THE BEST OF EVERYTHING
Bacco To The Future!
Enjoy fine Italian dining at less cost in a smoke-free setting.
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OTPOURRI
In keeping with the critical
economic conditions, Bacco
Ristorante, Northwestern, Southfield, has
come up with smaller portions and lower
prices for its fine dinners, as asked for
by numerous customers ... Now, if folks
want, they can have, say, three courses
for what an entree alone before used to
cost ... And the entree is not just on the
plate by itself, but also joined by various
accompaniments ... In addition, wine has
muscled in on the savings parade at Bacco,
with half portions of vino now being
served at half the price of a full glass.
Another bonus, there's no more smoke
wafting from the bar area into the dining
room ... Or eyes tearing as people wait for
tables or just walk through a sector of the
bar in getting to the eating area ... Now
the entire Bacco restaurant is smoke-free,
not just the dining room ... Those having
parties in Bacco's next door private Bacco
Saletta Room can have the affair smoking
or non-smoking.
THE MUCH ANTICIPATED "Healthy
Healing Feast" that will greet patients
and the general dining room public at the
soon-to-come Henry Ford Hospital West
Bloomfield, 15 Mile west of Drake, will
serve some of its innovative fare by the
Matt Prentice Restaurant Group ... It'll be
a two-day unveiling, Friday, March 13, and
Saturday, March 14, 7 p.m. at Shiraz res-
taurant on Telegraph in Bingham Farms
... Sushi tasting, Healthy Healing broth,
grilled hearts of romaine salad, roasted
organic tomato, wild mushroom ravioli,
seared Hawaiian tuna, blueberry panna
cotta ... $35 per person ... for reserva-
tions, call (248) 645-5289.
Matt's corporate chef, Frank
Turner, will be the new hospital's
executive chef, and its Henry's
Cafe will be staffed by student
chefs in the new Schoolcraft
College program centering
on healthy cooking ... At the
hospital, food will be served on
biodegradable plates with no
trans-fat, nothing fried, no or
low sodium, no nitrates, more
vegetables, whole grain bread,
brown rice, lean meats, etc.
MAIL DEPT. ... "We have gone sev-
eral times to a wonderful neighborhood
Italian restaurant, Italia Fresca on Orchard
Lake Road and Pontiac Trail, and enjoyed
its wonderful food and great prices. The
experiences have been very enjoyable, the
service and reasonable prices terrific. On
my last visit, I had eggplant parmesan and
my grandsons had pasta with meat sauce.
I love its chicken piccata. All dinners come
with salad and a side of pasta. I highly rec-
ommend the restaurant." ... Gail Young.
QUESTION & ANSWER DEPT. ...
"Do you by any chance know what it was
before becoming the London Chop House?
My grandfather, Hiram Ackerman, used to
tell me that he went to the London Chop
House when it first opened and had great
perch." ... Henry Ackerman.
I think it was called Heed's Chop House
that Les Gruber bought around 1939 and
opened as the London Chop House in
the Murphy Building on W. Congress in
Detroit ... His chef then was Eddie Dobler,
the one-time "Perch King of America" who
used to be at Breitmeyer's Lamed Grill.
ERRATA, TYPO, ETC. Dept ... The
name, of course, is Joe Vicari, not Joe
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Vitale, as appeared in the
recent review of his new
Rojo Mexican Bistro in Novi
... Joe is also head of the
Andiamo Restaurant Group
and Mesquite Grill.
WHEN SHE RETURNS
here for her theatrical work-
shop, ex-Detroiter Bonnie
Garvin, former publicist for
the Birmingham Theatre in
its early Nederlander years,
brings many memories of
hereabouts before moving to Los Angeles
to try her luck at the film business.
Now an award-winning film producer
and screen writer (The Killing Yard, star-
ring Alan Alda, Black Widow, etc.),
Bonnie's two-day workshop here, March
21 and 22, at the Southfield Marriott Hotel,
Northwestern Hwy., will be on how to
write a screenplay.
Her fondest recollections are of Schulz
School in Detroit from kindergarten
through the ninth grade, and she often
reminisces with friends in Hollywood
who also grew up in Detroit, Lily Tomlin
and screenwriter Jack Epps (Top Gun
with Tom Cruise, Dick Tracy with Warren
Beatty, etc.)
Also of the original Stage
Deli in Oak Park, owned by Jack and
Harriet Goldberg, and Hunter House on
Woodward, Birmingham, when it was
owned by Mark Papazian.
Another time, recalls Bonnie, while
having dinner at Joe Muer's on Gratiot in
Detroit with her husband, Los Angeles
human rights attorney Jim Lafferty, and
actor Michael Moriarty, here doing the
play, Whose Life is it Anyway?, a woman
approached Moriarty and showed him
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the Holocaust numbers on her arm and
thanked him for his performance as the
evil Nazi commander Dorff in the NBC
miniseries Holocaust ... She took his hand
and, with tears in her eyes, told Moriarty
that she realized how difficult it had to be
for him to play that part ... "It was very
moving," remembers Bonnie.
"I have done workshops before in
Detroit but this is the first that will be in
the trenches. It's very intense, but a lot
of full: says Bonnie ... She also teaches
screenwriting at University of Southern
California, one of the nation's leading film
schools, along with doing private tutoring
as well ... "Screenwriting isn't magic, its
hard work" says Bonnie. "There's creativity
and craft involved. Craft is something one
can learn, and I can teach!'
If you have any questions or to register,
e-mail bonniesworkout@sbcglobal.net
Registrations are limited and must be in
by March 14 ... Two-day workshop fee is
$375 ($325 students) including continen-
tal breakfast ... The "workout" book that
folks get when the workshop is over even
has a section on what to do after complet-
ing their script and writing their Oscar
speech.
CONGRATS ... To Sharon Bender on
her birthday ... To David Graham on
his birthday ... To Dr. Paul Gold on his
69th birthday ... To Craig Martin on his
40th birthday ... To Joe Sposita Jr. on his
53rd birthday ... To Lois Sposita on her
74th birthday ... To Kenneth and Sharon
Singer on their 25th anniversary. L
Danny's e-mail address is
dannyraskin@sbcglobal.net .
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Deli Dinner
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■ (DINE-IN OR
• CARRY-OUT
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or Two
" • Deli Dinners Include Your Choice of Any:
■ 0 Two Sandwiches from Our Sandwich Board Menu
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with Overstuffed Corned Beef, Roasted Turkey and Pastrami
■ Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
• • Potato Salad or Cole Slaw
■ -- Rice pudding or fudge brownie
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32418 Northwestern Hwy. between Middlebelt & 14 Mile 248 e 855• 9463 ■
Order online: www.VineyardDeli.com I Weekday Dinner Hours 4.7 pm
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February 19 • 2009 C11