Chefs' Night Out

BY BARBARA ACKER

• ■

ou have finally decided to
splurge, hire the babysitter
and go out and enjoy a good
meal, but there are a few concerns.
Your friends want to try one place, but
you have heard that it wasn't so great.
Don't cancel the babysitter yet.
Help is on the way. We asked eight
area chefs where they go out to eat
on their night off. Though most of
them do not have the time to dine out
often, they were more than happy to
recommend a few choices.
Their selections range from elegant
to ethnic, from pizza parlors to bistros
and are based on quality of food,
service, decor, atmosphere and the
mood of the diners.
Matthew Prentice, president of
Unique Restaurant Corporation,
which owns eight restaurants,
including Morels and Deli Unique,
notes that "Everyone has his own
tastes on any given day, and if you are
not in the right frame of mind for a
certain place, chances are you will not
like it."
Mr. Prentice enjoys the new Cocina
del Sol. He has heard of patrons who
have gone there and said they did not
like it, but he feels they just did not
understand it.
"They may not like Southwestern
food, but that does not mean it isn't
good," he added.
Other casual places where Mr.
Prentice dines are The Beverly Hills
Grill, R.I.K:s and Chimayo's in Pontiac.
For more formal dining he especially
enjoys Van Dyke Place or the Lark.
As the father of young children, he
admits there is nothing wrong with

I LL U STRATIO N BY SCOTT MATTH EW S

ly

e.....
Little
L.,...
Caesar's
Pizza
to
Station. i
Most
chefs are
unable to go
out on the
traditional
Saturday
evening and for this reason many of
them are limited to what is open on
Sunday or Monday, which often
translates into ethnic restaurants.
Jimmy Schmidt, chef and owner/
partner of the Rattlesnake Club and
Cocina del Sol, often eats at Wong's
Eatery in Windsor or Mon Jin Lau's
in Tray.
The Thai Inn in Rochester is a
favorite with Master Chef Milos
Cihelka, of The Golden Mushroom.
Mr. Cihelka, like many other chefs,
likes to eat at friends' places and
frequents Brian Polcyn's Pike Street
Restaurant or Keith Famie's Les
Auteurs.
Mr. Famie says that it is friendship,
not competition, that brings one chef
to another's restaurant.
"With good food and atmosphere,
I cherish the time spent with friends
in the industry. I go where the food
is good and the company is great."
The Rattlesnake Club, Too Chez and
Pike Street are his favorites.
For Brian Polcyn the top priority is
the food, but an overall rating should
come from an evaluation of every-
thing, including the service and decor.
Another important factor for Polcyn
is the restaurant concept. In other

cr3

.

11

Where do

Detroit chefs

like to eat and

entertain?

We asked;

they answered.

SPRING '92

29

