2

BEST OF EVERYTHING

FOR 1

COMPLETE DINNERS

7 DAYS A WEEK! ANYHOUR!

Local Restaurateur Has Mixed
Emotions Over NY Restaurants

ALL DINNERS ON OUR LARGE
MENU (Except Sandwiches)

FOR TWO!
$1395
ALL DINNERS INCLUDE

$7 95 to

DANNY RASKIN

Local Columnist

SOUP OR SALAD (TOSSED OR GREEK) • POTATO (YOUR CHOICE)
OR SPAGHETTI • DESSERT (STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE,
ICE CREAM, RICE PUDDING OR JELLO) • BREAD BASKET
(INCL. STICKS) • BEVERAGE (COFFEE OR HOT TEA)

COCKTAILS
BEER
WINE

MON.-THURS. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
FRI. & SAT. 11 a.m. to 11 p.m
SUNDAYS 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

RIALTO CAFE

Family Dining
22740 WOODWARD, Just South of 9 Mile, Ferndale • 544-7933

FIRST ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
THANK YOU! SPECIAL

32734
Grand River
1/4 Mile East

Your Hosts,
Larry & Mimi
Freedman

of Farmington Rd.

OPEN 7 DAYS
MON.-SAT. 10-9
SUN. 12-8

COMPLETE MENU DINE IN OR CARRY-OUT

In The
VILLAGE
COMMONS
MALL
PHONE
471-DAWG

FREE "

MON., NOV. 28 THRU Promotion)
SUN., DEC. 4

(Not Good With Any Other

CHICIAGO DAWG OR JUMBO DOG
OR MAXWELL POLISH

WITH PURCHASE OF SAME SANDWICH,
CURLEY FRIES AND LARGE BEVERAGE

0

Igall. O MAPLE

rchard Lake Rd.
% North of urchard

;1 7:9 851-6577

CARRY-OUT DEPT.

NEXT DOOR TO OUR FULL-SERVICE RESTAURANT

Featuring
Pizza
•
Ribs
•
Greek
Salads • Lasagna
•
• Chicken • Sandwiches • Etc.

OUTDOOR & INDOOR CATERING FOR ALL OCCASIONS
TouF617
r --- TaorrpoNi -

BUY 1 PIZZA

$2 OFF DINNER

GET SECOND SAME
PIZZA FREE

FOR 2

SLAB OF RIBS

INCLUDES GREEK SALAD & BAG
OF BREAD STICKS

CARRY•OUT LOCATION ONLY. Expires 12-11.88 Ali

78

CARRY-OUT LOCATION ONLY

L Expires 12 11 88

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1988

-

-

JN

his is how Matt Pren-
tice, chef-owner of Se-
bastian's in Somerset
Mall . . . along with Deli Uni-
que of West Bloomfield, Deli
Unique of Oak Park and Cafe
Jardin at the Mall, saw New
York eateries on a visit there
last year.
"We arrived in New York in
late morning and proceeded
to venture into some of
Manhattan's most popular
gourmet carry outs. A la
Russe, Pasta, Prego, and the
Silver Palate were somewhat
interesting, but disappointing
for the most part. What I
found was the typical quiche,
salads and breads available in
even the most simplistic
Detroit operations.
"We had a one o'clock lunch
reservation at the Four
Seasons and I was looking for-
ward to an excellent ex-
perience. The last time I was
at the Four Seasons was in
1979 while I was at the
Culinary Institute. At that
time it was considered one of
New York's finest, and I sup-
pose it still is although I can't
understand why.
"The Four Seasons is
perhaps one of the more uni-
que looking restaurants in
town with two rooms. The
Grill Room, with its rich oak,
has the clubby look of a high
power businessman's club and
the executives to fill it with.
The Pool Room is entered
through a long corridor that
features a floor to ceiling
Picasso original. The center of
the room has a beautiful mar-
ble pool, and the 20-foot-high
windows overlook 53rd Street.
"The service, as expected,
was flawless. The captain,
noticing me taking notes on
the menu, seemed to pay par-
ticular attention to our table.
We each ordered an appetizer
and were expecting much
more than we received. The
sauteed duck liver with
papaya and shallots was well
done, which ruined it. The
crayfish ravioli seemed to
have possibilities; the pasta
was excellent, but the sauce
missed badly and the cream
had broken, which made it
worse. I had the spa wild
mushroom won ton soup with
shitake mushrooms and it
was superb.
"For entrees we had a veal
medallion with crab and ar-
tichokes that was good, but
not worth $40 for a luncheon

portion. The shrimp with
mustard fruits was poor. I had
this dish for an appetizer
there years go, and liked it so
much that it is now a regular
menu item at Sebastian's. I
suggested to my wife that she
order it so that I could com-
pare it to my own. The sauce
was very poorly made and the
dish was disappointing at
best. I ordered the spa veal
with mustard seeds. It was
served with grilled leeks,
sauteed red, yellow, and green
peppers, and sauteed shitake
mushrooms. It was an ex-
cellent dish with a beautiful
presentation, but again, very
overpriced at $39.50 for 5 oz.
of veal.
"The dessert cart was
beautiful and the captain
made us an assorted plate
even though we had declined
on the pastry. The confections
ranged from mediocre to fan-
tastic, but at $7.50 a portion
I would have expected more.
"This lunch, along with a
bottle of their least expensive
chardonnay, was $309 in-
cluding tax and tip. Had I just
stumbled into a bistro, I
would have been impressed,
but considering the reputa-
tion and the pricing (which is
ridiculous even for New York),
the restaurant seems to be
living on its past per-
formances.
"After lunch we went to
Bloomingdale's, not to shop,
but to see Gerard's. Gerard's
is the place for the affluent
business person on the go.
The windows are graced with
plates featuring their take-
home entrees — very
impressive-looking. Upon
entering the marble foyer, to
the right is a Petrossian con-
cession featuring the world's
finest caviar and smoked fish.
'Ib the left is the entree
department. Here they
feature 15 to 20 different -com-
plete dinners that are
packagaed in airtight plastic
ready to microwave and serve.
These entrees range from
rare duck breast to braised
sweetbreads to roulade of veal
tenderloin. Gerard's is very
expensive, but never have I
seen such quality and atten-
tion given to take-home food.
Each entree is designed with
appropriate vegetable and
starches and could easily be
served in the best of
restaurants.
"After Gerard's, we con-
tinued on to other carryouts.
Most were disappointing with
the exception of Piatti Pronti.

This little gem on 56th Street
between Fifth and Sixth
Avenues featured an espresso
bar, a gourmet salad bar by
the pound, a pizza area
featuring various styles of
gourmet pizzas, imported
delicacies, special coffees and
teas, hand-made chocolates,
and a 20-foot showcase with
take-home or office entrees. I
was told that they serve 700
persons a day with the majori-
ty coming between 11 a.m.
and 1:30 p.m. Most of the food
was very simple but the detail
and time taken with each
item was obvious and very
impressive.
"Before going back to the
hotel to change for dinner, we
decided to stop at Trump
lbwer. This is the world's
most expensive lease space. I
would hate to guess how
much it cost for all the mar-
ble, brass and glass that it
took to build this amazing
skyscraper. The first five
floors are basically leased to
the country's most
prestigious shops. We were
there to check out the DDL
Foodshow which operates the
Cafe on the lower level. The
Cafe was beautiful (althoguh
my Cafe Jardin is more at-
tractive in my opinion), but
the operator should shoot
himself. The operation was a
complete mess. The help was
lackadaisical and the kitchen
was horrifyingly dirty. The
food displayed looked old and
unimaginative. Too bad!
"As we set out for dinner at
An American Place, I was a
little upset. Maybe my expec-
tations were too high, but
New York, the U.S. center for
culinary activity, had disap-
pointed me for the most part.
"As we sat down at An
American Place, I could feel
that the experience I was
about to have would make the
whole trip worthwhile, and it
did.
"The owner-chef, Larry
Forgionne, is regarded as one
of the foremost New
American cuisine chefs in the
country. His restaurant is
small and simply decorated,
but the restaurant is not the
star — the food is. The wine
list features exclusively
American vintages and has
little, if any, flaws. The
waitstaff is young, aggressive,
and very competent. The food,
in a word, is spectacular.
For appetizers, we had
Peanut Barbecued Chicken
with a Vegetable Slaw, Duck
Sausage with Scallion Spoon-