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FOODIE
Gastronomy
By Esther Allweiss Ingber
OD
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' 7ou'll check your winter woes
at the door entering tranquil
. Gastronomy, A Modern Ameri-
can Bistro, on the ground floor of
Southfield's 17-story Baker Tilly
Building. Yes, finding the place is
a little tricky, even with the high-rise's
name clearly marked on top. I took 11
Mile Road and turned on Corporate
Drive, east of Lahser. Others drive
through the sprawling Towne Center
complex off Evergreen. Just keep
looking up!
Gastronomy has a fresh, green
setting. Walls, pendant lights and
patterned carpeting and upholstery
all feature that color.The cherrywood
chairs and tables provide contrast. I
liked the tiny white lights on ceiling-
hugging branch fixtures and giant
food murals by David Lamarand
Photography. They're opposite the
wall with wood-framed windows.
The dining room, banquet space and
Gastro Bar accommodate up to 250
guests.
"Green"also reflects the culinary di-
rection of Gastronomy's crack cooking
team, anchored by Jonathon Aceves
and Brandon Zarb, chefs de cuisine;
Shannon Kellett, garde manger chef;
and Emily Davis, executive pastry chef.
They've all been on staff and influenc-
ing the menu since the Epicurean
Restaurant Group opened Gastrono-
my in August 2012. Chris Salazar is the
bistro's general manager/sommelier.
Gastronomy takes pride in being a
"true scratch kitchen,"serving house-
made menu items.
"Food from local suppliers is used as
much as possible," said Brigette Gos-
sett, assistant general manager."We
change the menu as often as needed:"
Adventurous diners might want to
try the"degustation menu or chef's
tasting:'
Gastronomy's culinary brigade will
custom-create a proportionately sized
dinner menu of six to 16 courses for
a table, exploring "the bounty of sea-
sonal flavors present in the kitchen:'
The culinary tour is available nightly,
but only Friday and Saturday require
reservations. Come by 6:30 p.m. for
12-16 courses; otherwise, 8 p.m. is
fine.
The beautifully arranged Grassroots
entrees feature complex, creative
flavors. Grilled Cider-Glazed Wild
Salmon, for example, includes warm
quinoa, green apple horseradish salad
and curvy endive, and Braised Rabbit
Pappardelle comes with winter mush-
rooms, forester sauce, fig, brandy and
huckleberry toast.
Among the featured soups, the
A
Modern American Bistro
most popular is Great Lakes Walleye
Chowder. It's very flavorful and tasty,
but I wished my serving had included
bites of fish.
I had chowder as part of a clever
dining concept, the American Lunch
Box. The $16 meal includes choices
for soup, salad, main dish, side and
dessert. Reminiscent of a Japanese
Bento Box with its various compart-
ments, all five courses come to table
in a wide white dish with depressions
to hold each item. It doesn't work out
very well here, though. People tend to
eat their soup first, which results in a
cooled-off entree. My chicken enchi-
lada in mole sauce had tasty, well-
defined flavors, but was stone cold
when I tried it; the same held true for
my co-diner's Baker Tilly (313) Grilled
Cheese. My suggestion is to serve the
soup first, and then bring out the rest
of the meal. That's the Japanese style,
and it makes sense.
Pastry chef Davis gets kudos for her
delectable Red Velvet Cupcake and
crunchy-topped brownie. Compli-
mentary warm naan bread with a ver-
sion of tzatziki sauce is a nice touch.
Ground Breakers (appetizers) at
Gastronomy include Halibut Sashimi,
Steak Tartare and Brie Brulee. Non-
meat-eaters can dine well here,
too. The Cold Kitchen section of-
fers a Compressed Apple Salad of
grapes, celery, raisins, blue cheese
and walnuts in yogurt dressing. The
Contemporary Beet Salad is basically
a delicious Greek salad that needed
more "candy stripe beets:'
Gastronomy celebrates the ethnic
diversity of the United States with
specialties from rotating regions of
the world. Selections currently rep-
resenting Northern Europe include
Arctic Salt-Cured Duck and two styles
of venison.
Open daily except Sunday, Gastron-
omy carries an extensive selection of
wine, including several Michigan vin-
tages. The Pub menu fills in the gap
between lunch and dinner. Service is
excellent here.
GASTRONOMY
1 TOWNE SQUARE
SOUTHFIELD, MI 48076
(248) 864-4410
THEEPICUREANGROUP.COM/
GASTRONOMY
$$$ 1/2 out of $$$$$
Visit theJEWISHNEWS.com
28 March 2013 I
RED MAD
www.redthreadmagazine.com