Arts & Entertainment
F
THE
*"\F EVER
HIND
Pepino's Wins Praise
Longtime chef and popular menu keep throng of regulars pleased.
W
ith all the great compliments
loin, almost 70,000 gallons of
and rave reviews it keeps
soup, etc.
getting year after year, one
Any change in its decor,
would think that a restaurant like this can
either outside or inside, would
remain status quo and the business will
hardly be acceptable since
still come in.
Pepino's has retained a rather
Not so with operations like Pepino's on
quaint, very clean environ-
Walled Lake Road and Pontiac Trail in
ment of total relaxation and
Walled Lake.
informality ... These are
April 24 makes it 26 years since the
priceless entities that have
day that Pepino's opened and very fine,
done much to bring Pepino's
extremely likeable host-
its usual accep-
ess-manager sisters Kathy
tance of casual
Kwiecinski and Carol
comfort.
Carson, constantly search
Although the food items
for ways to continually
rarely change, the daily
please their large customer
specials are continually
base ... Like adding new
tweaked to much satisfac-
food items for Chef Keith
tion by many who also
Couch and his kitchen assis-
Carol Ca rson and
enjoy specialty items like
tants to prepare each week.
Kathy Kwiecinski
roasted Black Angus prime
Although the everyday
rib, braised short ribs,
menu of favorites are supplemented regu-
grilled yellow-fin tuna, beef brisket, etc.
larly with daily specials, Kathy, Carol and
And this year will be only the second
Keith are careful not to stray too far away
since Pepino's new attached patio that
from their menu regulars ... "Seems that
opens in May was built, seating 35 ...
whenever we try to vary some standard
Pepino's is open for dinner six days,
item," says Kathy, "it usually meets with
Tuesday-Thursday, 5-9; Friday and
protests from our regular customers, so
Saturday, 5-10; Sunday, 4-8 ... Seating is
we've learned to keep our original menu
in three rooms totaling 112, and a long
and offer things as daily specials instead."
bar behind which Rick Sinkevics follows
As a result, the 26 years have accumu-
Ray Kwiecinski, Kathy's hubby, in pouring
lated counts of almost 2 million customers those oversized drinks, has 18 stools.
enjoying about 110,000 pounds of those
Few places can boast of a more effi-
delicious complimentary marinated navy
ciently capable and pleasant staff of wait
beans and untold amounts of garlic toast,
persons ... One of the gals, Judie Van
both given to folks before dinner ... More
Assche, has been with Pepino's since it
than 220,000 pounds of big seller pan-
opened ... and four are not too far behind
fried rainbow trout, about 110,000 pounds in their tenure ... Gina Ahrens, Laura
of chicken breasts, over 105,000 pounds of Willemsen, Bonnie Hill and Beth Bishop
lamb, around 110,000 pounds of tender-
... In the kitchen, executive chef Keith
• Free
• Free
dessert tray of Coffee cake and Seven
Layer cake. and
Fresh Fruit With minimum of 10 or more people.
Bagel & LoxFor 4 $15
Includes
• I/2 LB Nova Lox
• Whipped crime cheese
• Sliced tomatoes and onions • 4 N.Y. Bagels
Couch has been with Pepino's
since it opened and assistant
Carl Soblo 22 years.
Not too many restaurants
can compare to Pepino's in
terms of value received ...
enjoying a restaurant's food
with complete all-around ful-
fillment can have few matches,
and this very prized feeling is
the essence of two extremely
important words in the vocab-
ularies of Kathy and Carole ...
absolute satisfaction.
DANDY DINING DEAL Dept. ... Hard
to believe but quite true ... $5 for any-
thing except its steaks on the menu all
day Mondays, with purchase of a beverage
(coffee, tea, pop, etc.) ... Entrees are even
served with soup or salad, potato and
vegetable ... For example, grilled salmon,
regular $11.99, is $5 on the menu ... No
change on any item in quality or por-
tion size ... It's at Grand Tavern owned
by George Lukaj (of George's Honey Tree,
West Bloomfield) and operated by his
son, Anton, on Drake and Grand River
(next to Busch Market), Farmington Hills
... Sounds like something that President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt might have
come up with back during the Great
Depression of 1933.
QUESTION & ANSWER Dept. ... "Do
you know who owned the house many
years back where Cuisine restaurant is
now located?" ... Sylvia Markos.
[No, but the house on Lothrup in
Detroit's New Center area you refer to was
originally used as a private bridge club
during prohibition days before Charlie
Fisher took it over as a restaurant in 1934
and named it Fisher's 6661
DATE OF THE W.J. & Lillian Kemler
Walk of Ages by Jewish Senior Life
Auxiliary, is Sunday, May 23, at the Eugene
& Marcia Applebaum Jewish Community
Campus on Drake, West Bloomfield ...
Local fine photographer Bob Benyas will
be this year's grand marshal, and wonder-
ful writer George Cantor will be honor-
ary chairperson ... Glad to have them
on board ... The kids will have fun, too,
with the train rides, petting zoo, carnival
games, face painting, etc ... And dogs
have a happy-go-lucky tail-wagging time
walking the 3K or 5K routes.
IT'S SCARY JUST hearing about it, and
when hitting this close to home the fright
takes on monster proportions ... Like the
recent one I received with Jennie Cascio,
local executive director of Variety, the
Children's Charity, supposedly stranded in
Malaysia where she was said to be attend-
ing a program called "Empowering Youth
To Fight Racism" ... According to the
scam, Jennie supposedly tells each person
on her contact list that she needs a soft
loan of $3,400 or any part of it, to pay her
hotel bill, where all Jennie's valuables are
kept ... The e-mail is supposedly from
her at a fictitious "Variety Charity" ...
Jennie has sent e-mails to her list inform-
ing them that it is definitely a hacker scam
and not a plea from her.
CONGRATS ... To Allan Kominars
on his 70th birthday ... To Sheldon and
Peggy Sandler on their 45th anniversary
... To Jordan and Fern Kahn on their 55th
anniversary. ❑
Danny's e-mail address is
dannyraskin@sbcglobal.net.
- _
Includes
1 LB or corned beef or turkey
1 LB slaw or potato salad
1 LB Jewish Rye
- Old and new
kosher dills
- Russian
dressing
32418 Northwestern Hwy. • between Middlebelt & 14 Mile • 248.855-9463 • www.JewishCatering.com
50
April 22 • 2010