Auburn Hills, is noted for its varied
and extensive selections that allow
meat eaters, vegetarians and diet-
watchers to enjoy their choices with-
out fear of overly spiced food ... In
fact, a number of items on menu are
prepared without spices or can be
ordered that way with no loss of taste.
AS FLAMES continually lick from
its woks, the Stir Crazy Cafe in
Auburn Hills' Great Lakes Crossing on
Baldwin Road, is a twofold operation
... Guests also have their option of vis-
iting the Asian market bar to put
together their custom concoctions and
sauces which Stir Crazy chefs take and
put into water-cooled woks for deli-
cious treats ... After a couple spoons of
canola oil, a theatrical burst of flame
from Stir Crazy's custom-designed
750-degree stove top burners and a
few shakes of the wok, the chef returns
your creation fresh, fragrant, piping
hot and healthy ... all in about three
minutes from start to finish ... Or
folks can select from the large menu
offerings that include traditional and
creative dishes.
SITTING IN A strip shopping cen-
ter on Opdyke Road in Auburn Hills,
Fran O'Brien's Maryland Crabhouse
soothes many palates with its fine sea-
farin' offerings.
The Maryland crab cakes are excel-
lent ... and the fresh fish, crab legs, the
big seller clam bucket, full-bodied
clam chowder, pasta, etc. ... including
10 kinds of crab selections and fried
'whole Ipswich clams, a big Boston
favorite.
SINCE OPENING in 1997 at
Somerset Collection North on West
Big Beaver in Troy, Capital Grille has
maintained an average customer count
of almost 3,000 a week ... It is
acclaimed as one of America's finest
upscale steak houses ... with the spe-.
cialty of dry aged steak ... a concept
where steaks are kept on the premises
in temperature-controlled rooms of
32-34 degrees for a minimum of 14
days to four weeks, depending on the
cut of meat and personal preference,
before being served.
But lost in the shuffle is its fish ...
like the salmon, which Capital Grille
buys and cuts locally for lunch and
dinner ... In the same regular delivery
are excellent swordfish steaks, flown in
fresh, never frozen ... The Troy locale
has the highest seafood sales percent-
age in the Capital Grille system ...
even loftier than that of Boston, from
where it also has flown in . regularly the
two-, three- and four-pound fresh
cold-water lobsters.
THE OVER 300 trademark carica-
tures on the walls at Troy Palm on
Crooks Road in Troy, take a distant
second fiddle to the good food and
service ... Steak has been king for
many years at the Palm restaurants
nationwide ... The prime aged steaks
and jumbo boiled, slightly charred,
lobster are its most wanted and best
items ... At the Troy location, 12-
pounders are not a novelty anymore.
Its original Italian heritage has not
been forgotten ... with Italian specialty
dishes that are choice.
THERE'S NO mistaking that it's a
Chinese restaurant serving traditional
dishes from all regions of China ... But
the food at P.F. Chang's at Somerset
Collection South in Troy continues to
be noted as highly sophisticated ... the
best of traditional Chinese ...blended
together with American-style affability
to make for an upscale bistro opera-
tion ... Its menu that reaches into the
five provinces of China in presenting
high-quality offerings, have a variety
that seems to include something for
everyone ... The preparations are very
Chinese but very modern.
MORE ON THE Nu-Asian style is
Mon Jin Lau on East Maple in Troy,
whose cuisine also takes in other sec-
tors like Vietnamese or old Cathay to
modern China or French colonial
Peking ... Mon Jin Lau seems to have
no boundaries when it comes to food,
incorporating much of Asia in its culi-
nary presentations ... Traditional
Chinese dishes like egg foo young,
chop suey, chow mein, etc., are made,
but in the Main, Szechuan,
Mongolian, Malaysian, Mandarin,
Japanese, Hunan, Thai, Shanghai,
Vietnamese, etc., are the Nu-Asian
item requests.
MARIO'S OF TROY, on John R
and Maple, is smaller than its sister
restaurant in Detroit, but serves pretty
much the same menu ... at lower
prices ... The steaks at Mario's of Troy
enjoy the exact same marinating
process of soaking in garlic oil as that
done on Second Blvd.
TROY'S SOMERSET Inn on West
Big Beaver is one of the better infor-
mal dining spots in the area ... The
prime rib at Crumpets is a standout ...
and steaks' are properly aged and pre-
pared with juicy tenderness ... In the
morning, Crumpets is a popular coffee
shop ... Then it becomes a fine casual
dining restaurant for lunch and dinner
... Salmon, broiled whitefish and perch
are highly requested items ... as is an
18-ounce porterhouse. Li
Danny Raskin's e-mail address is
dannyraskin@sbcglobal.net
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West Bloomfield
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4301 Orchard Lake Rd.
Crosswinds Shopping Center
248-626-7600
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860090
6n,
4/1/iitt g_a.he
Great Italian Food
Rated 31 / 2 Stars
By The Detroit News
2080 Walnut Lake Road
West Bloomfield, MI
Available for parties
Call: 248-851-2500 for reservations
Closed Monday • Tuesday - Thursday 5-10
Friday - Saturday 5-11 • Sunday 4-9
859560
7/ 9
2004
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