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i Arts & Entertainment

BEST OF EVERYTHING

A Signature Look

Bill Kruse's bow tie and his new restaurant
are tributes to Chuck Muer.

N

ever a day goes by that
he doesn't wear a bow
tie ... One fixed just
the way his late mentor and boss
showed him years ago.
The memory of Bill Kruse's
good friend and ultimately part-
ner, the late Chuck Muer, is always
with him as he continues to
open restaurants that seem to be
like living memorials 'to him ...
Perhaps wearing one of the more
than 40 bow ties given to him by
Chuck, or one of Muer's collection
of Charley's Crab bow ties now
owned by Bill.
Bill Kruse recently opened
Kruse & Muer on 'Wilshire,
the sixth in his Kruse & Muer
Restaurant Group ... located
on the site of the former T.G.I.
Friday's on \A/ilshire Avenue,
just north of 16 Mile and east of
Crooks Road, Troy.
Bill's ever-present bow tie is
joined there by another wonder-
ful memento of Chuck ... It is the
same lobby fountain that graced
the old Charley's Crab on Pine
Lake, where Bill originally went to
work for Chuck 35 years ago.
The fountain was one of the
few things that remained after
the restaurant's tragic fire there
... and was moved to the first
Charley's Crab to open after the
fire, where it remained until the
restaurant was remodeled and
later sold by the C.A. Muer Corp.
to the Landry Co.

.

Seating amid the striking Ron
Rea decor features is for 160
inside, plus 20 at an elevated
bar area and another 40 on its
popular outdoor patio ... Those
interior decoration innovations
in the almost $2 million change-
over present a relaxed dining
atmosphere of black and white
colorings with chrome accents,
marble-top tables, white ceramic
floors, large white antique porch
pillars, etc.
Bill's always-asked-for signa-
ture dishes at all his restaurants
are of course there ... wouldn't be
the same without them ... along
with that delicious restaurant-
made bread he serves in a bag.
Also, new dishes, like an
authentic antipasti platter
brought back from Spain by Bill
and his wife, Cindy, the Tommy
Bahama crab cakes from a trip by
them to Florida, and a hamburger
from the Romp Room Bar owned
by his dad, where Bill started his
restaurant career.
Other new entrees that have
received immediate popularity
are the oven-roasted artichoke-
encrusted salmon, and the cof-
fee-encrusted sirloin steak, along
with others developed by corpo-
rate chef Chris Hessler, Chef Mark
Noseda and Bill.
Kruse & Muer on Wilshire is a
seven-day operation ... Lunch,
Monday-Saturday, 11-4; din-
ner, Monday-Thursday, 11-10,

Friday and
Saturday, 4-
11; Sunday,
3-8:30.
When
Bill Kruse
left the C.A.
Muer Corp.
as vice
president
Danny Raskin
Senior Columnist in 1989
to try out
some of his own ideas in operat-
ing a restaurant, there was never
a dream that the Kruse & Ivluer
Restaurant Group would today
reach the- six-restaurant-arid-still-
growing plateau.
His new dining spot is the
group's largest ... and could very
well be listed among Bill's best.
FOLKS SEEKING tradi-
tional British food might want to
look to the new Currents by the
River, on Franklin, next to the
Renaissance Center, Detroit ...
Across-the-pond favorites like
Scotch eggs, carrot soup, bangers
and mash,pot pie, etc::.. Open
Monday-Saturday.
SHE'S QUITE AN attraction
herself, blonde and pretty Sheila
Brown, but being a terrific drum-
mer gal and vocalist-is among the
reasons why the Don Swindell
Shuffle Play quartet is still draw-
ing them in at Ginopolis' On The
Grille, 12 Mile and Middlebelt,
Farmington Hills ... They're
in Johnny and Peter Ginopolis'

SPOSITA'S

RISTORANTE

Italian Grill

HAPPY HOUR

MON. - FRI., 4-7

1/2 off beer, cocktails,
a glass of wine, pasta &
burgers with a $2.00 drink
minimum per person

Lounge only

$ 1

GIFT
CERTIFICATE

This certificate entitles bearer to: Redeemable at both locations.
$1000 off with minimum purchase of $40°° (excluding tax, tip &
alcoholic beverages). Maximum discount $1000. Offer not valid
on Holidays and subject to Rules of Use. Tipping should be 15%
to 20% of the total bill before discount. Offer expires 7115/06.

Banquet Facility & Outside Catering Available

eonie c6aste tie

M arco's restaurants

renee
ownedjo. r over 50 years.

6480 Orchard Lake Rd. I West Bloomfield 1248-626-6969

48 June l5 • 2006

lounge on Fridays and Saturdays,
7:30 to 11:30, with Don playing a
great horn and vocalizing on jazz
and rhythm-and-blues tunes.
ITS 10TH ANNIVERSARY
was spent giving much of the
present to charity ... A check for
nearly $5,000 after expenses from
Tribute's recent birthday celebra-
tion as about 300 folks bought
$50 tickets to wine and dine for
the Women's Survival Center in
Pontiac.
RECENTLY CLOSED Villa
Maria, on the West Bloomfield
corner of Maple and Haggerty,
was also the former locale of
Maple Gardens, Haggerty Harry's
and Doc Frock's.
FOUR INTERESTING din-
ing cultures are featured on the
menu of Blue Ginger, Orchard
Lake Road and 15 Mile, Old
Orchard Center, West Bloomfield
... Vietnamese, Malaysian, Thai
and Japanese ... It is owned by
Cholada "Nancy" Chan, bossgal
of Shangri-La, Orchard Mall, and
operated by her Blue Ginger son/
manager, Joey Chan.
READER CRITIQUE ...
"My friend Robert Lash, my
mother Millie Brodie, and I
recently enjoyed dinner at Novi
Souvlaki & Coney Island on Novi
Road, south of 14 Mile. The food
was delicious, our server perfect
and the prices incredibly cheap. It
also has a Las Vegas style Sunday
brunch for $6.99 per person,

I

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK!

L

Monday-Thursday
4pm-1 Opm

Friday
lam-ilpm

Saturday
4pm- 1 1 pm

Sunday
3pm-9pm

Danny's e-mail address is

dannyraskin@sbcglobal.net .

1 0% OFF

Fine Italian Dining in a
Casual Atmosphere

OUR NEW HOURS

which we intend to try very soon."
Caryn Jaeger.
KITCHEN TIP from Marilyn
Glenner 'A sure-fire method
for skimming the fat from home-
made soup is to just wrap a few
ice cubes in cheese cloth and dip
quickly into the soup. The fat will
cling to the bag and the soup will
be fat-free."
KID ROCK (Bob Ritchie)
made sure he got into the act, too,
at his sister's wedding ... The
Detroit rap-rocker bounced up on
the stage and sang several songs
with the 10-piece Mel Ball and
Colours band ... Rock's sister,
Jill, and his new Jewish brother-
in-law, Brad Haas, were recently
wed at Henry Ford Museum,
Dearborn.
CONGRATS ... To twin
brothers Montague and Henry
Balbes on their 80th birthdays
... To Ronna and Harvey Heller
on their 34th anniversary ... To
David Matz on his 80th birthday
... To- Bob Russman on his 80th
birthday.
MAIL DEPT.... "As another
follow-up to Norman K ask-
ing where he can get a mustard
omelet, I haven't found any place
that serves them but I did find
a recipe for mustard souffle
in a catalog from the Mustard
Museum. It sounds delicious." ...
Willard Posen. 7

TOTAL FOOD BILL

7

(MON-THURS. ONLY)
PLEASE PRESENT THIS COUPON TO
RECEIVE DISCOUNT!

ONE COUPON PER CUSTOMER • EXPIRES 06/30/06
INOT VALID ON HOLIDAYS)

.....J

NEW LOWER PRICED
LUNCH MENU FRIDAYS ONLY

33210 W. 14 Mile Road
In Simsbury Plaza
Just East of Farmington Road
West Bloomfield

RISTORANTE

(248) 538-8954