The Best Of Everything

Simon Sez

Ann Arbor-based restaurant group shares its distinctive recipes in new cookbook.

now being sold wherever
hen he was lost at
books are to be found, seems
sea in 1993, the
to tell another story instead
late Chuck Muer
of being just another cook-
left many legacies to be
book.
admired ... None, however,
It verily shouts that
say more than his record of
Mainstreet Ventures may
former employees who have
have had its beginning as just
gone on to own their own
as a seafood operation, but
restaurants.
today is spread out with fine
Those of today number
DAN NY
dining, casual dining, Italian
Bill Kruse, owner of Kruse
RAS KIN
concepts,
steak and chop pre-
and Muer Restaurants and
Sen for
sentations,
etc.
Rochester Chop House;
Colu mnist
In
other
words,
Simon's
Craig Common, Common
fine cookbook, with its edito-
Grill; Craig Dilworth, former
rial content, easy-to-follow recipes and
owner of Ocean Grille and now of the
colorful photographs, actually tells of a
new Sea Grille; Rocky Rachwitz,
Mainstreet
Ventures direction that many
Rocky's and Steve & Rocky's, among
people
may
still be totally unaware.
many more.
THE
NEW
SATURDAY night
Back in 1981, three of his former
Carl's
Comedy
Club has taken off with
employees, Dennis Serras, Dieter
a bang ... Its weekly lineup of laugh-
Boehm and Mike Gibbons, combined
getters takes in guys and gals from the
their talents and experiences to form
country over, along with local funny
Mainstreet Ventures, in Ann Arbor.
folks
who have gained popularity.
Dennis had originally opened the first
One
of them, P.J. Buttard, six-foot-
Real Seafood Co. in 1975 in Ann Arbor
six
with
a rapid tongue that brought
and joined forces with Dieter and Mike
many
guffaws,
is a father raising a
in the three-way partnership.
daughter on his own who gets a lot of
Dieter has since retired and
laughs at night to supplement his day
Mainstreet Ventures today operates 16
restaurants in four states ... but is proba- job.
And there's also hard-to-get Bill
bly best known for their Ann Arbor
Hildebrand,
a Riviera standout in Las
restaurants, Real Seafood Co., Gratzi,
Vegas, who will be at Carl's
on Nov. 5.
Dennis Semis, Mike Gibbons and
Carl's Comedy Club admis-
Cbe f Simon Pesusich
sion is $10, which is waved if
folks have dinner either in the
dining areas or where the
Comedy Club is held.
Carl's Chop is on Grand
River at the Lodge Express-
way.
ALWAYS A PACKED fun
night, the fifth annual Arts Du
Jour, sort of a taste of its yearly
Labor Day Arts, Beats & Eats
biggie,
is
Sunday, Aug. 28, 7-10:30
the Chop House with adjoining La
p.m.,
at
Somerset
Collection South in
Dolce Vita, and Palk.
Troy.
Chef Simon Pesusich came on board
Plenty of food, music, art, celebrity-
in 1982 as executive chef and today is a
looking, etc., to help raise money for
partner with Dennis and Mike.
many nonprofit and needy groups here-
The cookbook recently written by
abouts.
Chef Simon, Mainstreet Ventures
More than 65 Metro Detroit restau-
Distinctive Recipes from Distinctive
rants,
caterers, etc., Chef Keith Famie
Eateries is a tribute to his culinary excel-
with
a
good-guessing game for folks,
lence with recipes that take in past and
musical
acts, dance exhibitions and
present favorites from the Mainstreet's
more goings-on.
various restaurants ... Simon's book,
Tastings from restaurants like Capital
Danny Raskin's e-mail address is
Grille, Andiamo Italia, Palm, Fox &
Hounds, Charley's Crab, Assaggi, Italian
dannyraskin@sbcglobal.net.

W

Epicure, Mario's, the Melting Pot,
Picano's, Big Rock Chop House, Ruth's
Chris, Seldom Blues and loads more.
WHY SHOULDN'T SHE be a
proud mom ... It's not every day that
Faye Lybeck gets to say that her son
shot a hole-in-one ... Son Jon Lybeck,
hit his ace using a nine-iron on the
136-yard eighth hole at Silver Lake.
REUNION DEPT. ... 60th by
Central High class of 1945, Sunday,
Sept. 18, will be a noon brunch at
Temple Shir Shalom, corner of Orchard
Lake and Walnut Lake Roads in West
Bloomfield ... For more info, call Lee
Goren (248) 661-9069, or Martin
Myers (248) 855-9073 ... Central High
class of 1946 is already working on its
60th, set for next June 4 at Glen Oaks
Country Club ... January class can con-
tact Al Weiss (248) 737-9313 or Esther
Bornstein (248) 851-5525; June grads
should call Barbara Keiden (248) 646-
7199 or Saul Saulson (248) 932-5177.
MAKING ROUNDS of Yesteryears
... Joel Nash tickling the ivories at
Bidell's ... Trying one of bartender Bill
Parker's new drink concoctions at the
Raleigh House's Lions Head ... Stenis
at the Mushroom Cellar of Golden
Mushroom piano bar ... Mel Ball's
newly recorded compositions,
"Changes" and "People Who Matter"
at Madrid Mediterranean Steak Loft in
Windsor ... Opening of Michigan
Palace, former Michigan Theater with
Duke Ellington and Joe Williams ...
Town Pump for butterflied shrimp to
dip into the sauce we're still trying to
perfect to this day ... The Great Wall
for house-made ice cream ... The
Wooden Nickel for beef barley soup ...
Blind pianist Alex Kalleo at Saksey's
Bobby Laurel at London Bridge ...
Danny Holley at Railroad Crossing ...
Lennie Shick at Angel's Hour Glass ...
Larry Santos at Driftwood.

Send your
Illaccabi
fithlete
off with
good utshes
and a s orty
kipp

$14.99 Each

QUESTION & ANSWER DEPT ...
Q "Wasn't the Tom's Oyster Bar that

closed on 12 Mile in Southfield once
called the Vineyard? I said it was and
my wife says it was John Laffrey's.
Who is right?" ... Harry Cash.
A. (You mean the one on Franklin north
of Northwestern Highway ... You are
both correct ... It was the Vineyard's
restaurant at four different times by four
different owners ... The original
Vineyard's owned by the Bortman fami-
ly, Vineyard's owned by Fred Graczyk,
John Laffrey's Vineyards and Jim
Constand's Vineyards.) [1]

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866-JUDAICA

7/28
2005

www.jewish.com

992910

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