Tommy Peristeris and Rick Rogow

Arta

ertainment

The Best Of Everything

invite you to join us for lunch or dinner 7 days a week

•

OUR AWARD WINNING TOMMY SALAD
MICHIGAN'S FINEST LAMB CHOPS AND OTHER
FAVORITE GREEK SPECIALTIES.

Complete carry-out service available, banquet rooms accommodating
up to 250 people, for all occasions...and our catering coordinators
are at your service to help you plan your perfect affair.

Weddings, Showers, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs,
Anniversaries, Reunions, Birthdays, etc., etc.

Corporate Events

Shiva Dinners

N

3/24
2000

98

6199 ORCHARD LAKE RD. (North of Maple) WEST BLOOMFIELD, MI • (248) 737-8600

comprised some of
the most important
and notable people
who happened to
be in town. They
were political fig-
ures, movie and
Broadway stars,
authors, composers,
maestros, symphony and jazz musi-
cians, along with the top echelon of
the major corporations. Every person
who basked in the glow of celebrity,
but who also wanted to dine anony-
mously, felt safe at the Chop House
during their stay in the Detroit area.
"'Come on, Dad,' said Lauren, now
interested. 'Name some of them.'
"'Okay, at the risk of sounding like
the world's biggest name-dropper, I'll
tell you about a few of the performers
we personally met: Diana Ross, Bob
Hope, Tom Jones (he also came on
stage and sang with us), Michael
Jackson, Julie Andrews, Sting, Herb
Alpert, Burt Bacharach, Whitney
Houston and Van Halen."'
"'Didn't you meet Bill Clinton at
the Chop House?' Jason was now get-
ting into it.
"'Not directly,"' I replied. "'One
evening former Michigan Governor
James Blanchard was having dinner at
the Chop House and invited me to
join him at his table for a cocktail.
From that evening, Governor
Blanchard appointed me to be his
musical director, an honor that led to
performing at countless state dinners
and political events.
"'The high point of this relation-
ship occurred when Governor
Blanchard asked me to produce the
music and entertainment for the
National Governors Association that
he hosted in 1987. It was a weeklong
event honoring 44 of the nation's gov-
ernors, one of whom was former
Governor Bill Clinton. We hit it off
quite well, and Governor Clinton
wound up playing tenor sax with my
band, Colours, during several of the
parties. "'Subsequently, Governor Bill
Clinton became President Bill
Clinton. Since his inauguration, we
have performed for him on three sepa-
rate occasions. None of this would
have happened had it not been for the
Chop House.
"Are there any other celebrities you
can think of?' the kids asked.
"'Come on, guys, this celebrity
thing is approaching overkill! The real
celebrities, and I mean this, were the
regular customers — the people who
considered the Chop House a kind of
haven and second home. It was a pub