LISTENING POST I

The Neuman Family
and Staff of

STAR DEL I

Michigan's Finest Deli Carry-Out
24555 W. 12 Mile
352-7377

Wish Their
Friends and Customers
A VERY HEALTHY
AND HAPPY

NEW
YEAR

...., ,.
,_..._

r.

May Our Prayers Be
Answered For
Peace On Earth

SEROS

28221 Northwestern In Franklin Shopping Plaza • 358.2353

SPECIALS FRI., SEPT. 25 THRU THURS., OCT. 1 AFTER 2 p.m.

LAKE

TROUT

With Pot. & Veg.

r CHICKEN
MARSALA or
PICCATA

With Pasta

$595

L

r

POUND

L

$625

4
TURKEYBURGER LAMB CHOPS

With Fries
Fries

$525

(Grecian Style)
With Rice & Veg.

$795

ALL ABOVE SPECIALS ALSO INCLUDE SOUP, SALAD, DESSERT (Rice
Pudding or Tapioca or Ice Cream) AND BREAD BASKET.
• Must Present Coupon For Above Specials.
• Sorry, No Discounts On Specials.

34

10% SENIOR CITIZEN DISCOUNT

I BEST OF EVERYTHING

I

A Restaurant In Plymouth
Lives Up To Its Name

DANNY RASKIN

Local Columnist

T

he good people of Ply-
mouth, Mich., know
about it . . . Folks in
surrounding areas are
regulars . . . And because the
distance isn't far anymore,
customers are coming from
everywhere.
It's not because Cozy Cafe is
that fancy an operation . . . or
serves elegant gourmet food
. . . or has anything different
on the menu.
This is another of those
pure, down-to-earth types of
operations which is exactly as
its name implies . . . cozy .. .
Put intimate and friendly
with it and you have the place
a lot of people are talking
about because of the no-frills
attachment.
The menu is as plain as a
vanilla sundae with no topp-
ing . . . but Cozy Cafe has
something few of the others
like it possess . . . imagina-
tion . . . They call her Mrs.
Cozy wherever Tina Ristich
goes because she's that type of
person, too, although Mrs.
Friendly or Mrs. Congenial
would also be appropos, if not
for the cafe name.
Tina's imaginative mind
came up with the clever idea
of "A Taste of Plymouth," not
a food-tasting but displaying
the wares of Plymouth mer-
chants throughout the
restaurant . . . It has gone
over so big that she and hub-
by Nick Ristich have a
waiting list of those who want
in.
Don't put it past Tina and
Nick to add on more space to
please the Plymouth mer-
chants . . . maybe on the roof
. . . Back in 1982, their Cozy
Cafe sat only 45 . . . Not it has
seating for 85 plus another 30
at an outside cafe . . . Even
the kitchen is twice the size
it was.
And you won't find too
many little mom-and-pop
restaurants like Cozy that
has its own bakery upstairs,
where 18 to 20 different
varieties of baked goods are
made including the big
favorite, large walnut raisin
rolls . . . Do they make their
own bread rolls? . . . Of course.
Cozy Cafe has all tables
with checkered coverings in
its two rooms, with a lot of
brick, where breakfast, lunch
and early dinner are served
. . . It is open seven days,
Monday-Thursday, 10-7; Fri-
day, 10-8; Saturday, 9-7; and
Sunday, 9-2, with fresh
specials daily.

Cozy Cafe even has an ex-
ecutive chef, Nancy Bair,
former owner of the Gourmet
Connection in Birmingham
and presently also holding
Kitchen Glamour cooking
classes plus working with
local chefs around town at
charity events . . . She and
the Ristiches worked long
toward an operation together
called Cozy Cafe-Gourmet
Connection, a complete carry-
out specializing in private
parties.
Cozy Cafe isn't only a Tina
and Nick Ristich business .. .
Their three daughters are
heavily involved also in the
"international flavor" goings-
on . . . Krista Morton (Jeff is
Jewish) and Lisa Briones
(Lucio is from Ecuador) take
care of the marketing and
management . . . and
Stephanie Kopinski (Ken is
Polish) is an example of how
a waitress should be, serving
from behind the customer,
smiling, pleasant and so very
efficient . . . She also cooks
and is involved in the
restaurant's operation.
At one time, the locale
where Cozy Cafe now sits was
an automotive dealership .. .
The restaurant was designed
by the family and general-
contracted by Stephanie's
hubby Ken and his father, Ed
Kopinski . . . Lunchtime at
Cozy never seems to end .. .
Like the battery commerical,
it keeps going and going and
going.

after being seated at our table
was Sam . . . There were four
of us and a couple almost
swore that Sam moved . . . Of
course they were seeing an il-
lusion, maybe the lights
played tricks, because Sam
never moves a muscle, not
that he has any.
He is the "lazy" do-nothing
tuxedoed dummy who sits at
the electronic piano of An-
diamo Italia Ristorante, 14
Mile between Mound and Van
Dyke. in Warren.
This was the first in a mon-
thly series of culinary tours
around the various regions of
Italy . . . and it was highly
successful . . . Good thing we _ 1
got there early, the place was '-
a packed sellout for folks who
enjoyed the fare of Piemonte
and Valle d'Aosta by chefs
Aldo Ottaviani and Jeffrey (,
Kay.
We were lucky to have
Stephanie Bartolone as our
waitperson . . . with a smile
that automatically made the
food even better, and per-
sonable efficiency making for
a big addition to a pleasant
evening.
Dino Valle on guitar and
baritone vocals strolled with

And this isn't all with the
Tina and Nick Ristich family,
as fine a one as you'd want to
see.
It also opened what is
among the most beautiful
catering halls around . . . the
14,500-square-foot Plymouth
Manor . . . with two ballrooms
seating 300 and 100, plus its
own wedding chapel on Main
Street for 50 to 60 people .. .
It's a pretty place with so
many amenities that people
look for in a good cateriing
hall.
Number 13 is lucky for the
Ristiches, who do almost
everything on that day . . .
They bought Cozy Cafe Feb.
13, 1982, and Plymouth
Manor Sept. 13; 1988.
I don't know if you
remember those swell sweet
tables Nick used to put out
while on the Northwest, but
they don't hold a candle to the
ones now at Plymouth Manor.
Cozy Cafe has become a
Plymouth, Mich., institution
. . . The Plymouth Manor is
headed that way too.
FIRST PERSON we saw

a gent on accordion, and the
big grin on owner Joe Vicari's
face was wide as people sang
while having fun . . . He likes
happy people.
Some even swore they saw
Joe talking to Sam at the
piano, but he was actually fac-
ing his tuxedoed virtuoso
dummy while muttering
words to people at a table in
back of him . . . Sure would be
something for Joe to have a
remote control to move Sam
into different positions .. .
Guests would flip their wigs
in bewilderment while conk-
ing themselves a couple of
times on the side of their
head.

Put intimate and
friendly with it and
you have the place
a lot of people are
talking about.

The first regional dinner by
Andiamo Italia went over so
big that people are already
booking attendance for the
next one, Oct. 12 . . . $29.95
per person, including tax and
tip, was very well worth the
visit.

FORMER LOCALITE

Mark Beltzman, in the hit
movie, Mo' Money with
Damon Wayans, and current-