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MAPLE ROAD BACH'S BRANDENBURG CONCERTO NO. 3 JANUARY 24, 2013 MOZART AND HAYDN FEBRUARY 28, 2013 HANDEL'S WATER MUSIC APRIL 11, 2013 MOZART'S "HAFFNER" SYMPHONY MAY16, 2013 DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA LEONARD SLATICIN Music Director A COMMUNITY-SUPPORTED ORCHESTRA CALL 313.576.5111 TO SUBSCRIBE TO YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD TODAY! FOR MORE INFO VISIT DSO.ORG/NEIGHBORHOOD Generously sponsored by The William Davidson Foundation with additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts. 22 January 10 • 2013 Vinsetta Grill Federation donors jump 10 percent in 2012. I y 27375 BELL ROAD Mendelssohn The Hebrides Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No. Schumann Symphony No. 3 Jewish Detroit Steps Forward A ',V ARTWORKS. n795590 0u just try to do the best job you can and be consistent" said Mike Papa, offering this modest explanation for why so many diners keep coming back to his and wife Tracy's Vinsetta Grill on Woodward at Catalpa in Royal Oak. Mike Papa estimates that up to 60 percent of their customers are repeat guests, including non-locals who make this a dining destination. Vinsetta Grill is a draw because of its menu and reliable food, as well as the cozy atmo- sphere. This is not a loud bistro where you can't hear the person seated across from you. In April 1993, the Papas purchased De Luca, known for Italian dining, and start- ed Wetland's Bar & Grill. It's been more than 14 years since their noisy sports bar was transformed into a sedate restaurant, featuring the warmth of wood and upholstered private booths. In 2008, they had Birmingham-based restaurant design- er Ron Rea freshen the two-room din- ing space with a refurbished bar and appropriate touches, such as mission- style, geometric light sconces. Barbecued ribs are the house spe- cialty. That, perhaps, is not surprising because Mike Papa learned to cook at his parents' venerable Oxford Inn, a Royal Oak mainstay for ribs. "But we have our own recipes" noted Papa, who also had man- agement training in the Mountain Jack's steakhouse chain. In addition to wonderful baby backs and beef ribs in "original" barbecue sauce, Vinsetta Grill serves up St. Louis Sweets, spareribs in a sweet-smoky sauce, and Mexican Red Hots, St. Louis-style spareribs in a sauce featuring five types of peppers. The popular combos team the ribs with chicken or shrimp. With four types of ribs on the sampler platter, you don't even have to choose. I've found the ribs here to be tender and moist. Grilled items on the menu include New York strip steak, teriyaki top sirloin and filet mignon stuffed with a mushroom mixture. Entrees come with a choice of two side dishes, soup or salad, and hot, buttery garlic sticks. The daily specials here might include broiled salmon or two sizes of slow-roasted prime rib. There is always a pasta of the day. A tasty rendition of classic French onion and well-loaded baked potato soups are more special- ties, along with onion loaf and fried dill pickle chips, the signature appetiz- ers. Among the hearty salads is the Santa Fe, almost too big in its tortilla shell. Diners also have the opportunity to build their own burger from a check- off list that begins with three types of meat and a veggie choice in three different weights. The one-third pound size was enough for me. Ten varieties of cheese and a generous assortment of a la carte toppings and fixings allow guests to take their burger in different flavor directions. The black bean salsa and roasted corn toppings were most appealing to me. Among the many sauces offered, I recommend the roasted garlic aioli or caramelized- onion marmalade. Those following a low-carb diet can skip the bun and have their juicy, made-to-order burger brought to the table in a bowl. For anyone still hungry, chocolate cake and caramel apple pie are two of the dessert temptations. ❑ VINSETTA GRILL 28028 Woodward Royal Oak, MI 48067 248-543-2626 $$-112 out of $$$$$ New Menu Items At Little Daddy's Little Daddy's family restaurants already boasted among the more extensive menus around. Now, executive chef Keith Dysarczyk has developed some great new items for Leonard Colton's three locations: Northwestern Highway in Southfield, North Woodward in Bloomfield Hills and Eureka Road in Taylor. For me, the standouts are glazed cinnamon French toast, roasted and seasoned chicken wings, Mediterranean salad with kale, warm beet salad and broiled walleye. My favorite item was the lettuce wraps. This delicious appetizer consists of Bib lettuce filled with ground chicken, shitake mushrooms and water chest- nuts. They're sautéed in a house-made Asian sauce and topped with rice noodles and scallions. ❑ n December, while most people are thinking about wrapping and opening gifts, the halls of the Jewish Federation become a flurry of activity, reflecting the staff hard at work wrap- ping up the Annual Campaign and clos- ing the gifts pledged over the past year. The Annual Campaign is the fund- raising engine that drives community support for the services, the facilities and programs that touch thousands of lives every day here at home, in Israel and in Jewish communities the world over. With the goal for a record-breaking year, on Dec. 31, Federation hit the mark, closing its 2012 Campaign with a total of nearly 11,300 donors. The achievement represents the largest one-year increase in total donors to the Annual Campaign since 1963 and the greatest percentage increase to the donor base since 1948. In a time where Jewish Federations across the nation are struggling to maintain donors and dollars, Jewish Detroit is steadily and surely gaining in strength and numbers. "Our mission is to strengthen the community, and our numbers are start- ing to prove we are doing just that, reversing a multiple decade trend" said Federation CEO Scott Kaufman. Federation funding benefits everyone in the community through its support of Jewish community services, educa- tion, camps and community events. It also benefits those in Israel through missions to Israel and support of the Partnership Region of the Central Galilee. "Our success reflects the strength of our Jewish community and the thou- sands of people who stepped forward this past year" says Federation President Douglas Bloom. "Federation works for all of us, thanks to those who reach out to connect and engage, to those who pick up the phone — or answer the call, to those who so generously give of their time and talents, to those who open their hearts and their checkbooks year after year" ❑ This story first appeared on MyJewishDetroit.org. Federation staffers man the phones.