Arts & Life

The Best Of Everything

Artie's Artistry

linen tablecloths with red linen nap-
kins in a seven-day-a-week dinner-
only operation ... Monday-Saturday,
5-10, and Sunday, 5-9.
Many remember Oliverio's various
styles of salmon, whitefish and halibut
that are now at Maria's ... along with
special order dishes of pickerel, sea
pasta and pesto, then baked
bass and soft-shell crabs.
1 ust as the old saying
in a marinara sauce.
When Artie Oliverio left Maria's
went that clothes made
Oliverio is not modest
years ago, it seemed to leave the
the man or woman, the
about his excellent ways of
restaurant with a culinary void that it
same probably holds true of a
food preparation ... and no
could not recapture ... Now with him
chef's talents in making many
reason why he should be ...
at the helm again, former customers
restaurants.
In fact, his self-confidence is are continually coming back in the
For certain, it is with the
a major reason why the food emergence of a return to its one-time
revival of Maria's Italian
he prepares is so good ...
gastronomic prominence.
restaurant on Walnut Lake
DANNY
Nov that he has returned,
SEA GRILLE will be the name of
Road and Inkster in West
RASKIN
you won't find too many
the new seafood restaurant being
Bloomfield.
Senior
items at Maria's without his
opened on the former site of Big
In fact, so much so that that
Columnist
stamp of approval before
Daddy's Parthenon on Orchard Lake
the informal but fine dining
reaching one of the dining
Road in West Bloomfield.
spot also includes the chef-
room tables.
Closing papers are signed and Craig
partner's name ... Now called Maria's
This is not a pretentious sort of
Dilworth, whose closed Ocean Grille
by Artie Oliverio.
restaurant ... never was ... and never
in Birmingham had a 15-year exis-
His reputation follows him at the
will be ... The food and service,
tence as a premier seafood operation,
restaurant that originally opened in
though, now puts it back into a select
has begun his remodeling process for
1975 and suddenly became one of
an all-new look ... Sea Grille is expect-
the area's better Italian dining
ed to open around June.
operations.
FOR THE 10TH straight year, the
When Oliverio arrived at
excellent
Culinary Studies Institute at
Maria's in 1983, it was just a lit-
Oakland Community College,
tle pizza parlor trying to turn
Orchard Ridge Campus in
itself into a small restaurant
Farmington Hills, will hold its annual
with upper scale ambitions ...
Great Lakes Wine Around Tasting.
This wasn't being achieved ...
Date is Wednesday, May 11, 6-8:30
and didn't do so until three
p.m., at the campus on Orchard Lake
months after Oliverio arrived ...
Road, off 12 Mile and 696 ... with
It was then that the little pizze-
500 wines, including national award-
ria became a highly sophisticat-
winners featured for tasting ... Also
ed restaurant where walking in
the gold, silver and bronze winners
without a reservation meant
from the same-day judging.
going hungry.
With the wine sampling from 80
Maria's by Artie Oliverio is
vineyards will be food creations from
still a small restaurant ... with
Tribute, Motor City Casino, PF
seating in two rooms only
Chang's, four country clubs, etc. ...
about 53 or so ... and reserva-
plus signature foods by OCC culinary
tions very much recommended.
students that are always a main event
Almost 80 percent of the
in themselves.
menu now at Maria's is from
Proceeds go to the Culinary Studies
Oliverio's earlier days at the restau-
Artie Oliverio
Institute's scholarship travel fund.
rant ... including his Veal Cutlet
It's always a packed affair so make
Calibrese that was featured in a
your reservations now ... $45 per per-
1989 issue of Bon Appetit magazine,
class ... The pictures and posters of
son, with phone orders and Visa or
broiled and sauteed with garlic,
lemon, sweet cherry peppers and vine- yesteryears still clutter the walls but in MasterCard accepted ... Call (248)
a very warm and informal way ... The
522-3700.
gar ... and his excellent Veal Maison
little kitchen is the same as when
Darlene Levinson, an instructor at
sauteed with prosciutto, cheese and
Maria's first opened 30 years ago
the Culinary Studies Institute, is
mushrooms in a wine sauce.
except that one of the small rooms
chairperson.
Of course, there is no forgetting a
THE GREAT Motown singing
couple of wonderful appetizers that so presently used for salads and prep-
ping, was originally to make pizza.
group, Four Tops, will be featured on
many people have continually fol-
Bow-tied waitpersons now calmly
the big CD being produced by
lowed him for ... the spiedini with
and knowledgeably explain the dishes
Simone Vitale and Roque Payton, son
Artie's homemade mozzarella and
... Their efficiency and courteous
of the late Lawrence Payton, whose
bread with lemon butter sauce and
ways, like those of server Ernesto
place he will take singing on the disc.
olives, and the eggplant rollotini
Estrada, show a wealth of experience.
Simone's band with two female and
rolled and stuffed with angel hair
Dining service at Maria's is on white one male singer, plus string members

Maria's culinary star returns to revive glory
of earlier days.

43

4/28
2005

64

of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra,
make up the recording expected to
sell well over a million copies.
It'll be called "Goin' Home Around
Midnight" with songs like "Night
And Day," "Come Rain or Come
Shine," "If I Had You," etc. ... Release
date is expected around the end of
June this year.
MAIL DEPT. ... "We love reading
your column on JN Online. We were
residents in the Detroit area for all of
our lives until moving to Scottsdale,
Ariz., in 1993. We can't come close to
duplicating the Coney Islands, gyros
and Greek salads. Your article about
Gene Woo was most interesting. We
frequented Gene's restaurants in Oak
Park and West Bloomfield every week
and are happy to hear that he is back
in business with the same quality food
that we always enjoyed. We look for-
ward to visiting the new restaurant
when we visit in the fall." ... Bill and
Liz Blake.
CONGRATS ... To Jim Gottfurcht,
former Detroiter now living in Los
Angeles, on his 65th birthday.
WORD IS that the next tenant at
the Orchard Lake Road and Pontiac
Trail site will be a wine bar restaurant,
following. Meating Place, Treats,
Buster's Bay, Jake's On the Lake and
Orleans Grill.
RESTAURANT PEOPLE I'd Like
to See Come Out of Retirement
Dept. ... if only to teach some people
how to run a restaurant or train their
employees or both ... Sam Lerman,
head of Ben & George's Delicatessen
in Livonia ... Bernie Litt, former boss
of Billy's Delicatessen on Livernois in
Detroit ... George and Dick
Gunsberg, former owners of Modern
Delicatessen and Gunsberg Meat in
Detroit ... Milos Cihelka, Michigan's
first certified master chef and former
kitchen head of London Chop House
and Golden Mushroom.

QUESTION & ANSWER DEPT.

Q. "I can't ever find anything about a
60th reunion of the 1945 Detroit
Central High graduating class. Do
you know if there is going to be one?
If so, who can we contact?" ... Harold
Finegood, Sarah-Lil Corp.
A. So far, Hal, I haven't received
any information about one ... Seems
unfortunate that nobody, as far as I
know, has taken the bull by the horns
to make certain that a 60th reunion is
held. E

Danny Raskin e-mail address is
dannyraskin@sbcglo balnet