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The Extra Mile

Restaurants travel different roads to acheive "destination" status.

OTPOURRI
To many folks, destination res-
taurants are those where people go
to get what they want and will pass oth-
ers that serve the same kind of food ...
However, there are also other examples,
maybe because of a certain chef or cuisine
style or for diners just to be seen, etc. ...
Also, people today seem to be more astute
and particular in their choices and are not
immune to selecting favorites regardless
of reasonable distance.
Metro Detroit has gained much promi-
nence for its bevy of mom-and-pop,
neighborhood, family and independently
owned restaurant operations.
Gas prices may be a factor to some, but a
majority of regular diners-out continue to
look for places that afford quality ingredi-
ents in the varied assets a restaurant offers
... Value, menu selection, kitchen prepara-
tion, service and price ... To some, if enter-
tainment is also available it serves as a plus.
THE RECENT Woodward Avenue birth-
day celebration brought memories to peo-
ple like Charley Pappas, former owner of
Rialto Restaurant on Woodward and Nine
Mile in Ferndale, which didn't become
a city until a year after Rialto originally
opened in 1926 ... Those were the days
when one could get a complete dinner
from soup to nuts for 25 cents.
When Rialto first opened its doors, seat-
ing was for just 30 people and it had no
kitchen ... Only a grill in the restaurant
area itself was available for cooking ... 60
years later, Charlie remembers his owning
it with seating for 175, and a full-fledged
kitchen that still served premises-cooked
meals including meat directly sliced from
almost 15 turkeys a week.

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CALL IT WHAT you want,
owners Yossi and Lizette
Benyamin, use both names,
Yossi's Israeli Cuisine or Yossi's
Authentic Falafel, on Orchard
Lake Road, north side of Robin's
Nest, West Bloomfield, has new
hours ... Monday to Thursday,
11-9; Friday, lunch only, 11-4;
Saturday, dinner only, 5-10;
Sunday only open for private
parties and catering.
GOOD WAITRESS DEPT. ...
Joanna Bednarowicz, evenings at George's
Honey Tree, Northwestern Hwy., West
Bloomfield ... a great smile, fast, efficient
and very personable.
REMEMBERING DEPT. ..."When I
got into the delicatessen restaurant busi-
ness in 1954, most delis were owned by
talented countermen who progressed to
owning their own delis. The Horenstein
brothers, Sam, Lou, Max and Hy (Brothers,
Max's and Hy Horenstein's), Ben Epstein
and George Fink (Ben and George on
Dexter), Joe Mosten and Iz Ater (Nate's),
Sol Spargel (Sol's), Lou Loewy (Lou's) and
so many others.
"Back then, having a job and a trade
were most important. Today, education
and a profession are what the young peo-
ple strive for. There is no lineup of young
countermen waiting to become their own
boss in the delicatessen business.
"Also back then many of the delis
employed old world cooks (Hungarian,
Polish, etc.) The cooks, mostly women,
turned out mountains of great food and
baked goods. They cooked from 'scratch'
and without recipes. Today, the trend
seems to be turning more to culinary

school students and gradu-
ate chefs. They cook with a
lighter, more delicate touch
— but it is hard to surpass
the tastes and flavors of
yesteryears!' ... Bernie Litt,
owner of the former Billy's
Delicatessen, Livernois and
Seven Mile in Detroit.
MAIL DEPT. ... "I recent-
ly bought a burger at Burger
King. The bill was $1.58.
The counter girl took my
$2, and I dug in my pocket for the change
and gave her the eight cents. She stood
there, holding the nickel and pennies,
while looking at the screen on her register.
I sensed her discomfort and tried to tell
her to just give me two quarters, but she
hailed the manager for help. While he tried
to explain the transaction to her, she just
stood there and cried." ... Marvin Yagoda.
ALWAYS CHECK your bill at restau-
rants. Make certain that you aren't charged
for a name brand of liquor in a mixed
drink if you did not order it or charged for
side orders that you were told came with
the meal.
THEY'RE STILL among the best eating
deals in the country ... Those quarter-
pound kosher hot dogs on rolls at Cosco
(Kosher Sinai) and Sam's Club (Best
Kosher), plus all the 20-ounce soft drinks
you want, $1.50.
MEMORY DEPT. ... After Darbys on
Seven Mile and Wyoming in Detroit burned
down and many requests came in for
Sam Boesky to open again without him
putting up a dime, he and stepson Bernie
Kerner did open Darbys again, but not as
a restaurant ... They took over the former

e ,,iseover

Stanley Steamer in Oak Park and named
it Darbys Stanley Steamer, going from 119
employees at the former great restaurant to
just 11 at their new hot spot, which many
used to call the bath house that served food
only to those who came for steam baths
and rubdowns.
MAKING ROUNDS ... To Bacco
Ristorante, Southfield, for roasted
Mediterranean sea bass boned tableside
... To Beau Jack's, Bloomfield Hills, for
lemon sole or broiled whitefish ... To Cafe
Cortina, Farmington Hills, for premises-
made gnocchi or salmon with dill and
roasted fennel sauce ... To Diamond Jim
Brady's Bistro, Novi, for salt cod, with
the salt completely drained out, one of
France's most popular dishes.
ITS NEW BANQUET center, Bacco
Saletta, is slated to open Oct. 1, next to
Bacco Ristorante on Northwestern Hwy.,
between 12 and 13 Mile, Southfield ...
Nearby will be a 3,000-wine storage area.
DID YOU KNOW Dept ... From
Wallside Windows gent Avery Warnick
... "That Bloomfield Hills was originally
named Bagley Corners? That in 1866,
Detroit pharmacist James Vernor, created
and introduced the world's first carbon-
ated soft drink (Vernor's Ginger Ale)? That
the Supremes were originally known as
`the Primettes' and the Temptations were
named 'the Primes'?"
CONGRATS ... To Myron "Mynie"
Milgrom on his 80th birthday ... To Laurie
Gates on her birthday ... To Sandi Yagoda
on her birthday ... To Sam and Dorothy
Essick on their 59th anniversary. 17

Danny's e-mail address is

dannyraskin@sbcglobahnet.

ialteitS

(

9,

Famous for our... Dover Sole, Lake Perch,
Pancho Burger, Medallions of Beef.

Dine in only

your TOTAL
food bill

Not good with
any other offer

ANY TIME

expires 10/31/07

Authentic Korean & Japanese Cuisine

Phone (248) 827-1600

www.newseoulgarden.com

Open Daily

Any purchase of $50.00 or more.
Excludes tip, liquor & tax.
With this ad exp. 70/31/07

* the 4t
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150 West Congress Detroit • 313-965-4970 • Main Floor Penobscot Bldg.!

Al

September 27 •2007

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