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Dining In Elegance

Duo restaurant adds style and sophistication to an interesting menu.

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Seafood, and his staff put out
hree friends with nominal food
dishes that one might other-
experience might have the real-
ization of a restaurant dream that wise find in an even higher-
end restaurant.
could be the "sleeper" they often thought
Open six days, all except
about.
Sunday, present hours are
Danny Foumia and Ricky Manjo were
for dinner only ... Monday-
partners in pizza eateries and Suhel Kizi
Friday, 4 p.m.-2 a.m. and
was an all-around gent at a bar and grill
Saturday, 5 p.m.-2 a.m. ...
owned by his family.
kitchen open till 1 a.m. all six
And they chose an unlikely site to
days.
open an upscale operation like their Duo
Chef John's interesting
Restaurant and Lounge on Northwestern
menu at Duo includes maple
Highway, Southfield, the south side of La
walnut whitefish, grilled
Mirage Mall, north of 12 Mile.
Atlantic salmon, three chili-rubbed iron
The location is that of the former
steak, 18-ounce bone-in ribeye steak, and
Irving's Delicatessen and Shanghai
Chinese restaurant ... Both are complete- pan-seared chicken stuffed with Borsin
cheese, spinach and dried cherries, etc.
ly unrecognizable as the magic touch
... Many of the items put out by Chef
of interior designer Ron Rea has given
John's kitchen may not be listed on the
the site an unbelievably different look in
Duo menu but are
its complete change-
huge favorites of
over ... In place of the
his ... Like Steak
previous non-descript
au Poivre with bleu
decorations that would
cheese, mushrooms
normally accompany a
and onions and
Jewish deli and Chinese
sesame-encrusted
eatery is the elegance
salmon with fresh
that one finds only at
vegetables
and
favorite operations
Partners Ricky Manjo, Suhel Kizi
Ponzu
sauce.
in New York and Los
and Danny Foumia
Being in the full
Angeles, etc.
service sit-down
When visitors enter
restaurant business is a challenge for the
Duo from the La Mirage's south side,
three young men who seem to be answer-
they are immediately enveloped into the
soft-grace sophistication of a 60-seat bar ing it with successful results as another
lounge with comfortable sofa styling and restaurant that joined the continued
dining surge along the Northwestern
low tables fronted by a heavily-stocked
Highway corridor between 12 and 14
lighted bar ... Then into a 160-seat din-
Mile.
ing area stylishly appointed by a Ron
NEW RESTAURANT expected to open
Rea chandelier trademark, black leather
sometime in July along Northwestern
high-backed booths, mirrored wall fix-
Highway in Farmington Hills will be
tures and recessed dot-like ceiling lights
Detroit Prime ... According to its say-so,
creating a veritable sea of glamorous
the anticipation is to feature steaks at low
chic, etc.
dinner prices that will also include soup
Little change has been made to the
or salad, house-baked bread and choice
kitchen, which could use more space, but
from it Executive Chef John Del Proposto, of sides ... Interior design will be of yes-
teryears Detroit.
former sous chef at Northern Lakes

C

THERE ARE three good
reasons why people don't
mind standing in line for
breakfast at the Early Bird
Cafe on Orchard Lake Road
in Keego Harbor ... Excellent
menu selection ... Fast, cour-
teous and very efficient ser-
vice by smiling waitresses ...
And it is family-owned and
operated by Chris and Kathy
Dimitriou and their son, Jim
... Kathy, assistant to the
vice president of Henry Ford
Community College in Dearborn, holds
down the fort on Sundays, while Jim han-
dles open kitchen chores with other chefs,
all wearing rubber gloves ... Highly tout-
ed breakfast items enjoyed by so many
include potato pancakes prepared by Jim
that Al and Marilyn Frommer always have
as breakfast dessert ... On Saturdays,
Kathy takes over at their other Early Bird
on East Main Street in Northville.
THAT PLEASANT hostess you see at
Fox Grill, on the former site of Fox and
Hounds, Woodward and Long Lake Road,
Bloomfield Hills, is who you think it is
... Carol Dressler, the efficient hostess for
Ron Forman at his Bread Basket Deli in
Lincoln Center, Oak Park, for more than
15 years, and at the former Morels and
Shiraz restaurants in Bingham Farms
... Carol is at Fox Grill Monday through
Friday until 4 p.m. ... saying hello to so
many familiar faces of customers she
used to please and still does.
QUESTION & ANSWER DEPT.... "Is
it true that the Cheesecake Factory res-
taurant is looking for a location here?" ...
Sandra Wise.
[Not that I know of ... At one time,
an untrue rumor had it coming to the
Fountain Walk Mall in Novi ... Another
was at 12 Mile and Orchard Lake Road in
Farmington Hills ... A third had it open-
ing in Troy's Somerset Collection, but
that fell through.]

GOOD HOSTESS DEPT. ... Besides her
efficient hostess chores, Marieta Nikolova
gives George's Honey Tree restaurant,
Northwestern Highway, West Bloomfield,
added dimensions of work with her cour-
teous ways and server assistance in help-
ing satisfy customer needs.
FORMER DETROITER, recording art-
ist and vocalist Kathy Kosins, daughter
of Marilyn (Kosins) Schafer and the late
Harry Kosins, will bring her jazz art-
ist styling to the Ann Arbor Kerrytown
Concert House, Saturday, Aug. 25.
THE USUAL spellbinding experience
electrified an audience as former localite
David Syme again thrilled those attend-
ing his recent concert at Temple Israel ...
David tickling the black and white keys
of his excellent concert piano styling is
an exceptional talent.
He thrillingly weaved his flying-finger
magic through the awesome never-dying
music of George Gershwin's Rhapsody
In Blue, a clever rendition of "Yankee
Doodle Dandy" as Mozart, Beethoven,
Bizet (Carmen), Tchaikovsky and Glen
Miller would have played it, plus a
scintillating ending of "Root Beer Rag,"
etc., that showed an amazing versatility
enjoyed by David's audiences throughout
Europe and America.
With his new svelte look of minus 50
pounds, David and wife Suzanne's time
between homes in both Ireland and Houston,
Texas, will soon be restricted to residency
only in Ireland because of huge demand
for him in Europe, particularly Ireland.
CONGRATS ... To Hedy Blatt on her
birthday ... To Ron Finegood on his
birthday ... To Gary Rubenstein on his
birthday ... To Nancy Badenoch on her
62nd birthday ... To Angelo Georgizas
on his 65th birthday ... To William and
Carolyn Nosanchuk's on their 59th anni-
versary ... To Ron and Maggie Asmar on
their 36th anniversary. E

Danny's email is dannyraskin@sbcglobal.net.

OATS DANNY RASKIN ON 70 YEARS! TRULY AMAZING!

FATHER'S DAY, FAMILY GETS TOGETHER, COMPANY PARTIES... WE CAN DO IT ALL!!!

; I $4599 SUPER BREAKFAST

FOR TWO

FishPlate
Eggs

NOVA LOX & WHITE FISH SALAD PLATE
I SCRAMBLED EGGS
Daily brunch
I HASH BROWN POTATOES
I BAGELS W/ CREAM CHEESE 10 Am - 2 Pm
I VEGETABLE GARNISH
Dine in Only

OF 2 BEVERAGE.

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::Bage

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• 1/2 LB NOVA LOX

• SLICED TOMATOES AND ONIONS

• WHIPPED CREME CHEESE

• 4 N.Y. BAGELS

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WE GRILL ON SITE

106 ,June

14 2012

for 41$

INCLUDES

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exp 7115112

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"GOOD FROM
2_7 PM'

REE

VIENNA, SY GINSBERG
OR KOSHER HOT DOGS
I I WITH PURCHASE OF THE SAME

exp 7/15/12

32418 Northwestern Hwy.
between Middlebelt & 14 Mile • 248.855-9463
ORDER ONLINE www.VineyardDellcom