Cuisine to
Dine for
Best Of Everything
Successful Owners Are Doing
The Right Thing At Oakland Grill
Renown Chef
Louai
Sharkas
invites
you to
experience
the taste
everyone is
talking
about.
Michigan's
finest upscale,
casual
American
bistro.
Now open
for lunch.
'Oakland Gril
class act." —
Our meal. at Oakland Grill was
• exceptional and it left us talking
about our food all weekend long."
— Oakland Press
Hours:
Mon-Wed
11:30 a.m. - 12:00 midnight
Thur-Fri
11:30 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Sat.
5:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Please join us for happy hour,
Monday thru Friday, 4-7 p.m.
Domestic beers
$2.00
Imported beers
$2.50
Well drinks
$3.00
Available for private
engagements Saturday
afternoons and Sundays.
32832 Woodward
►
Royal Oak
Oust South of 14 Mile Rd.)
11/14
(248) 549-7700
1997
Reservations accepted.
90
... It has a wide-open look now instead
on the same menu as pecan crusted
,. ike any form of entertain-
of
the cut-up main room where folks
black tiger shrimp with wasabi sweet-
ment ... and dining out cer-
couldn't
see who was in the next
and-sour sauce ... or O.G. Burger on
tainly is one ... the art of
booth.
an onion roll alongside a daily special
shrewd business sense has
Among the few things remaining
like seared barbarie duck breast with
become as important, if not more so
are the beautiful alabaster bar and
sundried cherries and Grand Marnier
in many cases, than just being a
marble floor.
glace.
restaurateur.
The exterior has been changed
And appetizers like potato pancakes
This is why places like the Oakland
from
purple neon to ruby red neon
with sour cream and applesauce next
Grill, on Woodward and 14 Mile in
with
black
and ivory accents bringing
to house smoked salmon Napoleon
Royal Oak, have such a head start
out the good-looking, polished stain-
with dilled cucumber noodles and
toward the lofty and manytimes eva-
less steel facade.
Boursin cheese.
sive goal of success.
Inside, the casual, upscale American
There's even fluffy egg-
The owners are successful
bistro styling includes warm browns
white or whole-egg omelets
businessmen who know what it
and deep reds with accents of green
with spinach, mushroom,
means to succeed.
and yellow.
feta or whatever way you
In the world of restaurateur-
Biggest sellers are appetizers of tiger
wish ... to order at any time.
ing, the name of the game is
shrimp, potato pancakes and tuna
Stuart rents his linens to
treating people so they will
sashimi ... and entrees of salmon, veal
other restaurants ... Those at
return.
chop and angel hair pasta.
Oakland Grill are, naturally,
Give customers what they
But this is misleading since so
his ... Gary owns the prop-
want and coffers will jingle.
many other dishes on the Oakland
erty on which,Casa Lupita
Oakland Grill owners have
Grill menu have also proven to be best
in Troy is located ... and
DANNY
learned this in other businesses
sellers
as well.
loves so much to cook that
RASKIN
and are applying their knowl-
There are specials every day that
he has a commercial kitchen
Local Columnist
edge to the restaurant.,
might include hash browned crusted
at home.
Stuart Wish, managing part-
The interesting menu that halibut or swordfish tenderloin teriya-
ner, is CEO of Ameritex Service
ki or grilled baby lamb chops.
makes Oakland Grill a complete
Group, a prominent uniform and
Just about everything is made from
restaurant was put together by Gary
linen service; Gary Shiffman and Ron
scratch,
including all desserts and all
and Louai.
Klein are real estate developers; Steve
breads
by
both a full-time pastry chef —
The fellows are smart ... As success-
Friedman is a builder and owns
and
full-time
baker.
ful as they may be in other businesses,
Selective Homes.
Oakland Grill is open six days ...
the four went out and got someone
It is the first restaurant venture for
Monday-Wednesday, 11:30 a.m. to
like John Wood to assist them in their
all four ... But not so for chef/partner
midnight; Thursday and Friday, 11:30
beginning days ... The former execu-
Louai Sharkas, in charge of the food
to 2 a.m.; Saturday, 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.
tive vice president of Machus
operation.
Many evenings, especially Saturdays,
Enterprises is now an independent
Louai is a restaurant veteran ...
are
like synagogues and temples just let
restaurant consultant.
When only 14 years old, he worked as
out
or some country clubs had closed
Oakland Grill's banana cream pie is
a salad prepper for Bob Kimoto,
their doors for the night.
Gary's recipe ... and has become the
maitre d' at the Bijou ...and was there
restaurant's signature
for years before going on to Jacques
dessert .. Except for
Seafood, Restaurant Duglass and
having whipped
Rugby Grill at the Townsend Hotel.
cream on top, it
When Louai opened Oakland Grill
tastes almost like the
with Stuart, Gary, Ron and Steve, he
one Johnny Vaqiates
looked up Bob Kimoto and brought
used to make years
him aboard ... to work for him.
back at the Cream of
Tuxedoed Bob is Oakland Grill's
Michigan on Pingree
highly proficient maitre d' ... and his
and 12th.
prowess at preparing Caesar salads,
Gary says that his
shrimp Saigon, flambeed bananas
life-long ambition
Foster and cherries jubilee among
when he retires is to
many other hand-mixed tableside
have a restaurant with
delights, has been widely acclaimed
handcut corned beef
since his days at Trader Vic's in the
... Retirement wasn't
Statler-Hilton on Washington
necessary, and the
Boulevard (plus Mauna Loa, Bijou,
corned beef is a big
Townsend, Joe Muer's and Kingsley).
seller on the menu.
Bob is also responsible for the
The facelift given
teriyaki beef, crab toast and wasabi
the former site of
shrimp at Oakland Grill.
Jukebox, Avenue
The concept of giving people what
Diner and America is
they want has been going over big ...
much more con-
and it is a welcomed pleasure to see
Klein, Stuart Wish and
ducive for seeing and At Oakland Grill, seated, are Ron
Gary Shiffman and
items like large, hot; handcut Vienna
Steve
Friedman,
and
standing
are
waving hello to others
corned beef on grilled, homemade rye
Chef Louai Sharkas.