THE BEST OF EVERYTHING Bacco To The Future! Enjoy fine Italian dining at less cost in a smoke-free setting. p 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 •••••••••••••••••••••••••• ■ ■ ■ 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 III ■ ■ ■ ■ 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 . ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Deli Dinner ■ ■ ■ (DINE-IN OR • CARRY-OUT • or Two " • Deli Dinners Include Your Choice of Any: ■ 0 Two Sandwiches from Our Sandwich Board Menu ■ with Overstuffed Corned Beef, Roasted Turkey and Pastrami ■ Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup • • Potato Salad or Cole Slaw ■ -- Rice pudding or fudge brownie ■■ III ■ III ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 111 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ III ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ III 32418 Northwestern Hwy. between Middlebelt & 14 Mile 248 e 855• 9463 ■ Order online: www.VineyardDeli.com I Weekday Dinner Hours 4.7 pm ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ••••••• ■ •••••••••••••••• February 19 • 2009 C11