motif
. . . Copies of Aztec and Mayan art
are evident everywhere . . . wall
hangings, sculptures and
figurines . . . Spanish wrought
iron design and heavily-padded
booths and chairs make up this
270-seater restaurant broken into
four dining areas, including a
cocktail lounge . . . Another large
room is delightfully set for private
affairs . . . The very clean, not
overly-done Spanish-Mexican
atmosphere is pleasantly wel-
come.
Contrary to what many people
may still think, Mexican food does
not have to be greasy . . . At El
Zocalo, owner Victor Cordoba
stresses non-greasy food because
he feels it is a sign of good cooking
. . . Victor says his mother was
very adamant about this, too, for
the same reason . . . His cooks use
tilted pans to drain off all possible
grease from whatever is prepared
. . . Ground meat used in many of
the dishes is lean ground round.
Also, Mexican food, says Victor,
should definitely be only as hot as
people want . . . He'd rather they
tasted the food than slosh down an,
icy bottle of Carta Blanca, Tecate
or Dos Equis beer . . . or whatever
else is around to put out the fire
. . . This is absolutely silly, feels
Victor . . . which is why he prefers
to have people make their own de-
cision . . . and in a great many in-
stances, put on their own Mexican
sauce.
You know it is a truly authentic
Mexican restaurant . . . when 90
percent of the kitchen employees
are Mexican . . . Even Victor him-
self, if needed, can go into the
kitchen and prepare foods . . . In
fact, for many people he goes there
anyway . . . to concoct his very
own preparations.
Only five different spices are
used at El Zocalo . . . garlic, cu-
min, pepper, chili and cilantro .. .
the basics of a good Mexican
kitchen . . . Another sign of good
Mexican cooking is the rice being
loose . . . instead of sticking to-
gether.
There are both American and
Spanish waitresses at El Zocalo
. . . the latter favorites with
Spanish and Mexican customers
because they can relate in their
own language . . . Our waitress
was smiling, personable and effi-
cient Kim Johnson . . . and the
dinner we had at El Zocalo ranked
among the better ones in my ex-
perience . . . Mind you, this takes
in San Antonio, Texas, on the bor-
der, and Mexico itself.
There's the usual tortilla chips
awaiting with a medium hot to-
mato sauce . . . If you really want
hot-hot, ask for some green sauce
... a combination of piqueno and
jalepeno peppers . . . Not for me
. . . I'll stick with the mild to
medium.
Had to have some Chiles Re-
llenos Con Carne 0 Queso (stuffed
peppers with meat or cheese,
dressed in egg, served with Mexi-
can sauce . . . delicious . . . A big
appetizer favorite at El Zocalo is
Queso Flameado (flaming Mexi-
can cheese. Combination of Mexi-
can sausage, melted cheese and
Mexican sauce) . . . I passed on
this to have room for the Combi-
nation De Cordoba . . . a meat
chimichanga, bean and cheese
burrito, chicken flauta and beef
and cheese enchilada . . . chicken
flauta (Means flute in Spanish) is
chicken rolled inside a crisp corn
tortilla and called this because it's
eaten from the end looking like
you're holding a flute . . . The
Chimichanga (large flour tortilla,
rolled with meat, chicken or
cheese stuffing), quickly deep-
fried, topped with guacamole and
sour cream) . . . A lot of people also
like it with melted cheese on top
. . . Not too many places sell more
enchiladas than El Zocalo . . . (soft
corn tortillas dipped in Victor's
special sauce, wrapped around
choice- of filling, bean, cheese,
meat or chicken, and oven-baked)
. . . An enchilada combination
plate has them all.
There are three types of food at
El Zocalo . . . sophisticated like
Steak A La Mexicana, Steak
Asado, Steak A La Espanola or
Milanesa (breaded sirloin) to reg-
ular and traditional . . . The prices
are amazingly low . . . and prob-
ably present one of the best bar-
gains anywhere in good Mexican
dining.
Where did owner Victor Cor-
doba get the name El Zocalo for
his year-and-a-half-old restau-
rant? . . . This is a plaza in Mexico
City into which all the large ave-
nues converge . . . the oldest plaza
in all the Americas . . . Besides
many shops, it is also a center of
social, political and religious ac-
tivity . . . Underneath Mexico Ci-
ty's El Zocalo Plaza is also where
the former Aztec empire is buried.
The colorful pictures on El
Zocalo's menu are not only beauti-
ful, but also tell a story . . . Cus-
tomers who ask enjoy hearing
Victor weave his cordial explana-
tion.
Situated in the heart of
Mexicotown, somewhat of a mini
renaissance, El Zocalo is firmly
behind whatever movement
might begin to make this area on
the order of Greektown.
A very good lesson for many is
that food of the Latin American
countries does not necessarily
have to be spicy to be tasteful .. .
El Zocalo has become one of our
most respected Mexican restau-
rants . . . and certainly offers a .
very stimulating experience.
KINGSLEY INN on Wood-
ward was again selected by
Prekdential inaugural commit-
tee to serve its food at the "Taste of
America" in Washington, D.C.
during recent weekend at Con-
vention Center there.
Great Lakes perch sauteed in
butter, a highly popular item on
the Kingsley menu, was cooked
and served by Kingsley chef De-
nnis Lindinger . . . Kingsley also
served its perch at the inaugural
four years ago . . . The fresh perch
was shipped daily to Washington
by air, packed in ice ... About 30