BlackFinn Restaurant & Saloon 530 South Main St. Royal Oak (248) 582-9460; blackfinnsaloon.net Appetizers: $7.99-$9.99 Salads: $5.99-$14.99 Entrees: $6.99-$25.99 oung, noisy elicious. BY DAVID MOSS I PHOTOGRAPHY BY • 11 .7"l einm~oftsaftla•p",•,ftu.„._ Platinum Plates The heat of summer doesn't mean it's too hot to eat — just too hot to cook. So we turn to the local restaurant scene's great options to keep our appetites satiated. Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Troy has a summer celebration menu for two: For $89, two people can each enjoy a three- course meal of salad; a choice of five entrees, including a petite filet, plus two sides to share; and dessert. Just down Big Beaver Road in Troy, the brand-new Ocean Prime (Chilean Sea Bass is shown, left), from Cameron Mitchell Restaurants (Cameron's Steakhouse and Mitchell's Fish Market were sold to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse), offers a full menu of steaks, chops, fish and seafood in a contemporary setting — as well as an outdoor patio — while live music creates a supper-club atmosphere. Chef Don Yamauchi, who left his mark at Tribute before leaving to be executive chef for MGM Grand's new restaurants SaltWater and Bourbon Steak, has returned to his first love, hands-on cooking, at Forte Restaurant in Birmingham. Cafe Kabob Mediterranean, on Evergreen north of 10 Mile Road in Southfield, has a variety of Middle Eastern dishes. This expanded version of Mr. Kabob (at 12 Mile and Coolidge in Berkley) offers a full dining room and a 25-seat patio. Lastly, go international in a simple strip mall on Opdyke Road in Auburn Hills, where Azwnl's Garden offers 40 dishes inspired by the cuisines of Thailand, Japan, China, Vietnam, Korea and the Philippines. Bon appetitl B8 • AUGUST 2008 • INT platinum — Lisa Brody Established in New York City in 1994 before branching out to six national loca- tions, BlackFinn Restaurant & Saloon made its Royal Oak debut in late May. If invoking a New York saloon means noise with decibel levels approaching that of a Ramones con- cert, the restaurateurs have hit their mark. Walking into BlackFinn is like walk- ing into a wall of people and sound. Thirty flat-panel TVs are displayed overhead, along with personal flat-panel TVs in all booths. The crowd stands several deep at the large oval bar, where busy bartenders mix martinis and pour a half-dozen draft beers. Every Tigers game day is marketed with $2 Miller Lites, and weekly happy hours benefit pri- vate groups, including several nonprofits: For a $10 donation to HAVEN (dedicated to eliminating domestic violence), my party was seated in a private area for half-priced drinks and complimentary appetizers. The menu is a hodge-podge of bar food and other favorite dishes. We began with a plate of delicious beef sliders (shown), four to an order, topped with American cheese and grilled onions, served on fresh potato buns with au jus on the side for dipping. Other appetizers include quesadillas, chicken and steak skewers and tri-colored nachos. For my main course, I chose the grilled AM tuna sandwich: a generous piece of ginger-lime–marinated fresh sushi-grade Ahi tuna grilled to medium rare, topped with wasabi mayonnaise and served on a ciabatta roll. With fries on the side, this was a tasty and reasonably priced meal. Other sandwiches include the Black Angus saloon burger, blackened chicken, hot roast beef and fried haddock. My dining companion ordered the salmon smoked penne, a rich combination of salmon filet, capers and dill tossed with penne pasta in a lemon and white-wine cream sauce. Also featured: a rib-eye steak, Black Angus filet mignon marinated in Guinness Stout and fish and chips. For dessert, we passed on the choco- late-chip ice-cream sandwich sliders and chose the richly scrumptious dark chocolate and Bailey's mousse, served up in a pint glass to resemble a pour of Guinness Stout — more than enough for two. Also appealing is a deep-dish apple pie served a la mode. For a quiet dinner, I'd keep walking down Main Street. But BlackFinn will be a blast for the "big game," and that's its goal.