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 •