THE BEST OF EVERYTHING
A Truth-Be-Told Tribute To The Biz
Restaurateur hears "beautiful music" in his kitchen's clangs and clatters.
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OTPOURRI
Restaurant people are a
vastly unappreciated lot, says
Kevin Mazziotta, dining room manager
at Tribute Restaurant, Farmington Hills
... "They are mostly misunderstood by
the vast majority of restaurant goers.
Especially those who may think that run-
ning a restaurant is as simple as taking the
order and serving it up.
"Perhaps so, but few know that eight out
of 10 new restaurants close within the first
two years of operation. Even the old stal-
warts have to struggle these days to keep
their doors open.
"Many aspiring restaurant owners have
to spend their life savings, borrow from
anyone willing to take the chance and
hock the family jewels just to open the
door. In the kitchen, you'll find a culinary
staff that finds its motivation from the
passion to create. They're struggling art-
ists painting the canvas of a dinner plate
under the duress of cuts, burns and a
maniacal militant called 'chef'.
"Running a restaurant isn't so much like
conducting a symphony as it is in assem-
bling a group of accomplished musicians
and letting them use their craft to impro-
vise and create a piece of their own. The
results are wonderfully unique, never to be
replicated. The restaurant is a team with
each member totally reliant on the others
to make beautiful music."
THEY REMEMBER Dept. ... From
author Bud Gottesman, ... "While living
in the Detroit area, my earliest memories
ciently ordered exactly the
of food that was not actually
right
amount of food to feed
cooked by my mother or grand-
all
six
of us, without a drop
mother was Chinese food. We
to
be
left
over.
rarely went out to eat, but we did
"After
delivery,
the crisp
carry in or had it delivered once
brown
paper
bags
were
in a while. We lived on Oakman
opened
slowly
and
the won-
Court near Linwood and
derful odor of Chinese food
Davison around 1935, and there
spilled into the room like an
just wasn't much of a choice for
erupting volcano and filled
home delivery.
Danny Raskin
our nostrils with anticipa-
"There were, however, two
Senior Columnist
tion. As the food was being
Chinese restaurants on Linwood,
divided and placed on six
about a mile or two from us.
paper plates, my sister Beebe and I were
Pacific Gardens and Atlantic Gardens. It
allowed to munch a couple of the little
was usually on a Sunday after an entire
strips of meat and we all dug in and began
day of planning that the 'Happening'
eating the delicious food.
occurred. The ear piece of our one and
"It was Chinese and not Cantonese then.
only telephone was ceremoniously and
We got chop suey, egg foo yang, chow
quietly lifted off the hook of the receiver
mein and stuff like that. There were no
of the black upright phone and one of us
spicy things like garlic chicken or General
listened while my grandparents and the
Tso's chicken then, but it was really tasty
children huddled around the phone to
and a real treat. Today, we still have those
see if one of the other three parties who
little bags of soy sauce but then they were
shared the line were using it or not.
in tiny little glass bottles, cellophane or
"If we didn't hear anyone talking, we
wax paper bags, not plastic.
either jiggled the hook to get the opera-
"I wondered if the Chinese people who
tor to make the call for us or sometimes
worked in the restaurant had half as much
we actually dialed the number ourselves.
fun when they ate American food."
Several ears were as close to that earpiece
FREE FOR ALL Dept ... Every
as we could get to hear the delightful voice
Wednesday through Aug. 29, 7 to 7, at any
on the other end. It was usually a waiter
McDonald's, no charge for a medium-size
who spoke very quickly and seemingly
(16-ounce) iced mocha or iced vanilla latte
very frantic, 'Atlantic Gardens. We deliver.
(McCafe specialty coffee) ... One per per-
Upstairs-downstairs all the same.' We
son in either the restaurant or drive-thru.
responded to that announcement with
READER WRITES ... "While vacation-
polite and contained giggles. The phone
ing in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., we enjoyed our
was then handed to my mother who effi-
meal at Nick's Italian Restaurant so much
that we eagerly anticipated going back for
a second time. The meat sauce is second
only to Roma Cafe in Detroit's Eastern
Market" ... Melissa Litvin.
POPULAR LUNCH box menu at Forte
Restaurant and Bar, Birmingham, is now
available Monday-Saturday, 11:30-2 p.m.
... Two courses include choice of Caesar
salad, Forte green salad or soup of the day,
plus entree selection from whitefish, Forte
burger, capella, turkey club or chicken pic-
cata, $9.95.
QUALITY DESTINATION restaurants
didn't panic years back when every so
often gas prices would go out of whack ...
The restaurant owners had what the cus-
tomers desired, a certain dish, great food,
wonderful service or just a lot of server
smiles ... Same holds true today ... many
people who want what they crave won't let
high gas cost stop them.
CONGRATS ... To David Rosenman on
his 70th birthday ... To Michael Ledger on
his 65th birthday ... To Andee Barenholtz
on her birthday ... To Sharon Briskman
on her 69th birthday ... To Karen Marx on
her 68th birthday ... To Allen Goldsmith
on his birthday ... To Carl Diem on his
birthday ... To Bob Myrick on his birth-
day ... To Dr. James Labes on his birthday
... To Debbie Himelhoch on her birthday
... To Karen Gordon on her 41st birthday
... To Bobbi Chess on her birthday.
Danny's e-mail address is
dannyraskin@sbcglobal.net.
HEALTHY, LIGHT GOURMET
Buy one gourmet salad,
get the second for 1/2 off.
DINE IN or CARRY OUT
I
Choice of: Maggie's Berry Salad • The Deli Basket Salad
• The Cobb Salad • The Chicken Greek Salad
• The Chicken Caesar Salad • The Deli Basket Chef Salad
• The Greek Lemon Chicken Salad
Expires 8/11/07
*BBQ's Available
DELI • CAFE • CATERING
32418 Northwestern Hwy.
between Middlebelt & 14. Mile 248.855 9463 •
ORDER ONLINE W
July 26 • 2007
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