Arts Life

The Best Of Everything

Asian Stylings

The Novi Bamboo Club's oriental delicacies tickle
the taste in an eye pleasing atmosphere.

hen a member
still finds plenty of time to
porary Asian atmosphere in their dining
restaurant of a
play (she's single, guys) and
experience ... The clean, open-style
chain can stand
has a great smile.
kitchen from where runners bring the
on its own two
The Bamboo Club in Novi
food to be served, provides a continu-
feet without "mama and papa"
isn't a small place, seating 291
ous display of food preparation and
interference, it says volumes.
... 229 inside and 62 on two
flambeed cooking ... Numerous wok
Bamboo Club in Novi's
outdoor patios.
stations put out steamed, grilled, siz-
Fountain Walk, west of Novi
Its lunch and dinner menus
zled, woked or noodle dishes, depend-
contain interesting items ...
ing on their culture of origin.
Road and south of 12 Mile, is
DAN NY
like the favorite of many, a siz-
achieving what parents want ...
Few places have a Beijing duck with
RAS KIN
Its "children" do good on their
zling Saigon steak or chicken
Asian pancakes ... or the sweet and
Local Columnist
with a hard-to-compare taste
own.
spicy Mandarin orange chicken ... The
In no small measure, the
... Malaysian chicken peanut
crispy red snapper with ginger is a
salad and barbecued grilled salmon are
presence of a general manager on the
much called-for dish ... as is a steamed
spot has much to do with a chain
regular choices ... And the signature
halibut with a ginger garlic sauce.
dessert of fresh berries flavored with
restaurant's success.
Bamboo Club's signature dishes are
At Bamboo Club, Karrie Dunn runs
brandy and flamed at the table is not to delightful ... the spicy crackling cala-
it almost as if it were her own restau-
be missed.
mari salad woked with vegetables, a
rant ... And don't think for a moment
Open seven days, its full kitchen
Thai chili barbecue sauce, lettuce wraps
opens at 11:30 a.m. and closes at 10
with shrimp and chicken ... Its Hong
that the importance of this is to be
ignored.
p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, but
Kong Steak is quite the favorite ... a
Pleasing customers is not to be taken
the restaurant remains open until 11 ...
choice New York strip flamed tableside
lightly ... It is of prime importance to
Fridays and Saturdays a full menu is
with VSOP brandy.
served 11:30-11 with the restaurant
Food seems to taste better when
her, as it should be.
open to midnight ... Sunday hours are
Because of this, Bamboo Club in
served properly ... Since so many people
Novi has made large strides ... When it
noon-10 p.m.
also eat with their eyes, so to speak,
opened early this year, service was con-
The Novi Bamboo Club is striking in
presentation is like a delicious before-
sidered mediocre by some ... She has
its decor with freehand murals around
meal appetizer.
taken this and whipped it into
This is one of the better
shape ... and the wait staff is
Bamboo Club restaurants
around the country ... and a
even smiling more because this
is what Karrie wants.
big reason is presence of a
The Asian styling of Bamboo
general manager who cares.
Club's cooking provides a good
TO THOSE FOLKS like
Virginia Jacobs ... eagerly
concept.
And because of care in clean-
awaiting its opening ... which
liness and service as well, a
is coming later than anticipat-
ed ... The former Uno Pizzeria
higher acceptance is being
achieved on a consistent basis.
on Orchard Lake Road in
West Bloomfield will not be
Karrie isn't without good
another Red Coat Tavern ... It
experience ... serving 10 years
will be called Zinc, a French
in various dining capacities
before joining the Bamboo
Bistro ... owned by Matt and
Club team ... and certainly
Marc Brown, Red Coat
Tavern bosses ... Yes, it will
knows the restaurant game's
inner workings ... From sous
have those great hamburgers
The Bamboo Club of Novi's general manager Karrie Dunn
... and hopefully the wonder-
chef to banquet lead cook ...
ful clam chowder.
then at McCormick &
MORE GUYS AND GALS are
Schmick's in Seattle as server and ban-
the upper restaurant walls ... from a lass
looking for graduation yearbooks that
quet lead cook ... and M&S in Troy as
in Scottsdale, Ariz., who goes to each
have been either lost or misplaced ... If
its opening sous chef ... Her first job
new Bamboo Club around the country
you are one of them, let me know and
... None are the same at any two loca-
was as a 14-year-old waiting tables in
I'll put out a search for you.
South Lyon ... and she's even been a
tions ... done by the girl up on a scaf-
So far are four requests for Detroit
bartender, too.
fold ... Even the ceilings are different,
Central High Centralites ...Pearl
too ... Same for a beautiful large deco
Also being a graduate of the Culinary
Sharfman for 1933 ... Jack Green and
Institute of America ... along with her
mirror hanging in one of the dining
sections and the comfy, unattached pil-
Harry Deitch (for brother Seymour)
having a degree in culinary arts from
1943 ... Louise Friedman Lazarus for
the Art Institute in Seattle ... tells a lot.
lows in the booths.
1946 ... And one for a 1969 Detroit
Guests encounter a dramatic contem-
Karrie works seven days a week, but

.

8/29

2003

70

Henry Ford High Galaxy yearbook ...
for graduate Robin Klein Siman, who
was its Student Life editor... She'd also
love having 1967 and 1968 Galaxys on
which she worked.
DURING THE POWER outage,
seems like some restaurants might have
taken advantage of an opportunity to
recoup some of their losses ... Like the
one that served bottled water without
telling people of the extra charge ... Or
the one which had only a small wall
sign telling the costs of small and large
... What about people who have trouble
seeing or can't read English ... or just
plain don't look at the wall?
Customers were given bottled water
with no questions asked ... and no
charge ... when George Golematis
reopened Giorgio's Gourmet Diner in
West Bloomfield's Sugar Tree Plaza ...
and kept serving it to people from
Saturday when he reopened until the
water all-clear on Wednesday.
While almost all restaurants opened
after the power returned, Tringale's
Pizzeria & Deli on 12 Mile, east of
Orchard Lake Road, in Farmington
Hills remained closed until Tuesday ...
preferring not to wash its vegetables and
fruits in regular tap water, says Joannie
and Gary Tringale ... Customers still
thank them for staying closed.
WHERE THEY ARE Dept. ... Sam
Locriccio, former owner of Arriva
restaurant in Warren ... and fine Lorio's
group singer ... is evening manager of
the upscale Alley Grille restaurant at
Greektown Casino.
BACK IN 1990, 16 local couples
met in a parking lot on Maple and
Telegraph in Bloomfield Township...
boarded a bus and went to the former
1940 Chop House in downtown
Detroit ... to celebrate their 50th wed-
ding anniversaries together.
This year, to fete their "bar-bat mitz-
vah" year, nine of the couples recently
met for dinner at Knollwood Country
Club in West Bloomfield.
Dr. Abe Pearlman led the group with
the Shehechiynu blessing of gratitude ...
and together all said a special prayer for
one of the twosomes, Irwin and Sylvia
Harvith, who had to remain in Florida
... for a speedy and complete recovery
from their illnesses.
The couples still here to celebrate
their 63rd anniversaries were ... Boyd
and Ruth Carnick, Max and Estelle
Miller, Frank and Dorothy Tessler,
Maxwell and Sylvia Goldstein, Lester
and Margarette Satovsky, Aaron and
Millie Berg, Howard and Faye Rice,
Jack and Miriam Shenkman and Abe
and Sylvia Pearlman.
OPENING AT THE former upscale