AVENUE
DINER
Jewish Cuisine
Goes To The East Side
DANNY RASKIN LOCAL COLUMNIST
Avenue Diner...Michigan's Newest "In" Place
Avenue Diner introduces executive chef Kirk Robinson
from Pike Street in Pontiac and sous chef Michael Dunn
from the Mansion at Turtle Creek in Dallas. They offer
an innovative menu ranging from cutting-edge cuisine
to comfort foods. Fresh fish and specials are presented
daily with a savory twist.
Avenue Diner wines are an eclectic mix of California,
French and Australian bottles picked for their outstanding
values. Sans Snob relatives the spirit of the list and blends
complex with inexpensive offerings.
ENTERTAINMENT-DANCING
Wed. & Sat. Evenings
Featuring
DAVID BALL
KEVIN CROSBY
Thurs. & Fri. Evenings
"Back To Back"
GWEN FOX
GREG DOKES
EXCITING AMERICAN CUISINE
• PRIVATE PARTIES • CATERING • SHOWERS • BAR MITZVAHS
* "a"
FREE LIMOUSINE
SERVICE FOR LUNCH
RESERVATION
(810) 549-2000
(5 Mile Radius)
Complimentary
Valet
Service
4616 Woodward,
Royal Oak
Just South of 14 Mile
Your Host: David Lachman
AT OUR NEW NOVI LOCATION ONLY
EARLY
BIRD
DINNER
SPECIALS
Monday thru Friday Only 3pm-5pm
MONDAY - LIVER & ONIONS OR BEEF STROGANOFF
TUESDAY - POT ROAST OR ChlOCEN PARMESAN
WEDNESDAY - RoAsTED OicKEN OR BAKED Coo
THURSDAY - SFER-ERD'S PE oR
STUFFED CHICKEN BREAST
FRIDAY - MEAT LOAF OR FISH AND CI-ES
EARLY BIRD
$695
-
OTHER DAILY EARLY BIRD SPECIALS AVAILABLE
AT REDUCED PRICES
No Coupons, Plate Sharing or Carry Outs
43317 East Grand River, Novi (810) 305-5856
W
ith nothing more to
with the help of his sister, Karen
prove in the restaurant Supian, also serves ... Karen as-
world, having carved a sists with the cooking, too.
solid niche as one of the
L'Chaim is like a restaurant
nation's finest dining emporiums, within a restaurant, with reser-
Van Dyke Place on Van Dyke vations required for dining on the
and Jefferson has added anoth- non-smoking second level, seat-
er gem to its treasured list.
ing about 30 people ... Guests can
Traditional Jewish foods are also order from the L'Chaim
being received with high
popularity at Van Dyke
Place, noted as one of
three Michigan restau-
rants rated among the top
50 by a Conde Nast Trav-
eler's reader poll ... Its
ranking was 21 ... The
others are the Whitney
and the Lark ... A 1994-
95 DiRoNa award for
"dedication to excellence
in providing delicious food,
great wines and spirits
and extraordinary service.
A truly distinguished
restaurant" was also
received by Van Dyke
Place.
When a restaurant has
achieved such high signif-
icance, you may ask, why
burden the executive chef
with learning culinary
skills of yet another cook- John McCarthy, Keith Supian and Ron Fox.
ing style?
It would be difficult to pre- menu in the downstairs areas of
pare the Jewish dishes served at Van Dyke Place ... When mak-
Van Dyke Place if the executive ing a reservation, folks will ask
chef wasn't Jewish and hadn't to be given the L'Chaim menu ...
been brought up with its teach- The upstairs area is considered
ings.
most desirable because of cus-
Executive Chef Keith Supian tomers being surrounded by peo-
attended Beth Achim Hebrew ple they perhaps know.
School, graduated Southfield-
Keith looks at his Jewish cook-
Lathrup High and was in the fine ing with a sharp eye on the
Schoolcraft College culinary pro- health angles ... He tries to stay
gram ... If ingredients are in the away from fat as much as possi-
house, he will make whatever ble, using vegetable oil instead
customers desire.
with highly gratifying results.
In the meantime, his enor-
The L'Chaim at Van Dyke
mous talents have released a Place "Noshing Menu" showcas-
wonderful dining experience es Keith's talented culinary ex-
drawn from Keith's Jewish her- pertise.
itage ... and so the L'Chaim din-
Both Jews and non-Jews love
ing.
his chicken soup with stuffed
He is the son of Beverly and matzah balls, $3; chatzilim (egg-
Bernard Supian, and has been plant caviar) $5; vegetarian
executive chef at Van Dyke Place chopped liver, $5; Reuben-style
three years ... before that sous blintzes (corned beef, sauerkraut,
chef two years and cook one year. Swiss cheese, wrapped in a
The rugelach and mandelbrot blintz-type pancake and served
he makes are from recipes of his over braised cabbage with Russ-
grandmother, Hannah Geller- ian dressing), $6; yaprikas
man, who handed down her in- (stuffed grape leaves served with
structions to daughters, Beverly, abbas) $6; schmaltz herring cro-
and Roberta Brown, married to quettes (herring with wine sauce
Seymour Brown ... Another ground with onions, eggs, salt
aunt, Emily, is wed to Joe Krin- and pepper, parsley and dill, veg-
sky, former owner of Rosen's etable oil, bread crumbs and a bit
Bread and Bonnie Bakery.
of matzah meal flour, served with
Beverly and Bernard Supian new potato salad and dill dipping
love it when son Keith comes over sauce), $8; miniature eggplant
... He cooks, washes dishes and, filled with lamb and almonds, $8;
baked whitefish crusted with
matzah and pistachios, $10;
kasha meatloaf and fidellos tosta-
dos, $9; pan-roasted apricot
chicken with walnuts, currants
and potato latke, $12; grilled
salmon stuffed cabbage leaves
and potato knishe, $13; glazed
beef brisket over kasha var-
nishkes, $12; apple strudel, $4;
rice kugel, $4; etc.
Van Dyke Place, with its ex-
quisitely-elegant surroundings,
was originally built in 1900 as the
mansion residence of Finck Over-
alls king William Muir Finck
An artistic grace creates the feel-
ing of intimate European dining
salons of Paris and Vienna dur-
ing yesteryears of tasteful beau-
tY.
Three rooms on the main floor
and four on the second level seat
100 ... Another lower level area,
formerly a billiard room, can be
used by groups for planned re-
ceptions.
John McCarthy and Ron Fox
purchased the mansion to make
into a restaurant ... They opened
on Aug. 18, 1981, with the inten-
tion of John doing the cooking
and Ron taking care of the din-
ing rooms ... It had been the
Finck family home through the
`60s and then sold to designer
Ruth Joyce, who lived there and
sold her clothes in the residence.
John and Ron are the nation's
only single proprietors with the
distinction of having two restau-
rants winning the DiRoNa (dis-
tinguished restaurants of North
America) award in the same year
... They also own the Whitney on
Woodward, another former man-
sion.