BEST OF EVERYTHING

Jack and Gary Cochran

and The Staff Of

Beau Jacks

Food & Spirits

Wish Their
Friends and Customers
A Healthy and Happy
New Year

4108 W. Maple • Birmingham, MI • 1 block W. of Telegraph • 626-2630

41•111111M11

■ 1•1•IMM ■

Ana's

FAMILY DINING

Homemade From Natural Ingredients
Dunia and Ed Farah Invite You To Enjoy

American & Lebanese Cuisine

WISHES IT'S
CUSTOMERS & FRIENDS
A VERY HEALTHY & HAPPY
NEW YEAR

Daily Specials
Sun. thru Thurs. — 7 a.m.-9 p.m.
Unbelievable Prices
Fri. and Sat. — 7 a..-I0 p.m.
Early Bird Dinner
27167 Greenfield, just N. of 11 Mile • 559.8222

114

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1989

Cleanliness, Good Food And Art
Are Watchwords At The Gallery

DANNY RASKIN

Local Columnist

C

ount them . . . or at
least try to . . . and
you'll find over 200
pieces of art work at Stephan
Becharas' Gallery Restaurant
in the Bloomfield Plaza,
Telegraph and 15 Mile.
He's been there six years
since moving from his
Southfield locale . . . and the
many faces of art combine
with Stephan's obsessive
devotion to cleanliness . . .
Mirrored walls behind the
open kitchen and mirrored
poles are, most naturally for
him, spotlessly clean . . . not
so much as a fingerprint .. .
and heaven forbid any
employee who leaves one
without wiping it away .. .
Stephan's Gallery is always in
the 90 percent-range marking
by Oakland County Health
Department.
Another Stephan Becharas
trademark is his Yiddish
words of greeting for
customers . . . from zol zein
mit glick to more difficult
ones phonetically speaking
. . . Customers like this Greek
islands native and his friend-
ly relationship with everyone.
Stephan Becharas' Gallery
in the Bloomfield Plaza is a
true family restaurant . . .
The only frills are its massive
collection of paintings and ar-
tifacts . . . The walls are com-
pletely covered with them.
On the mantel above its
walls are statues, hand-
painted dishes, ship head, etc.
. . . The wall next to Stephan's
cash register is reserved for
awards from B'nai B'rith,
ORT, Hadassah, Jewish War
Veterans, etc.
The Tiffany-style lamps,
various types of vases, brass
flamingos, etc., adorn this
seven-days-a-week restaurant
. . . Open Monday through
Saturday, 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.,
and Sunday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
. . . for breakfast, lunch and
dinner at tables and booths.
Stephan does a big job on
breakfast and lunch . . . Sun-
days, it is line-up time from
8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. . . . then
dinner at 5:30 p.m.
True to the style of a good
family restaurant, the
Gallery of Bloomfield has dai-
ly specials for breakfast,
lunch and dinner . . . Many of
the items, like soups, salads,
chicken, fish, etc., are
prepared by his mother-in-
law, wife Irene's mother,
Maria Mavrogiorgis . . .
Brother-in-law Steve

Mavrogiorgis is his general
manager and "Jack-of-all-
trades" right hand . . .
Stephan's sister, Helen Gera-
zounis, is hostess, manager
and whatever.
Our waitress, efficient and
courteous Kathy Garcia,
brought me one of the Gallery
of Bloomfield's best sellers, its
broiled chicken . . . which can
be had with or without skin
. . . I took the latter and was
impressed by the lack of
grease and its tenderness.
When Stephen Becharas
opened in West Bloomfield
Plaza six years ago, people
said it would be impossible for
him not to become successful
at his new location . . . They
were right . . . but no one
realized it would be far more
than all expectations . . .
Stephan is sort of like a pied
piper of the restaurant
business . . . Those who know
him seemingly walk into his
place to whatever tune
Stephen wants to play for
them on his ovens and grills.
He has only been in the
restaurant game about 15
years . . . Prior to that,
Stephan was in the family cof-
fee business, Becharas Bros.,
who put out the fine Colum-
bian Royal York coffee.

Although its walls are
covered with paintings,
plates, and so many in-
teresting objects, make no
mistake that the Gallery of
Bloomfield is a down-to-earth
informal restaurant with a
rare combination . . . Good at-
mosphere, good food, good ser-
vice, low prices and extreme
cleanliness . . . After all, who
could ask for anything more?

THERE'S ANOTHER

new look at Mario's
restaurant on Second Blvd.
. . . one of Detroit's premier
dining spots boasting so much
character.
Noted as a celebrity haven
since so many show biz greats
call it home when appearing
here, the Italian tudor-housed
Mario's is 41 years old . . . but
located in a building about
100 years old.
This time, owners Frank
and Claudia Passalaqua, a
couple of darned nice people,
have taken one previously
dingy-looking main dining
room and turned it into a sea
of elegant beauty.
Those who remember this
room at Mario's with its dark
mahogany wood walls and
low lighting can relate to its
new ornamentation with the
walls seemingly coming to
life.

This is not to say that
pretension has given vent to
the beautification of Mario's
main room . . . hardly so .. .
The personality and quality
styling are still there, but
embellished somewhat to
bring out its stately look.
For one thing, the service
bar is gone . . . previously ser-
ving very little purpose other
than seemingly taking up
valuable space . . . In its place
on a second level is an area
with wrought iron railing
across where within is a ban-
quette, or long upholstered
booth-bench fronted by three
tables . . . plus mirrors,
crystal chandeliers and, of
course, more original paint-

cz ,

(71,

The Gallery in
Bloomfield Plaza is
a true family
restaurant.

ings which have become.;_
somewhat of a Mario's distinc-
tion along with its intimacy,
good food and fine service.
The room now has off-
ceiling full-flowing green
drapes, new wallpaper and
lighting . . . all so conducive
toward the making of a
highly acceptable look.
From the second level
balcony-style area, one can
scan the room's new decor and
see a pleasantly clean sight of '
white tablecloths throughout
with peach-colored cloth
napkins gracefully sprayed
within the water or wine
glasses.
The prices are right at
Mario's . . . no ripoff here .. .
with plentiful portions too .. .
Its thick minestrone ranks
among the best . . . and the
pasta with cacciatore sauce
has become a big favorite . . . ,
Mario's veal specialties are in
a class with a select group of
local Italian restaurants.
Frank's pretty and gracious
wife, Claudia, is a top model
. . . and their new 11-month-'
old daughter, Vittina, is also
registered for big things
before the television cameras
. . . It adds even more to the
hominess of Mario's . . . see-
ing Frank walking around
with little Vittina . . . even in--
to the clean kitchen.
Mario's gets better with age
. . . and its new main dining
room and lounge area looks
add still another dimension to
what has been aptly termed
a class act in the restuarant,
business.
IN PREVIOUS years,
tradition has deemed it that