arts & life >> the best of everything High Steaks! Clawson Steak House is a huge favorite on 57th birthday. T hey came here from Greece after ownership of a butcher shop and restaurant in their little village. This was the wonderful America that brothers Paul and Gregory Alexopoulos had heard and read so much about ... However, no one told them that America has fires just like anywhere else. The restaurant they had opened in 1958 and called Clawson Lounge had one of those fires ... but the brothers showed that great Greek fortitude and determination by bounc- ing back ... and reopening in 1988 under a new name ... Clawson Steak House, South Rochester Road, corner of 14 Mile, Clawson ... celebrating its 57th anniversary. Getting off on the right foot was soon after its reopening with the hiring of Jim Polk as executive chef that 22 years later has turned out to be a genius-like move ... Experienced from Beverly Hills Grill, Norman's Eton Street Station and Golden Mushroom, the latter where he watched Master Chef Milos Cihelka and also became most adept in the butchering skill he applies now at Clawson Steak House ... Polk's wife, Jodie, makes four of the six luscious pastry selections available on the dessert menu. Clawson Steak House, now owned solely by Gregory's son Jim Alexopoulos, has been known by some to be a "dining sleeper" ... Probably because many of those who go there keep their knowledge of it much to themselves ... Jim's wife, Kim, is the restaurant's banquet manager and a daily prescence at lunchtime. However, the Saturday evening I was there, you would think that everybody knew about Clawson Steak House ... It was very crowded, and people obviously chose to wait in line because of the experience they knew they would enjoy. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m.-2 a.m. ... Reservations of five or more only are accepted on Friday and Saturday evenings, but any size during the other four days. Clawson Steak House is one of the better dining spots that gives both soup and salad plus a side dish and basket of warm home- made rolls with its meals. Examples of Chef Polk's dining gems are among some of his favorites ... Jim's largely wanted stuffed salmon, with a filling of spinach, artichokes and crab, that is a regular special, and those beautiful charbroiled racks of lamb chops are also among the most- ordered food selections ... Baby back ribs, chopped sirloin, steer liver with onions, 14- oz. sirloin, 30-oz. porterhouse, etc. His weekly food buys are not skimpy ... 120 lbs. of chicken, 50 lbs. of salmon filets, 50 lbs. of steer liver, 40 lbs. of frog legs, 60 lbs. of whitefish, etc. Seating is for 225 in the din- ing room, 40 in a lounge area, and 20 bar stools ... Dancing and live entertainment by the fine Mark James Band, Wednesdays through Saturdays ... Its servers have obviously been trained in high customer satisfaction, and it is so good to Jim and Kim Alexopoulos and Executive Chef Jim Polk see a dance floor in front of the PRIME29 STEAKS • SEAFOOD • COCKTAILS THE BRIAN ALEXANDER BAND Thursday Is The New Friday Live Entertainment Every Thursday at 8:00pm 6545 ORCHARD LAKE ROAD. WEST BLOOMFIELD, MI 48322 (SE CORNER OF MAPLE & ORCHARD LAKE, NEXT TO PLUM MARKET WWW.PRIME29STEAKHOUSE.COM 248.73.PRIME (77463) 52 March 12 • 2015 JN diners who enjoy watching the terpsi-twirling folks. If you want to tell customers that Clawson Steak House is a "sleeper; make sure it isn't someone who will laugh in your face ... Those who have been there certainly know differently. BIG SEAFOOD DOINGS are bringing people in for its big Coastal Cuisine menu now through April 4 at all nine local Andiamo restaurants ... Scottish salmon, scallops, crab-stuffed shrimp, whitefish almandine, jumbo shrimp, lobster tail and twin roasted lobster tails ... all also including side dishes ... $22.50 to $48.95. Corporate Chef Jim Oppat's buys for this dining event include 4,000 pounds of Scottish salmon, 1,500 pounds of shrimp, between 2,500 and 3,000 pounds of lobster tails, 2,000 pounds of Great Lakes whitefish and 1,000 pounds of sea scallops ... almost 12,000 pounds of seafood. RECENTLY OPENED Crave Ferndale, Woodward just south of Nine Mile, has become a place to enjoy and be seen ... Its American menu and sushi bar go over big ... Crave Dearborn is now used strictly for pri- vate parties and events ... The Ferndale site is now also open for brunch on Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. READER MINI REVIEW ... from Dennis Silber ... "Debbie and I recently dined at City Fish Market with former Detroiters Carol and Sam Sobel and Leslie and Denny Rogers. City Fish Market has been a mainstay here in Boca Raton for several years, offering the full gamut of fresh fish that day in a choice of individual sizes or whole fish portions for sharing, each of which are available sauteed in lemon or butter, broiled or blackened. "Each of us tried our own selection of sau- teed yellow fin snapper, Atlantic mahi-mahi, swordfish and black grouper. Especially tasty was the snapper prepared Hong Kong-style with sherry soy, scallions, ginger, spinach atop jasmine rice, and the Atlantic swordfish "pepper steak" in a cracked pepper crust, portobello mushrooms and topped with brandy peppercorn. "Our appetizers began with an oyster selection from Maine and colossal lump crab — enough for sharing by all, lump crab frit- ters with a spicy remoulade sauce and cala- mari in garlic aioli/marinara sauce. Our side dishes were creative and delicious, vegetables in saute or steamed, creamy whipped pota- toes and jumbo sweet potatoes. The menu is incomparable, and our experience certainly invited return visits': IT'S THE FIRST spring training Jewish Heritage Day hosted by the Florida Marlins and pits them against the Minnesota Twins in nearby Jupiter, at the Marlin's Roger Dean Stadium ... And you can be sure that tickets are in the hands of Irwin Cohen, local author and historian, whose latest book, Jewish History in the Time of Baseball's Jews, is his 10th tome ... Irwin and wife, Davida, win- tering in West Palm Beach, are thrilled, too, that a kosher food stand will also be available. No doubt they'll also visit the new first- ever kosher restaurant in West Palm Beach, Pita King, under supervision of Florida's ORB (Orthodox Rabbinical Board). OLDIE BUT GOODIE DEPT. ... The anti- Semitic head of his country, not feeling well and concerned about his mortality, visits a psychic about the date of his death. Closing her eyes and silently reaching into the realm of the future, she finds the answer. "You will die on a Jewish holiday:" "Which one?" the Arab asks. "It doesn't matter; said the psychic. "Whenever you die, it'll be a Jewish holiday:" CONGRATS ... To Jack Simon on his 80th birthday ... To Jeannie Simon on her 80th birthday. ❑ Danny's email address is dannyraskin®sbcglobaLnet.