EXTENSIVE WINE LIST • LUNCH & DINNER
D'Amato's Brings Italian Fare,
Neighborhood Flavor To Royal Oak
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KITCHEN OPEN UNTIL MIDNIGHT FRI & SAT
LUNCH MON - FRI
DINNER TUES - SAT
hey needed a name for their
Fundamental dining without to 2:30 p.m. ... Dinner is Sunday
new restaurant ... The bank overly done fanfare seems to through Thursday, 5 p.m. to 10
wasn't interested in corpo- many times work better.
p.m., and Friday and Saturday,
rate titles, so the co-owners
It makes its own foccacia bread 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.
left and put their heads togeth- ... and the Parmesan bread soup
Goodnight Gracie (George
er.
has the appearance somewhat of Burns used to tell his wife, Gra-
Dennis Antoniello remem- chicken soup with matzah balls. cie Allen, "Say goodnight, Gra-
bered D'Amato's Bakery back in
Down-to-earth neighborhood cie" on their "Burns & Allen"
Chicago, checked to see if the dining as presented by
radio show), is open
name was registered here ... dis- D'Amato's may not have
Tuesday through Sat-
covered it wasn't and so was born the frills of more glam-
urday, 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.
another Royal Oak restaurant.
orous Italian eateries,
People must be mind-
D'Amato's opened in June but it does center on
ful of the fact that
1996, on Sherman between much of which many
D'Amato's is a good Ital-
Washington and 11 Mile.
Italians recognize.
ian-style restaurant, but
It is the site of Keith Famie's
The open-air kitchen
not with a full-scale
former Les Auteurs and Duran- exudes fresh aromas of DANNY RASKIN
menu selection as might
go Grill.
food, 120 feet of window
be expected when din-
LOC AL
Dennis is the working partner space allows folks to look
ing Italian.
COLU MNIST
of Jack and Mike Hanna.
out at downtown Royal
Bearing this in mind,
The quaint look of yesteryears Oak and the train tracks leading it is a pleasurable place to go.
is captured by antique serving to Detroit and Chicago, antique
STAR CENTER Southfield,
plates on the walls, bicycles hang- furnishings are coordinated with which opens this May, featuring
ing from the ceiling, standing wicker-back chairs to create a 20 movie screens, seating for
lamps with shades of another more relaxed atmosphere, and 6,000 and six restaurants, will be
era, old-type light fixtures, etc.
natural colors are accented by one of the largest entertainment
A glassed-in open kitchen en- large amounts of open wood.
complexes in the nation.
ables folks to see their food being
Always nice to see persons like
Restaurants at the new $35.6
prepared in the neighborhood co-general managers John F. Kel- million Star Center Southfield,
restaurant atmosphere.
The portions are large,
with enough boxes on
hand for customers to
take home for the next
day's lunch or dinner.
D'Amato's menu is 40
percent Italian favorites
and 60 percent freshly
created specials, many of
which are always on the
bill of fare that is assem-
bled each day.
Highly recommended
pasta items are the ca-
vatappi, tossed in a roast-
ed garlic cream sauce with
spinach and grilled chick-
en breast; penne together
with tomatoes, capers, ar-
tichokes, roasted potatoes,
olives, garlic and spinach.
Italian meatloaf with
mashed potatoes and a
wild mushroom sauce is
eaten with confidence and
good taste ... It goes over
big, as does chicken mar-
sala, sauteed breast with D'Amato's Mike Hanna, John Broomhead, John Kelly and Dennis Antoniello.
wild mushrooms, garlic
and marsala wine lemon sauce, ly and John Broomhead available south of 12 Mile between North-
over roasted potatoes and as- to assist whenever possible.
western Highway and Telegraph,
paragus.
The next-door Goodnight Gra- will include the Official All-Star
Atlantic salmon is an inter- cie lounge bar is accessible from Cafe, co-owned by tennis stars
esting preparation and presen- D'Amato's restaurant without go- Andre Agassi and Monica Seles,
tation ... chargrilled and served ing outside ... it features a unique hockey great Wayne Gretzky,
over a saute of roasted potatoes, combination of the classic 1930s baseball's Ken Griffey Jr., foot-
wild mushrooms and basil with speakeasy with live piano tunes, ball legend Joe Montana, bas-
a sweet onion sauce.
personal humidor lockers and ketball's Shaquille O'Neal and
The restaurant concept at specialty cocktails created in an golfer Tiger Woods.
D'Amato's focuses on Italian but atmosphere of warmth.
The group already has restau-
in a different way ... Large por-
D'Amato's is a seven-day-a- rants in Las Vegas, New York
tions and basics appear to be the week operation ... Lunch is Mon- and Cancun, Mexico.
main focal point in its expression. day through Friday, 11:30 a.m.
Several of the owners are ex-