Arts & Entertainment
THE BEST OF EVERYTHING
A Gem Of A Restaurateur
Diamond Jim Brady's chef/owner seeks to keep staff intact for new location.
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OTPOURRI
Restaurant owners who have
great concern for their employees
enjoy a wonderful trait that rubs off onto
its customers as well ... The guests take
it personally that the owner also looks out
for their satisfaction, too.
This is why someone like Mary Brady, a
certified chef and the owner of Diamond
Jim Brady's Bistro in Novi is so highly
respected along with her excellent cook-
ing ... When it closes on Sept. 30, a week
after Mary and Diamond Jim's celebrate its
19th anniversary at the Novi
Town Center site now slated
to become a Super Walmart,
all the food stock from its
freezers, etc., will be donated
to Oak Park-based Forgotten
Harvest, a food-providing
charity ... But the big thing
for Mary will be to have her
employees back with her ...
She has been working on
obtaining a new location to
get up and ready by 2011 ...
Chef/Owner
Mary is very caring about
her staff of employees and
wants them with her as soon
as possible when she open again.
Thankfully, this is not the end of a
fine tradition ... Good news is that the
Diamond Jim Brady name will continue
... The first incarnation of it was back in
1954 when the late Jim Brady opened the
original Diamond Jim Brady's on Seven
Mile Road in Detroit ... Since then, loca-
tions were at the Prudential Town Center
in Southfield and Novi Town Center in
1991.
WHEN AN ETHNIC restau-
rant receives accolades from a
leading publication of its own
culture, the tributes are of
much greater significance.
Going unnoticed is that by
the Chinese Restaurant News
in its naming of the 100 Top
Chinese restaurants in the
United States.
Shangri-La of West
Bloomfield in the Orchard
Mall, Orchard Lake Road and
15 Mile, was one of the
prestigious 100 selected
for 2009, and is nominated
again for 2010.
Quite an honor for
Cholada Chan, owner of the
Shangri-La Chinese restau-
rant group.
According to a survey
by Nation's Restaurant
News, "Chinese, Italian and
Mexican food have become
the three most popular
Mary Brady
ethnic foods that are con-
sumed daily by mainstream
America.
VERY SLOW in coming but hopes are
still high that new enterprises at the for-
mer Ford Wixom plant across from Moe's
on Wixom Family Dining will become
a reality ... Moe Leon, owner of Moe's
on Wixom and Moe's on Ten Family
Dining, Novi, has his fingers crossed for
Xtreme Primer of Austin, Texas (storage
batteries) and Clairvoyant Energies of
California (solar panels), who are slated
to take it over.
MAIL DEPT. ... "Many
years ago when we lived on
Woodingham in Detroit, our
family returned weekly to a
Chinese restaurant on Dexter
near the car wash. They made
the best breaded veal cutlet
covered with tomato sauce.
I followed my treasured veal
cutlets for 40 years through
Hoa Kow in Oak Park and
West Bloomfield and Hoa Hoa
in Novi, but they are all now
gone. I turn to you and your readers. Can
we find a true breaded veal cutlet with
tomato sauce again?" ... Myron Bordman.
[The Chinese restaurant referred to
was on Dexter and Elmhurst, called King
Fong's owned by Tung S. Woo and Eugene
Foo, both of whom went on to each own
his own Chinese restaurant. The veal
cutlet with tomato sauce was served until
recently at Golden Phoenix on Orchard
Lake Road, West Bloomfield, but, accord-
ing to Shaw Ng, co-owner with wife,
Helen, it was discontinued because of not
enough demand."]
IF ASKING FOR Alex Clayton to serve
you at Deli Unique, West Bloomfield
Plaza, Orchard Lake Road, don't look for
a young man ... Alex is a girl, and that's
her full name, not short for Alexandria,
Alexis, etc.
SINCE HOLLYWOOD began coming
to Michigan on a regular basis around
two years ago, Elliot "Cappuccino Man"
Lewkow has been kept quite busy ...
Elliot and employees worked on the sets
of the movies Gifted Hands with Cuba
Gooding Jr. and Whip It starring Drew
Barrymore and others ... Elliot received
a phone call from the producer of the
Detroit 1-8-7 pilot slated for showing
Sept. 21 on ABC-TV, 10 p.m. ... His cast
and crew were working through the night
and Producer Stephen Craig wanted to
treat them to Cappuccino Man's espresso
and fruit smoothie drinks ... His helpers,
23-year-old son Jacob Lewkow and Taylor
Cranmer served 130 on the Highland
Park set in the morning hours from 1-3
a.m. ... Detroit 1-8-7 will be filmed for
quite a while since only three episodes
have been shot.
Elliot and his Cappuccino Man cart is
on call 24 hours and 7 days a week to the
film industry here ... While the produc-
tion crew is filming, no one can make a
sound until they hear the word "Cut!" ...
Elliot can't even steam his milk until then
... In the past two years, Elliot has pro-
vided service 25 times to the film folks.
REMEMBERING WHEN ... 'As a pre-
teen singer, I remember when it was my
turn to sing for the guests at Jewish wed-
dings and other simchahs with Sammy
Woolf's all-Jewish band. Sammy would
look at me, smile and announce into the
mike, 'Now, direct from Durfee Junior
High, we bring you Ms. Sherry Kaye." ...
Sherry Kaye.
[Sherry went on to sing with Sammy
Kaye and other noted orchestras.]
CONGRATS ... To Dr. Burt Fogelman
on his 65th birthday ... To Hannah
Raskin on her 21st birthday ... To Simon
Tabachnik on his 90th birthday. 'LI
Danny's e-mail address is
dannyraskin@sbcglobal.net.
20% OFF CATERING IF YOU BOOK BY OCTOBER 15TH AT:
54
COACH INSIGNIA
CROWNE PLAZA
JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER
Samantha Sher
(313) 567-2622
SHIRAZ
Kathy Charnley
(248) 348-5000 ext. 624
RADISSON
Lizz Smith
(248) 646-0370 ext. 402
Samantha McCrossin
(248) 646-0370 ext. 218
Florina Boyle or Donna Rosen
(248) 644-1400 ext. 534
September 16 • 2010
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