& Entertainment E BEST Or EVERYTHING Meet ThP Beatos! Uncle-nephew chef team gives Via Nove the true taste of Italy. A good chef is a wonderful attri- bute for a restaurant to have in attaining the sweet smell of suc- cess gotten by seeing customers return ... Having two marvels preparing a kitchen parade of great dishes is an extra-large bonus of which few restaurants can boast. This is the highly acclaimed dining drama unfolded daily at Via Nove, W. Nine Mile, west of Woodward, Ferndale, which opened in February 2005 and is celebrat- ing its second anniversary. Both chefs have the same name ... Executive Chef Joe Beato Jr., and assistant executive chef-adviser Joe Beato Sr., his uncle ... Joe Jr., a graduate of Oakland Community College's fine culinary pro- gram, worked for his uncle Joe Sr. at the former Il Centro on Lothrup in Detroit and then helped run its kitchen. Joe Sr. is an award-winning culinary veteran whose record includes twice being named Michigan Chefs de Cuisine's chef of the year and managing the United States Culinary Olympic Team that earned five gold medals in Frankfort, Germany ... As executive chef at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit for 22 years, he made his innova- tions dining favorites of the Ford family and the hospital's VIP patients. Ownership of Via Nove is by the two Joes as well as Vito Beato (Joe Jr:s father and Joe Sr.'s brother) and Vito's hostess-wife, Pina. Joe Jr.'s training in authentic Italian cooking was largely enhanced with a visit taken by brothers Joe Sr. and Vito to Cafe Veneto in Rome to see its world-class chef and tell of Joe Jr:s need to be more involved in traditional foods of Italy ... The younger Joe then went to Italy and worked with the noted chef for almost a Blo om 's w--.vw.JewistiCatering.t:::‘m VOTED #1 GEFILTE FISH year at no pay, just to learn true Italian cuisine. As a result, Via Nove features numerous Italian dishes that are known only in Italy ... Like its fine signature dish of herbed risotto with tomato and lobster sauce with grilled prawns, sea scallops wrapped with salmon, sauteed lobster and veal medallion with wild mushrooms, etc. ... And a superb array of premises- made pasta like grilled prawns and scal- lops tossed with spinach, braised rapini with fresh garlic, pasta stuffed with ricotta and spinach, etc. ... Appetizers of lobster and avocado and artichokes with radic- chio and piave cheese, etc. Via Nove may have become a fine upscale Italian restaurant discovery at reasonable prices, but specials are not forgotten ... One of the most popular is the prix-fixe menu that the Beatos pres- ent during the week ... Appetizer, salad, entree that changes daily (among filet, veal, fish, lobster, etc.) and dessert, $32 ... Every Tuesday, all beverages, including wines, liquors, cocktails, etc., are half-off ... On Friday and Saturday, a big feature is the double-cut veal chop. Via Nove seats 194 on two levels and is open for dinner only seven days, 5 to 2 ... A warm weather feature is the lower dining room floor-to-ceiling windows opening into an outdoor patio to provide seating for another 32 ... Dancing is every Saturday evening in the upstairs nitery-like setup of floor tables, another upper level of seating and two private, romantic little rooms. Via Nove's wine listings are excellent, combining over 100 choices with many available by glass or bottle. Give Lou Popper and son Kenny Popper some rub-off of the Via Nove success ... Their Empire Packing supplies the Beato kitchen magic duo with their fine meat provisions. Via Nove is more than just another Italian restaurant in a region that has so many ... The combination of wonderful food, elegance with informal overtones and splendid service gives a thorough eve- ning of culinary enjoyment. THE LOCATION SOON may become still another restaurant ... The Orchard Lake Road and Pontiac Trail building in Orchard Lake, seemingly a restaurant in-and-out spot, may become a Greek eatery to be called Santorini headed by singing chef Theodore Mitropoulos, former chef-owner of Chef Theodore, some years ago in West Bloomfield ... He is the brother of Birmingham celebrity tai- lor Dino Mitropoulos, and it is expected to be a complete Greek restaurant with all the traditional foods anticipated from a good Greek chef. IT WAS A VERY popular Wednesday night event when Chuck Muer had it years back at the Pontchartrain Hotel in Detroit ... Name band entertainment headlined Chuck's weekly feature ... But few were as good as Johnny Trudell, whose 18-piece orchestra plays the P'Jazz every Tuesday evening in the Andiamo Celebrity Showroom, next to Andiamo Italia restau- rant, E. 14 Mile between Mound and Van Dyke, Warren. PASSOVER DINNERS • • • • • COMPLETE DINNERS A LA CARTE PASSOVER CAKES & DESSERTS PASSOVER CHOCOLATES PASSOVER GIFT BASKETS, FRUITS & TRAYS DELIVERED LAST CHANCE FOR PASSOVER 32418 Northwestern Hwy. • between Middlebelt & 14 Mile 248.855-9463 ACROSS TOWN AT Andiamo West, Telegraph and Maple, Bloomfield Township, no wonder the food is even bet- ter than before ... The executive chef is Joe Parrino, who came here after being the highly-acclaimed head toque-wearer for all the restaurants at Excalibur Casino in Las Vegas. MAIL DEPT. ... "I cringe when I look at menus around the country. There is only one way to make a Caesar salad; otherwise it is not a Caesar salad and shouldn't be called that. Any other way is false. And those served with chicken should be called Caesar salad with chick- en, not chicken Caesar" ... Former chef John Almand, Cleveland. WISE WORDS DEPT. ... Give a newly opened restaurant a chance to catch its breath a bit before passing any judg- ment ... Like the manuscript of a good book, it is usually much better after being edited and refined. MAKING ROUNDS ... To Sweet Georgia Brown for crab cakes ... To Hong Hua, Farmington Hills, for shitake mushrooms wrapped in bean curd ... To Pasta Fagioli and Andiamo West, both in Bloomfield Township, for linguine with in- the-shell clams in red or white sauce ... To Beau Jack, Bloomfield Township, and Mr. Joe's, Southfield, for low-fat hamburg- ers ... To Sposita's, West Bloomfield, for cottage fried potatoes instead of mashed. CONGRATS ... To Shelly Surowitz on her 60th birthday ... To Harry Lenchner on his 91st birthday ... To Charyl Apple on her 50th birthday. Danny's e-mail address is dannyraskin@sbcglobal.net . Harvey Bloom NOW SERVING Complete DINNERS egt Early Bird SPECIALS Mon-Sat 3-7 pm I Sun 3-5 pm VINEYARDS difiashet Detit's ro Best Jewish Deli! wwwJewishCatering.com March 22 2007 69