BEST OF EVERYTHING
FREE DINNER
I'
EQUAL OR LESSER VALUE
WITH PURCHASE OF ANY 3 DINNERS
I FREE SODA POP FOR CHILDREN
SOUTHFIELD LOCATION ONLY
WING HONG
18203 W. 10 Mile Rd. at Smithfield Rd. • 569-5527
Kitchen Hours: Tues.-Thurs. 5 to 10
Fri. & Sat. 5 to 11, Closed Sun. & Mon.
BANQUET FACILITIES
FOR ALL OCCASIONS
The Tradition Continues
At Hotel's Chez Raphael
DANNY RASKIN
Local Columnist
Restaurant
Reservations Suggested
1990 Hiller Rd. (Old Orchard Rail)
Off Pontiac frail to Old Orchard
'Rail to Hiller Road
682-1347
3258 ORCHARD LAKE RD.
681-3537
Open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mon. Thru Thurs.
Closed Sun.
Fri. & Sat. 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
SERVING BREAKFAST • LUNCH • DINNER
TRAY CATERING FOR YOUR NEXT AFFAIR OUR SPECIALTY
Oetito
Vinfieg
Fine Dining In A Contemporary Italian Setting
Complementary Valet Parking
Dinners Mon.Thurs. 4 to 11, Fri. & Sat til Mid.
Lunches Served Mon.-Fri. 11 to 4
Entertainment Nightly
Cocktail Hour 5 to 7
Catering For ... Weddings,
Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, etc.
OPERA NITE WITH
ITALIAN BUFFET
DIXIELAND JAll &
B-B-Q RIBS & CHICKEN
95 per INCLUDES: BAKED
$ 11 95 per person
EVERY MONDAY
person
'12
EVERY WEDNESDAY
POT & SLAW
6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
REGULAR MENU ALSO SERVED EVERY NITE
6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
630 Woodward Bet. Fort & Congress • Detroit 961-2444
SCALLOPINI's
SALVATORE
Homemade Pasta
NOW OPEN
Next To
NORM'S
Oyster Bar & Grill
29110 Franklin Road • Southfield
357-8877
DINNER • LUNCH • CARRY-OUT
60 FRIDAY, JULY 1, 1988
W
hen the previous
Raphael's restau-
rant in Sheraton
Oaks Hotel opened some time
back, seating was only for
about 40 . . . Keith Famie was
executive chef and no place
anywhere in the area could
come close to its exalted
culinary merit.
More space was needed .. .
reservations had become most
difficult to obtain because of
the limited seating capacity,
excellent food with superb
service.
So the former automobile
dealership building near the
hotel on Sheraton Drive in
Novi . . . free standing . . . was
(taken over and its interior
gutted.
In 1985, Chez Raphael
opened. . . . with its Du
Mouchelle art, domestic
fieldstone, mahogany trim,*
designer glass chandeliers,
etc. . . . Focal of decor was the
restaurant's centerpiece, a
large hutch or chest dating
back to 1860 . . . It had been
found in Paris, France .. .
with the beautifully hand-
crafted pear wood featuring
artisan's carvings etched in to
depict a methodical per-
sonification of the earth's
elements.
The Royal Dalton china wilt
silver plated flatware,
candleholders and bug vases,
give an air of elegance .. .
atop the 100 percent cotton
tablecloths with their
grapeleaf pattern.
Chez Raphael has its own
herb garden . . . used very ex-
tensively . . . growing
oregano, thyme, Alpine
strawberries, lemon balm,
mint, chives, rosemary, sage
and basil.
Archille Biani, maitre d'
hotel, joined Raphael's in
1982 . . . and has been a very
worthy addition with his
grace and high knowledge .. .
Kevin Aspinal, now business
manager and Jack-of-all-
trades so to speak, at Chez
Raphael, also came on board
at Sheraton Oaks in 1982 .. .
and even worked with then
Executive Chef Remy Berdy
. .. His omelettes on the Sun-
day brunches were master-
pieces . . . Kevin's know-how
helps make things hum in so
many aspects as a member of
today's Chez Raphael team.
Its recent gourmet dinner
was to welcome new Ex-
ecutive Chef Ed Janos,
formerly of the Money Tree.
His elaborate six-course
feast was the deliverance of
far above par excellence .. .
beginning with served
canapes . . . duck liver
mousse with lingonberries,
shrimp with spicy pepper and
celantro butter and herbed
chevre cheese with basil .. .
Diners enjoyed the 1982
Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin
Brut.
Dinner was a superb offer-
ing by Ed and his staff .. .
which under his expert
guidance is quite obviously
most talented.
Warm carpaccio of salmon
and scallops, accompanied by
1987 Fume Blanc Dry Creek
Sonoma . . . Mushroom
ravioli in broth with spring
vegetables, and a 1985 The
Merry Vintners Chardonnay
Sonoma . Warm baby phea-
sant breast salad with 1982
Nuits St. Georges Louis
Latour.
The beet sorbet was very
different . and extremely
delightful . . . followed by a
combination of beef, veal and
lamb and 1984 Spottswoode
Cabernet Sauvignon Napa
. . . Dessert as elegant as the
surroundings in which it was
served . . . poached peaches in
Zinfandel with ginger' ice
cream and 1984 Late Harvest
Zinfandel Lytten Springs
Sonoma.
It was the first in a series of
bimonthly gourmet dinners
unique to Chez Raphael and
the culinary expertise of Chef
d'Cuisine Ed Janos.
We also enjoyed our
waitress, Patti Arbour, with
the delightful smile, per-
sonable ways and highly
capable abilities.
Each of the bimonthly din-
ners will focus on a culinary
specialty or incorporate a
seasonal or cultural theme.
Cost of the elaborate six-
course meal, with cham-
pagne, wine and entertain-
ment, is $75 per person.
Chef Ed Janos had been at
the Money Tree since 1981
. . . and selected to represent
Michigan on its team at the
World Culinary Olympics in
Frankfort, Germany, this
year.
The formal introduction of
Chef Ed Janos to Chez
Raphael was highly suc-
cessful . . . in the first of the
bimonthly series.
IMAGINE GOING into a
restaurant and having
Chateau Lafitte-Rothschild
wine by the glass . . . from its
Le Cruvenet no less . . . Quite
unheard of . . . One wouldn't
even thik it . . . and yet that
is what I had recently at the
new Michael's which opened
on 13 Mile east of Southfield
in the Corners Shopping
Plaza.
Such bouquet . . . such
delicacy . . . such aroma .
such .tenderness . . . a world
all its very own . . . The 1979
Chateua LaFitte Rothschild
is there for $25 a glass . . . but
don't be frightened . . . wines
in the Michael's Le Cruvenet
sell from $2 on up (white zin-
fandel, chablis or piesporter)
including an excellent Louis
Latour 1986 Chardonnay at
$3.50 a glass or $15 a bottle,
plus some very fine California
vintages.
Michael Kralevic, co-owner
at the new "in spot" for
popular dining, recalls his
days as a young lad jumping
on grapes in a big old barrel
. . . Mike's father was a wine
grower in his own vineyards
where the grape-stomping
youngster grew up to be a fine
wine connoisseur . . . At the
very fine Ritz in London,
Mike was wine sommelier
and then head waiter . . . In
Paris, France, at the four-star
Le Crillon Hotel, he was chef
du rang in charge of a section,
cooking at tables for
customers.
Mike's first job in North
America was as head waiter
at lbronto's King Edward
Hotel in the Victorian Room,
then one of Canada's finest
. . . In Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia,
he had graduated from the
Hotel and Restaurant School
. . . and then attended
University of Sarejevo for
languages and business .. .
Mike speaks the tongues of
five nations.
From the King Edward
Hotel, he went to La
Residence in Toronto's Cara
Hotel . . . as director of food
and beverage at the high-
ranking Canadian dining
establishment.
The list could go on but it's
just an indication pf the vast
experience and know-how
Mike has in wines and food.
It's still too early for judge-
ment of Michael's, but two
days after opening, it was
reviewed by the two lassies at
Detroit's metropolitan papers
. . . and both appeared in
print on the same Friday .. .
With praiseworthy reports .. .
I'd rather wait a bit until
Michael's has settled down as
the popular place to dine
these days at popular prices.
We sat in the lounge area
with its table tops of tin im-
bedded in wood and the very
4
4
•