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Beating The Odds

Down for the count, Italia Fresca keeps on swinging.

T

here might have been a bleak
outlook by many as to its contin-
uance after opening, so you could
say the restaurant would open with two
strikes of three before even coming to bat.
Italia Fresca was following seven other
restaurants on the site that had opened
and closed at the corner of Orchard Lake
Road and Pontiac Trail, Orchard Lake ...
Meating Place, Treats, Roadhouse, Buster's
Bay, Jake's On The Lake, Taes and Chef
Theodore.
Chef/Owner Sam Sharkas had no
liquor license, the economy dipped to
a dangerous low, gas prices soared to
record heights, etc. ... It still has no liquor
license, economy is still low, the employ-
ment rate is high and gas prices have gone
higher ... But through it all, he has fought
... So much so that Italia Fresca is still in
existence ... On weekend evenings, says
Sam, reservations are a must, especially
during the hours of 6:30 to 8.
The 70-seat Italia Fresca opened on
Feb. 29 for lunch and dinner, Monday-
Friday,11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Saturday 11-11;
Sunday, noon-9; baking its own rolls,
doing its own butchering, serving favorite
dishes, etc. ... Still in existence? ... What
is the secret? ... It had to have better than
good food, improved service and popular
prices ... So much so that people would
forget about the obstacles and start mak-
ing Italia Fresca what it needed most ...
To become a destination restaurant.
The third strike in Sharkas' at bat never
came ... His Italia Fresca has thus far
been a hit.

THE NEW Uptown Grille,
opening in July, will be on Maple
between Haggerty and M-5,
not M-59, Commerce Township
... It is the former location of
Ryan's Tavern and the Elephant
Bar.
GOOD WAITRESS Dept. ...
Nina Momina at George's Senate
Coney Island, Haggerty and 14
Mile, Commerce Township ...
Efficient, personable and helpful
while wearing a pleasant smile.
NUMBER OF LUNCH entrees at
Tribute, 12 Mile west of Orchard Lake
Road, has been extended to nine choices,
including lobster Bolognese, soft-shelled
crabs, roasted salmon, sea bass, Kobe
burger, etc. ... Two-course meal with soup
or salad is only $20, Wednesdays through
Fridays, 11:30 to 2.
NEXT KOSHER buffet by caterer Jeffrey
Rosenberg at Adat Shalom Synagogue will
be his attendance record, Chinese goodie-
packed event.
DEPENDS ON THE weather, patio or
inside, for the 4th annual Summer Wine
Tasting series at Cuisine Restaurant,
Lothrup, Detroit ... Every Friday, 5-7,
samplings of four wines are matched with
hors d'oeuvres ... $15 per person.
SINCE TAKING over operational
leadership of the restaurant, partner Bob
Bisgeier has made subtle menu changes at
the New Giorgio's Gourmet Diner, Orchard
Lake Road, West Bloomfield ... But none
that may be more highly accepted than
his new "Light Bites — Right Price" menu

items, like the petite 5-ounce
filet, $14.95, or 8-ounce
whitefish, $11.95, including
soup or salad and potato or
vegetable ... What with so
many people opting to dine
lighter and not having to pay
for what they don't eat, this
sounds like a good thing.
MAKING ROUNDS ...
To Orchid Cafe, Square Lake
Road, Troy, for royal chicken
with Thai barbecue sauce ... To Bombay
Grill, Orchard Lake Road, between 12
and 13, Farmington Hills, for Tandoori
chicken makhan tikkas in tomato sauce
... To Bonefish Grill, 11 Mile east of Novi
Road, for oak wood grilled sautéed fish
... To Boodles, 11 Mile and 1-75 service
drive, Hazel Park, for flamed thin-sliced
veal marsala ... To La Bistecca, Plymouth
Road, Livonia, for one of the low-fat
Piedmontese steak features.
THE TWO SPOONS that photo jour-
nalist Linda Solomon gets at the Dairy
Queen on Woodward in Birmingham
isn't because she enjoys frozen yogurt,
with both hands ... She and hubby Barry
go there about three times a week when
home ... And they're happily joined by
Chance, their 10-year-old terrier who
doesn't know he's a dog and goes with
them to have some frozen yogurt too ...
The other spoon is to give Chance his lick
or two or three and many more.
THE BIG BLACK book displaying late
community-ite Bobby Adell's souvenir
collection looked familiar in front at the

new Troy Merchandise Flea Market on
Rochester Road, between Big Beaver and
Wattles (17 Mile) ... Seeing Bobby's name
on the table, Marty Bernstein asked what
his name was doing there, and owner Gary
Tringale said, "He was my father-in-law"
(Gary is married to Bobby's daughter,
Joani) ... Marty had given the Frank
Sinatra book, written by Nancy Sinatra,
to Bobby ... Nothing on the Bobby Adell
table is for sale.
TO SAY SHE is ecstatic, as are her hear-
ing aid patients, would be an understate-
ment ... Karrie Slominsky, audiologist
at Henry Ford Hospital, West Bloomfield,
becomes one of the first persons in
Michigan to introduce the new iCom ... it
works with Bluetooth compatibility avail-
able on most cell phones, and features wire-
less, hands-free use wanted by so many.
QUESTION AND ANSWER Dept ... "I
was told that Howie Mandel converted to
Judaism when he became a comedian. Is
this true?" ... Louis Shar.
No, Lou, the host of TV's hit show "Deal
or No Deal" is Jewish from birth and is a
graduate of the Beth David B'nai Israel
Beth Am Hebrew School in Toronto.
CONGRATS ... To Elaine Glenner
Eichel on her 100th birthday ... To Martin
and Sheila Lederman on their 50th
anniversary ... To Newton and Selma
Freedman on their 65th anniversary ...
To Howard and Susan Levin on their 44th
anniversary. ❑

Danny's e-mail address is
dannyraskin@sbcglobal.net .

201 S Old Woodward Avenue • Birmingham MI 48009

248.594.7300 • www.forterestaurant.com

June 19 a 2008

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