Food

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"Kosher Difference

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A new West Bloomfield restaurant is a welcome change from Detroit's kosher dining history.

JULIE WEINGARDEN
Special to The Jewish News

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INT

hen Paul Kohn opened
La Difference in
December, people ques-
tioned him.
They didn't ask if he was crazy.
They asked what took him so long.
Kohn, who also owns Quality
Kosher Catering in Southfield, offers
dairy and pareve (neither dairy nor
meat) kosher cuisine at La Difference
in West Bloomfield to both Jews and
non-Jews. "We need to show people
that kosher isn't some voodoo-
infused, paganistic backwoods con-
cept," says Kohn.
Kosher-observant families are
bringing children who have never
eaten at a restaurant. "One of the
main reasons I opened the restaurant
is to introduce the Jewish community
to kosher food other than at their
weddings and bar mitzvahs. There has
co be some place for them to experi-
ence kosher food," says Kohn.
"We hope this is_going to be a
precedent in the city so that other
people will open up kosher restau-
rants and the kosher-eating commu-
nity will have lots of choices."
A far stretch from the kosher delis
and cafeteria-style eateries of metro
Detroit's past, La Difference is a fine-
dining restaurant with mahogany
chairs, white linen tablecloths and sil-
ver — not stainless steel. The dining
room glows with custom-designed
light fixtures and welcoming shades of
sunflower yellow and Mediterranean
blue. A mural with flowers, sky and
sea is a focal point and the opposite
wall is decorated with elegant curtains.
"We have a lot of people who
think of kosher food more as tradi-
tional Jewish foods," says manager
John Wood. "They call and ask,
`Don't you have blintzes or gefilte
fish?'
La Difference, true to its name, is
anything but traditional kosher deli
delights. It's an American-style restau-

O

Top:
Dinner special:
Fennel-encrusted
pan-seared
salmon over
spinach, with
mushrooms,
redskin potatoes,
red onion, roast-
ed red pepper,
bleu cheese and
balsamic essence.

Left:
Sous chef Scott
Swamba
prepares
pan-seared
salmon.

rant serving foods with French flavor
and California flair. Wood says the
prices for the upscale restaurant are
competitive with restaurants in the
area.
The menu offers fish, pasta and
vegetable dishes, but no meats.
Appetizers include North Atlantic
smoked salmon on a potato latke
with caviar, sour cream and fried
capers ($6.75), and charred ahi tuna
with red chili fettuccine ($6.95).
Entrees come with soup or salad,
bread and butter, and a starch and a
vegetable. Choices range from roasted
eggplant with a three-cheese stuffing
($9.95) to Traverse Bay style perch
($17.95) and Macadamia crusted
Chilean sea bass ($18.95). Kids meals
are $5.95 and include grilled cheese,
macaroni and cheese, fish and chips,
and spaghetti with marinara sauce.
"A lot of people have a stereotype
about what kosher food is until they
come here and realize we are just
competing with every other nice
restaurant in the city," says John
Schmidt, executive chef.
In order to compete, the La
Difference needs to appeal to the
non-Jewish community. Part of their
plan is not focusing on the kosher
aspect. "What I tell people," says
Wood, "is, 'The ambiance is nice,
there's a great little bar and oh, by the
way, it's kosher.' We downplay the
kosher part to people outside the
Jewish community because we want
to promote our good food and good
service."
La Difference joins the Orchard
Lake Road corridor already lined with
restaurants. Unlike its area competi-
tors, La Difference is closed on
Friday. Its hours are Sunday-
Thursday, 4-10 p.m. It is open on
Saturday nights after Shabbat through
mid-March. In February, it opens on
Saturday nights at 7:30 p.m. and in
March it will open at 8 p.m. It won't
be open on Saturday nights from
mid-March through September.
To compensate for the missing

2/12

1999

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