JNEntertainment

Michigan's finest upscale,
yet casual American . bistro

Savor the taste that is the
talk of the town

The Best Of Everything

A plain-name restaurant with fancy, crowd-pleasing food.

"Oakland Grill gets wows for
class act." — Observer & Eccennic

"Our meal at Oakland Grill was
exceptional and it left us talking
about our food all. weekend long."

— Oakland Press

Tuesday through Thursday evenings and
complimentary fray-passed Sushi in the
lounge every Thursday evening

Hours:

Mon-Wed

11:30 a.m. - 12:00 midnight

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

Ousf Soufh of 14 Mile Rd.)

(248) 549-7700

fter it opened on Oct. 2,
1997, many customers
would leave with a strange
look of puzzled content-
ment on their faces.
They knew this was something dif-
ferent but couldn't quite put their fin-
gers on what it was.
Now, a little over four months later,
the answer has been given to just
about everyone who has been there.
Not only is Beans & Cornbread in
Sunset Strip, Northwestern Highway
between 12 Mile and Inkster in
Southfield, one of the best restaurants
of its kind, the food is decidedly dif-
ferent ... and amazingly prepared with
a charm that oozes of tasty goodness.
Seeing is believing is about the only
way to describe this restaurant ... Few
people, if any, could have imagined
that the new Beans & Cornbread
would not only be crowded lunch and
dinner ... but that so many, in antici-
pation of a wonderful dining adven-
ture, would be willing to .wait.
At lunchtime, many customers
have learned to come early to make
certain of getting a booth or table.
Reservations are taken only for din-
ner, and regulars proudly tell others of
having been there at least 10 times.
The food at Beans & Cornbread is
superb ... Probably the best soul food
folks have had in many a moon.
This is a different kind of soul food
... More on the order of gourmet soul
food ... or soul food with a flair ...
presented with a delightful touch.
I don't think you'll find a lunch
item like portobello mushroom sand-
wich at too many soul food restau-
rants ... Or potato encrusted salmon •
at dinner ... Along with evening pre-
sentations of tempura shrimp, etc. ...
plus appetizers like Gulf shrimp and
wild mushroom fritters.
Sure, there's homemade meat loaf,
juicy baby-back ribs, fried chicken,
catfish, etc., prepared in a way that
bring out a fine taste goodness seldom
encountered.
Folks go ga-ga over the salmon cro-
quettes, sauteed and drizzled with a
roasted pepper sauce ... Even plain or
macaroni and cheese is different ...
Lake Superior whitefish can be gotten
parmesan encrusted or broiled ... And
the Harlem burritos have a distinctive

flavor all their very own.
Cornbread are the salmon prepara-
A popular daily dinner feature is
tions (300 pounds a week) and catfish
the 12-ounce New York strip steak
(350 pounds weekly) ... Biggest of all
with wild mushroom caps ... And spe-
is the fried chicken ... In one week it
cial items are available like calves liver
is nothing to serve 400 orders ... In
with onions, grilled halibut
all, including the roast
with avocado pesto, pickerel
chicken and jerk chicken,
(pan-fried, broiled or grilled),
you can count over 650
mahi-mahi, swordfish, lobster,
orders a week of just chick-
etc.
en products done at lunch
Patrick Coleman, former
and dinner ... Serving over
dining room manager at Forte
300 plate orders of ribs
in Birmingham and general
weekly in this little restau-
manager at Sebastian's in Troy,
rant is common.
both of which he helped open,
The breads are all home-
is the working partner at Beans
made
... and placed on the
DANNY
& Cornbread ... On the side-
table
in
bread baskets that
RASKIN
lines are attorney Richard
are
empty
in minutes ...
Local Columnist
Rollins and businessman
The sweet potato cornbread
Ronald Lipson.
muffins have few equals ...
Patrick always did want a restau-
And the cornbread is like pieces of
rant that would take soul food to an
cake ... Willie also makes the pecan
upscale level ... With his background
pie and peach cobbler ... along with
of fine dining and eating soul food, he soups and sauces.
held the combination for a perfect
Salmon croquettes at Beans &
match and has certainly proven that
Cornbread are made with absolutely
soul food can also be prepared on the
no filler (cornbread, cereal or bread-
gourmet side.
crumbs) and served on a plate with
macaroni and cheese, collard
greens and Hoppin' John
(black-eyed peas and rice.)
Seating is only for 64
people amid a lot of good
foot stompin' jazz music,
show biz pictures of Billy
Holiday, Dorothy Dan-
dridge, Flip Wilson, Lena
Horne, etc. ... Shots of Joe
Louis, Jackie Robinson,
Depression era in Harlem
during the '20s and '30s,
etc. ... with music wafting
softly over speakers ... Louis
Jordan, Ella Fitzgerald,
Sarah Vaughn, etc.
Yes, you can certainly call
Billie Holiday seems to sing to Beans Cornbread's
this a gourmet soul food
Patrick Coleman.
restaurant ... But within a
very casual atmosphere.
In Chef Willie Jackson, Patrick
There are always two homemade
found the right person to run the
soups ... Vegetable potato leek and a
kitchen as he hoped, and prepare the
soup of the day ... split pea or tomato
food in the upscale style he wanted.
bisque or seafood gumbo or corn
Willie was executive chef at Ocean
chowder, etc.
Grille in Birmingham, and knows the
Beans & Cornbread is big on pre-
exactness in preparations of good food
sentation and health ... It uses only
... So applying this knowledge to soul
canola oil and has vegetable plates
food was well within his reach.
available at all times.
Among the big sellers at Beans and
Soul food has a stigma of being