Restaurant 6066 MAPLE, North of Orchard lake Rd. • 851-0805 and Carry-Out Dept. next door • 851-8577 Tony Belli & Elia Nichot -as with their management & staff Extend- Most Sincere Wishes For A Very 51-earthy and - Happy New Year To Their Customers and Friends And Heartily Thank, Everyone For Their Wondeifuta --:,'" jz71 - 5 Support 01 1:7- . • ii/k Happy New Year To Our Customers & Friends From 4-Star Chef Jack and Linda HUNAN PALACE 38259 W. 10 Mile Next to Holiday Inn Farmington Hills (810) 473-3939 r C/3 L 20% OFF DINE IN 1 0% OFF CARRY-OUT (Lunch Menu Not Included) LU Cf) Q: What investment offers LU -,,competitive rates ,- CC F- LU LU I- great tax advantages complete safety A: U.S. SAVINGS BONDS THE GREAT AMERICAN INVESTMENT 1-800-US-BON DS The Artwork Is Not The Product Of This Gallery DANNY RASKIN LOCAL COLUMNIST hat framed picture on your left is a collector's item ... So is the one on your right T ... Sony, they're not for sale ... That imposing-looking 52- pound eagle is an antique ... Sor- ry, it's not for sale ... Hey, what kind of art gallery is this? Sorry, it's not an art gallery. This is the Gallery restaurant at Bloomfield Plaza on Telegraph and Maple ... named for its won- drous maze of framed pictures, antique brass animals, dishes, ce- ramic Oriental vases, designer chandeliers, ginger jars, oil paint- ings, Oriental wall hangings, wooden Olympic flame, etc. — there 200 or more pieces ... and the only thing for sale is food. When Stefan Becharas opened the Gallery on July 18, 1983, he still owned the original Gallery Restaurant on 10 Mile and Ever- green ... But word spread like hot gravy, and he was serving from 700 to 800 people daily for break- fast, lunch and dinner at the sec- ond locale. Today, 11 years later, Stefan does well over 1,000 meals a day in his 124-seater restaurant plus six counter stools. One of his noteworthy charac- teristics of distinction, restaurant cleanliness, is very apparent ... Especially on the many spotless, gleaming mirrors that complete- ly fill the walls behind The Gallery's little counter. It sells a lot of fish and a re- frigerator holds nothing but wa- ter catches ... One of the regular specials is always a broiled fish of the day ... Biggest sellers are broiled white fish ($8.25), 150 pounds a week; salmon poached or broiled ($11), about 100 pounds; and chicken around 500 pounds ... Broiled breast of chick- en is also skinless ($7.95). When on 10 Mile Road, which Gallery restaurant he sold in 1984, Stefan learned his first Jewish expression, zie gezundt, from customer Hy Shenkman ... It was the beginning of a wide Yiddish repertoire as various cus- tomers taught him to say shalom, of long years, and is very proud of those memorable moments ... Restaurant guests he knows are like family members to him. Its menu is plain and simple ... nothing fancy ... and a black- board spells out specials like fish of the day, broiled chicken, stir- fry chicken, etc. ... Two soups are homemade daily, mushroom bar- ley and another which changes each day ... Although Stefan was born in Tripoli on the Greek mainland, and wife Irene on the island of Chios, the only familiar- sounding dish is a Greek salad. The Gallery is like a meeting place, especially on Sunday mornings when guys get togeth- er to cut up jackpots, talk about Detroit Tiger woes, Detroit Lions' chances of winning a champi- onship or how much they lost in the stock market ... Plus the oo- dles of two- and three-egg omelette and scrambled combi- and all the waitpersons could say was, "We're going to have it soon." The moment Stefan moved, turkey burger was made a part of the menu, $4.50 ... He has an enthusiasm for low-salt food, low- fat items like cottage cheese, frozen yogurt and others. There are about 35 sandwich- es, 15 menu entrees plus many more specials, five salads, nine desserts, about 40 breakfast fea- tures. Family members are a big strength working with Stefan ... Steve Mavrogiorgis, his brother- in-law, is general manager, kitchen supervisor and also jumps in to cook which he has done for Stefan so many years ... A sister-in-law, Debbie Gdissis, is cashier, hostess and floor man- ager ... Another sister-in-law, He- len Gerazounis, is hostess and bookkeeper ... Stefan's mother- in-law, Maria Mavrogiorgis, pre- Stefan Becharas In his "Gallery." nations along with French toast and five varieties of pancakes ... Heavy favorites are the lox plate with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, sholem aleichem, zol zein mit lox, two bagels and cream cheese, glick and many more ... Stefan's $9.55; lox and onion omelette, knowledge of them is now much $5.55; corned beef or salami larger than a handful ... In fact, omelette, $4.80; scrambled eggs his customers, 90 percent of with corned beef or salami, $4.45; whom are Jewish, never know and scrambled eggs with lox and which one he'll say. onions, $4.85. They come from everywhere On 10 Mile, Gallery never had ... many are of the 10 Mile days, egg white omelettes as are avail- arriving to eat, look around and able at the present Gallery ... see Stefan ... but now also with And it didn't serve salmon, stir their children and grandchildren. fries or pita parmesan, another He has many good memories big seller at $2.65 ... People to talk about with his customers would ask for a turkey burger pares most of the homemade food and makes the delicious soups. All have been with him since he opened the 10 Mile doors and continue to be of much assistance to a grateful Stefan ... Also, Gallery employees from the first day are Karen Spannos, Agie Gilmore and Kathie McKinnie, waitresses working day and night split-shifts when needed ... His wife, Irene, comes almost every day for a few hours to help main- tain the decor, making sure everything is clean and, if dam- aged, replaced where possible ... Irene also works at home check- ing the Gallery records ... Their