41 11111111101•11 0 immiaraajammitiiiiithotaffm .. Oakland Univer • 's MEADOW.BROOK T H E AT R E SA(4, Wide?ke Best of blir MOIR A Professional Theatre by Willy Russell Ht. JANUARY 6-30 "I ■ L• Yt! 1_, -- One woman's triumph over the ordinary A New Italian Place With Pizza And Pizzazz DANNY RASKIN LOCAL COLUMNIST "A beguiling comedy" - Time "A joyful, captivating piece of theatre!" - N.Y. Daily News FOR TICKET INFORMATION CALL MEADOW BROOK THEATRE (313) 377-3300 ••■■ 7- icAca-1444A...smr Presented with the generous support of (313) 645-6666 TICKETS AVAILABLE AT td.k CHRYSLER CORPORATION HUDSON'S, HARMONY HOUSE & SOUND WAREHOUSE Plan The Perfect Party! * All-you-can-eat pizza and salad packages for groups of 15-100 * In Buddy's party room. * Carry-out service for your office party. * Call for reservations today! WATERFORD .683-3636 Highland Road (14-59) at Pontiac Lake Rd. BIRMINGHAM • 645-0300 Maple Rd. & Lahser FARMINGTON HILLS• 855-4604 Northwestern Hwy. (W. of Middlebeit) ROYAL OAK • 540000 Woodward, 6 blocks N. of 13 Mlle Rd. - ------------ -------------------- ----------------------------- r Any Large Pizza or Antipasto Salad Dine In or Carry-Out )N Expires 1-31-94 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Beau jacks Food & Spirits EARLY DINNERS NOW 7 DAYS Monday Thru Sunday 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Entrees priced from $5.75 4108 W. Maple • Birmingham, MI • 1 blovk W. of Telegraph • 626-2630 ust plain old good common able . . . thus the casual inti- sense combined with macy of Prima Diner . . . And heavy experience many Larry is a master when it comes times will rule the roost in to putting the proper type of the success or failure of a menu together for such a restaurant. restaurant operation . . . Also, The New Prima Diner at 10 being the fine restaurateur that Mile and the southbound he is, Larry cares about the food Northwestern Highway service served and how it is presented drive, near Evergreen, com- . . . with a long look at making bines both to go with its art certain prices are kept low. deco, fine food and service. The original goal of Prima Owner Larry Bongiovanni Diner was to have pizza and has parlayed this combination pasta in an ultra-modernistic since his Livonia Nugget Italian diner setting . . . This restaurant in 1965 . . . The re- end has been accomplished, and sults are 12 Salvatore Scallopine oper- ations of which he is a very suc- cessful boss- man. Being a beau- tiful restaurant . . . and Prima Diner is that .. . can also have its drawback if the boss isn't care- ful . . . Leaning too much on this and allow- SPON A 3- ,, ing the essen- tials of proper dining to slide downward can Prima Diner's Larry Bongiovanni. eventually take its toll . . . Good both play a large role in the food common-sense usage and a lot offerings. of restaurant know-how by But it has achieved so much someone like Larry will not let more . . . with a widespread this happen. menu at breakfast, lunch and Prima Diner is like a '40s dinner . . . Everything is made showpiece . . . another Ron Rea from scratch, including the beauty . . . with its colorful or- sauces and daily-made soups; ange-and-blue neon tubing on no cans . . . Potatoes are boiled the ceiling, varied wall tiles, and fried at Prima Diner . . . no wood paneling, brown and beige taking out of a bag and cooking tones, custom-made chairs that or frying . . . Besides the tradi- blend together looking like tional square pizzas are round booths among the tables in a gourmet-style Italian pies with wide-open area, etc. . . . A bar a bevy of fillings to delight a lot lounge has 12 stools and blue of palates. countertop lamps, tables along The minestrone soup has a the walls and windows enjoy taste all its own, full-bodied lighting from fixtures somewhat with a lot of fresh vegetables like those one would likely see . . . Fresh fish is a daily feature over drawing boards. . . . along with 11 pastas, en- The free-standing 6,000- trees like Italian Bistecca (mar- square-foot building was origi- inated 12 oz. New York strip nally a Denny's . . . with oodles steak with sauteed escarole, of parking all around the edifice $10.95), Romano-crusted chick- ... It is today a classic example en served with angel hair pas- of what can be done to beautify ta and tomato-basil sauce a previously dingy appearance. ($9.95), and more ... six salads, All well and good for a first- a wide selection of American time look . . . but this isn't and Italian breakfasts and enough to bring customers back lunch selections. . . . And here is where the ex- The 17 sandwiches include a perience of a Larry Bongiovan- chicken breast that has been go- ni comes in. ing over big ($5.95) . . . mari- He knows that people like to nated_ and topped by sweet return where they are comfort- peppers and fontina cheese with j shredded lettuce and vegetables . . . An 8 oz. rib-eye steak is grilled and served as an open- faced sandwich with roma tomato, basil and gorgonzola ($7.95) . . . The Italian sausage, always a favorite, with pepper, onion and tomato sauce ($5.25) has brought a lot of people back for more . . . as has the Prima classic panini (calabrese salami, mortadella and cappicola, moz- zarella, lettuce, tomatoes and peppers with garlic vinaigrette, $5.25) . . . There are two types of burgers ... Italian (six ounces of ground beef with cappicola, mus h rooms, onions and pro- volone cheese, $5.25) . . . the regular Ameri- can (3.50) . . . A good ol' Ameri- can hotdog? .. . Of course . . . Re- member, Larry Bongiovanni is a clever res- taurant man. The break- fasts at Prima Diner are anoth- er large portion of the extensive menu . . . Omelettes galore, both Italian and American, frittellas (grid- dle cakes), cialdi (waffles), pane francese (French toast), pane fritti (fried bread dough with sugar and fresh fruit) . . . Even a breakfast pizza of scrambled eggs, peppers and ham, served with potatoes ($4.25). Prima Diner, which opened in December, seats 130 in the dining room, 40 in the bar- lounge with its tables and chairs and 12 bar stools . . . An outside patio opening around the first of May will seat another 65. Larry also knows how im- portant it is for on-premise at- tendance . . . He is at Prima Diner every day at various times for whatever chores are necessary in the running of a smooth ship. A good restaurateur like Larry Bongiovanni has a repu- tation to uphold . . . he has too much at stake . . . Any failures could be a reflection on his 12 Salvatore Scallopine operations . . . Prima Diner may be a to- tally different restaurant, but the results must be the same . . . successful endeavor what- ever it takes. AS RADIO commentator