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Bon Appetit!
French Gourmet restaurant offers the culinary wonders of a Parisian cafe.
W
ious fine Paris restaurants and
hat began back in the early
adept at making unique choices
1990s as a French pastry and
like cheese and lobster souffles,
bakery on Middlebelt and 14
Mile Road in Farmington Hills is, today, 17 baguette sandwiches, elegant
years later and at another location, consid- quiches, warm chicken liver and
ered among the region's finest little French raspberry salad, warm duck and
lobster salad, etc. ... including
restaurants.
many dishes rarely, if ever, found
Plus being a wonderful restaurant,
in another French restaurant.
French Gourmet, now on Woodward at
In France, a first-class restau-
Woodland, between Nine and 10 Mile,
rant has two chefs with separate
Ferndale, has also retained its reputa-
areas of responsibility but equal
tion as an exceptional pastry and bakery
status ... Both have different
operation ... with made-on-the-premises
training ... One is the hot foods
items fresh, never frozen, that custom-
chef, who supervises
ers come from near and
cooked foods; the other a
remote points to obtain.
pastry chef, responsible
Owners Marvin and
for baked foods ... They
Lina Bernstein are espe-
have different career
cially proud of their
paths ... Lina is one of
croissants, brioches and
the few who has thorough
baguettes ... and have
training, experience and
been roasting their own
skills in both areas.
coffee since shortly after
Even the French toast
starting in business ...
is different, using brioche
French Gourmet's variety Lina and Meryl n Bernstein
pastry made only by
of coffees is large with
French Gourmet ... The
prices kept down for qual-
ity coffee roasted only a pound at a time to hot chocolate is with directly imported
Mexican chocolate and eggs benedict
ensure complete freshness.
with mousseline sauce over homemade
The prime focus of business, however,
croissant and brioche pastry ... Its onion
is the highly-touted French Gourmet res-
gratinee "is unlike any French onion soup
taurant whose dining delights are mainly
in either America or France says Marvin.
made directly on site, the Bernsteins
Lina is restless and creative Every
preferring to prepare their own food
products, many of which other restaurants recipe is either unique or so thoroughly
rethought and changed from a French
receive from outside sources.
classic that they must be considered in a
The vegetables are from a friend's farm
class of their own.
in the Thumb area, which counts French
Of course, the standard French
Gourmet as its only restaurant client ...
dishes are featured, excellent best seller
And according to Marvin, his and Lina's
Bouillabaisse (Mediterranean seafood
is the only restaurant in the world mak-
soup), elegant Red Snapper en Papillote,
ing Mulberry Linger Torte ... Topping the
Duckling Monte Cristo, Salmon Poached
torte is a mulberry preparation supplied
by another friend who makes it from mul- in Red Wine, Beef Tongue in Madeira
Sauce, Coq au Vin, Lamb Normandy, etc.
berries grown on his farm in Lansing.
... Among the favorite desserts are the
Lina is a magnificent chef, trained in var-
three mousses made from
Lina's original recipes: cherry
maple, chestnut souffle and
walnut.
The soups are exquisite ...
their own original recipes of
onion gratinee, mushroom,
leek and kale, mussels in lob-
ster broth ... and the appe-
tizers without much equal ...
duck foie gras with truffles,
an original French Gourmet
recipe of sweetbreads, brie en
croute, etc.
French Gourmet is open six days a week
... Tuesday-Thursday, 11-2 and 5-9; Friday-
Sturday, noon-2 and 5-10; Sunday, 10-2.
Seating is only for 30 ... and, as expect-
ed, the lavish wine list is all French and
very select with noticeably lower prices.
True French cuisine is considered
an adventure in dining supremacy ...
Celebrating its 17th anniversary as a res-
taurant, French Gourmet is too good not to
have its virtues extolled with high praise.
GOOD WAITRESS DEPT. ... Mia
Fawks, one of the fine waitpersons at Mon
Jin Lau, E. Maple Road at Stephenson
Highway, Troy ... Smiling with pearly
white teeth and a gleaming personality
second only to her excellent efficiency
... And if you can't keep your chopsticks
together, Mia will show you how.
MAIL DEPT. ... "My husband, Gerry,
and I are avid readers of the Jewish News
and have lived in Indiana for 46 years, but
still consider Detroit a vital part of our
past and present since many of our rela-
tives, our daughter, my sister and brother
and their families, live in the surrounding
areas. Whenever we come to town, we try
to go to at least one of the restaurants or
delis you highlight.
"Jewish Detroit holds special memo-
ries for us. When we come back from a
visit, our car is filled with Sanders Fudge,
Toper's Pickles, those fantastic crisp bagels
and Star Deli's tuna salad and corned beef.
While we are close to Chicago, none of the
delis compare to Detroit and the suburbs."
... Marlene Kaluzny Rothenberg
MICHIGAN FOOD laws are very tough,
but serve excellent purposes of important
cleanliness ... In response to the ques-
tion of whether restaurant employees
are required to wear disposable sanitary
gloves, it says, "State law does not require
gloves to be worn, but does require that
ready-to-eat food be prepared and served
without bare hand contact. Wearing dis-
posable sanitary gloves is one of several
acceptable ways to comply with this law."
... It is important for restaurant employ-
ees, owners and managers to note that
Michigan law absolutely prohibits bare
hand contact with food that is ready to eat.
REMEMBERING WHEN Dept. ...
From Sam Schiff ... "I was in the Army
Air Corps at Sheppard Field, Texas, in
1941, and my wedding to Rosalind Kabeck
was scheduled back in Detroit. The attack
on Pearl Harbor canceled all furloughs
and not knowing our future, Roz and I
decided to get married in Wichita Falls, a
small town near the field.
"Fortunately, I had met a number of
members of the Jewish community at the
small temple in town. When they learned
of our predicament, they and the rabbi
arranged to sponsor our wedding, and 70
years ago we were wed under a chuppah
held by four Jewish soldiers stationed with
me at Sheppard Field."
CONGRATS ... To Tamara Friedman
on her birthday ... To Aaron Berg on his
100th birthday ... To Ellen Gruskin on her
75th birthday ... To Richard and Linda
Lulkin on their 45th anniversary ... To
Denny and Ruth Rice on their 45th anni-
versary. ❑
Danny's email is dannyraskin@sbcglobai.net.
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54
February 9 . 2012
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