Arts & Entertainment THE BEST OF EVERYTHING WOM EN'S EUROPEAN & AMERICAN DESIGNER CLOTHING COLLECTIONS ACCESSORIES No Right To Sing The Blues In only three years, Seldom Blues restaurant hits a high note of national acclaim. HANDBAGS SHOES E THE SALE TENDER 271 WEST MAPLE DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM 248.258.0212 SUNDAY 12-5 MONDAY—SATURDAY 10-6 THURSDAY 9 1272870 42 July 5 • 2007 ating one's words never has too good a taste ... Three years ago, those who said that downtown Detroit had problems to solve were correct ... That a restaurant such as this would have a tough rime making it ... And if it did, the restau- rant's life would be a short one. These people obviously didn't reckon with the persistent determination and staying power of Frank Taylor, CEO and president of Seldom Blues Jazz Restaurant and Supper Club in the GM Renaissance Center ... With his part- ners, Robert Porcher, Jerry Nottage and Alexander Zonjic, he has not only built Seldom Blues into an excellent dining and rhythms music restaurant, but also a superior Metro Detroit representative on the national scene. Seldom Blues might be the only pre- mier jazz restaurant and supper club in the country like it ... New York, Chicago and Los Angeles may have similar operations, but none that encompasses four Seldom Blues attributes ... Great food, great service, great music and an outstanding scenic view ... one that elegantly overlooks Detroit and Windsor skylines against shimmering waters of the Detroit River. Because of the restaurant's recognition by the national media, many people vis- iting Metro Detroit rarely leave without looking up Seldom Blues ... And you never know who could be at the next table, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Sidney Portier, Leonardo DiCaprio, etc. ... Stevie Wonder as a guest entertaining at the piano. Since opening in June 2004, Seldom Blues' uncanny consistency has resulted in nearly 1 million people passing through its doors ... Constant good- ness of three-year best sellers like Frank's Lobster Pontchartrain duet of tails baked and finished with a shrimp and jumbo crab; Porcher's Bone-On Rib-Eye Steak; AZ's Salmon, Blue-B-Q Sea Bass (more than 120,000 pounds served), double-cut lamb rack, choice steaks (more than 300,000 pounds,) etc. ... Hardly numbers of a restaurant not making it! ... Best sellers, too, like lob- ster and jumbo crab cakes, available as appetizer or entree, short ribs, etc. Also, it is estimated that more than half of those dining at Seldom Blues order its signature Rhythm & Blues Chocolate Cake and Bread Pudding. As a seven-day-a-week lunch and dinner restaurant, it is open Monday-Friday, 11:30-4, lunch; Monday- Thursday, 4-10 dinner; Friday, 4-Midnight dinner; Saturday, 5-midnight dinner; Sunday, 11:30-4:30 brunch. Dining room seating is 350, with 20 bar stools ... Among the areas added with more intimacy is a private room for 10 with a scenic view that used to be Frank's office until the restaurant's popularity usurped the space. On any day or evening, the entire Seldom Blues restaurant is available for complete takeover of events like bar and bar mitzvah receptions, weddings, etc. ... The first bar mitzvah recep- tion in Seldom Blues' initial year was for Brandon Epstein, with parents Joan and Bob Epstein acquiring the entire restaurant for their 300 guests ... SinCe then, Seldom Blues has done 10 more b'nai mitzvah receptions ... It also has a beautiful private glassed-in room for up to 50 ... Frank is well-versed in bar and bar mitzvah receptions ... As food and beverage director at the Pontiac Marriott, he was responsible for quite a number of successful such events. Where did the name Seldom Blues come from, so many people still ask ... Frank was at one time a partner in a North Carolina restaurant named Seldom Blues and retained a dream to one day open another in Detroit ... A jazz restaurant that plays some blues but mostly jazz ... Certainly a place, too, where customers are seldom, if ever, blue. The one-time three-page menu at Seldom Blues is no more ... It has been scaled down to a highly streamlined one page, along with a separate one-folio listing of choice wines by the glass or bottle ... But items like the excellent red trout, on the lunch menu, are among many that can also be gotten for dinner. What sartorially elegant Frank Taylor and his partners have produced in the three years of Seldom Blues is some- thing that other restaurant owners in other cities would love to have ... That Detroit and its suburbs are blessed with a solid award-win- ning dining and music operation that is often associated with this locale's fine sports teams and automotive industry in capturing national note, is indeed very high acknowledgment. THE FINE Ribollita Tuscan vegetable soup that Rick Halberg used to make and serve at his former R.I.K's and Tutte Benne restaurants is now being sold ($5.99) at Hiller's Markets on Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield, and on 14 Mile, Commerce Township ... Rick is Hiller's director of culinary services and is also beginning a catering service there for intimate home dinner parties. JAZZ SONGSTRESS and recording artist Kathy Kosins, daughter of Marilyn and the late Harry Kosins, will perform with her pianist at Cuisine Restaurant's "Champagne and Jazz" night, Friday, July 6 ... Cuisine is on Lothrop in Detroit, north of Grand Boulevard and the Fisher Building. MAIL DEPT. ... "We recently attend- ed the Kovan Variety Club fundraiser at Tam O'Shanter Country Club and were very proud of our granddaughter, 7-year-old Sidrah Kovan. On her own, she decided to bead bracelets and sell them at the event. Dear Sidrah sold all 50 bracelets she beaded and raised $770 on her own so that other children would benefit" ... Marlene and Ed Malkin. [Young Sidrah is the daughter of Eric and Cane Kovan ... He is chairman of the annual event held in memory of Eric's brother, Brad.] CONGRATS ... To Toni Perkins on her birthday ... To Suzie Weinstock on her birthday ... To Dr. Abraham Babaoff on his birthday ... To Rose Cooper on her 80th birthday ... To Earl Davidson on his 99th birthday ... To Herb and Fay Eidelman on their 55th anniversary ... To Arthur Plotkin on his 80th birthday. Danny's e-mail address is dannyraskin@sbcglobal.net.