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Oh, Brother - What A Burger!

Red Coat and Zinc siblings expand on stellar culinary reputation.

T

wo sister restaurants owned by
two brothers recently celebrated
their anniversaries with large
numbers of followers at each operation.
The oldest, Redcoat Tavern, Woodward
north of 13 Mile, Royal Oak, opened in
1972 and fetes its 36th anniversary as one
of Michigan's most noted restaurants for
great hamburgers, voted numerous times
as No. 1 in Metro Detroit ... and serving
well over 1,000 burgers daily.
Assuming that it might be strictly a ham-
burger spot is misleading since Redcoat
also features a full menu with appetizers,
soups, salads, desserts and entrees like
filets, Delmonicos, smoked roasted chicken,
fish and chips, shepherd's pie, etc.
Hamburgers, however, get the main play
with almost 10 million sold in Redcoat
Tavern's 36 years ... During its first week,
Redcoat sold under 350 burgers ... Today
more than 5,000 weekly are ordered ... In
preparing one of its soups, clam chowder,
more than two tons of clams and about
3,000 gallons of milk each year are used.
The younger sister restaurant, Zinc
Brasserie & Wine Bar, Orchard Lake Road,
south of 15 Mile, West Bloomfield, blowing
out candles for only its fourth anniversary,
serving in a dining fashion with French
styling but not the higher prices.
The hamburger reputation of Redcoat
rubbed off on Zinc with the result that
it has also introduced a "Redcoat Tavern
Classic" to its lunch, dinner and late night
menus ... Regular items comprise the
classic hamburger along with clam chow-
der, onion rings and sandwich variety
... As for the ordering of hamburgers at
Zinc, more than 400,000 have been served
including its usual Brasserie burger and
the original Redcoat burger ... At both

Redcoat and Zinc, low fat
Piedmontese beef can be sub-
stituted at additional cost.
Also much ordered at Zinc is
the bisteca enoteca, rosemary
skewered filet, with roasted
potatoes, sauteed mushrooms
and roasted shallots, $16;
Pan-roasted chicken breast
provencale over noodles, $17;
slow-braised lamb osso buco
(shank), $20; Roasted duck
with Hoisin glaze, noodles and
vegetables, $20, etc. ... The Zinc menu
continually has daily favorites features
from its varied cuts of beef (almost 2,000-
pounds per week), whitefish, short ribs,
duck, etc., plus a variety of soups that
number over 100 gallons per week.
Both Redcoat Tavern and Zinc Brasserie
& Wine Bar are owned by brothers Mark
and Matt Brown with Juan Garcia, their
general corporate manager of both opera-
tions ... Certified Executive Chef Mike
Trombley, corporate chef, divides his time
between Redcoat and Zinc.
Both restaurants offer selected beer and
wine specialties ... Redcoat has 170 dif-
ferent beers and Zinc around 45 wines by
the glass.
Redcoat Tavern and Zinc, owned by
Mark and Matt, also share the same hours
... Monday through Saturday, 11-2 a.m.
... "To ensure the continued quality and
consistency of each restaurant," says Mark,
"we have moved key kitchen staff between
both operations".
"Redcoat Tavern originally opened
with the thought that it might be mildly
successful and that we would sell it after
about one year:' he recalls ... Today, Mark
says, he and Matt are pursuing new areas

for growth of its concept.
Both brothers love to travel,
enjoy good food and wine
without outlandish prices, and
enjoy informal atmospheres
that make for pleasurable
everyday dining experiences
... Redcoat Tavern, with its
American tavern and "ale-
house" traditions and Zinc
Brasserie, adhering to an origi-
nal European tavern and wine
bar origin, have notably given
good food and atmosphere to their cus-
tomers throughout the anniversary years.
ONE OF THE BIGGEST high value
secrets for folks checking their pocket-
books are the dinners at 855 Deli, 15 Mile
Road just east of Farmington Road, West
Bloomfield ... Complete dinner, includ-
ing Rose Guttman's large stuffed cabbage
(beef, turkey or veggie), stuffed chicken
breast, baked half-chicken or Salisbury
steak, $6.95 ... For another $2, folks can
get salmon or baked or grilled whitefish
... 855 Deli, serves dinner all seven days
of the week until 8 p.m. ... Owner Lazar
Israelov makes the stuffed chicken, baked
chicken, Salisbury steak, etc.
855 Deli is the kind of small operation
that eventually becomes a sure destina-
tion restaurant because of items made
on premises that have that good home-
cooked taste people look for ... Folks like
to find little spots like this ... open break-
fast, lunch and dinner with easy on the
pocket prices, too.
GOOD WAITRESS DEPT. ... One of
owner Gary Cochran's server prides at his
Beau Jack's on 15 Mile, east of Telegraph,
Bloomfield Township, Amy Feldman, Ken
Feldman's daughter and Marty Feldman's

niece, is the personable gal people ask
for ... Her fast, efficient and smilingly
know-how ways are important waitperson
attributes.
NEW YEAR'S EVE Memories ... by
Avery Warnick ... Years back, when his
waiter really blew his top while passing
out hats, noisemakers and horns ... "He
joined us in blowing a horn and blew so
hard the toupee fell off his head!"
SHE LOVES IT when the cashiers at
Hiller's Market on 15 Mile and Orchard
Lake Road, West Bloomfield, ask for her
I.D. while checking out with wine pur-
chases ... When the gal apologized, saying
it was a store policy, you just felt that if
Bonnie's hubby, Norm LePage, Big Rock
Chop House, Birmingham, owner, was
there he'd have said, "Don't be sorry. You
just made my wife's day".
A SAMPLE OF ITS ability to make for
a fun party was given by Fast Forward
musical duo at Mario's Detroit, where it
appears Friday and Saturday evenings,
as well as Andiamo Livonia, Wednesday
nights ... A large group of four genera-
tions came to Mario's to celebrate a birth-
day ... The duo of Billy Meadows and
Jackie G (Fondren) performed favorites,
and the song folks should have them play
and sing if hiring Billy and Jackie alone or
with their band for a bar/bat mitzvah or
wedding is "We Are Family".
CONGRATS ... To Lori Popper on her
birthday ... To Helene Schulman on her
birthday ... To William "Bill" Nosanchuk
on his 84th birthday ... To Robert and
Ruth Soper on their 45th anniversary ...
To Paula Duke on her birthday. 0

Danny's e-mail address is

dannyraskin@sbcglobal.net.

4.4.%14

e 1,

201 S Old Woodward Avenue • Birmingham MI 48009
248.594.7300 • www.forterestaurant.com

1465510

January 1 • 2009

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