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44 October 1 • 2015
oing out to breakfast is a memo-
rable experience at the Chocolate
Gallery Cafe in Warren — so
much so that regular customers might
wish this little gem would remain their
secret.
Sorry, but this place has to be shared.
Getting to Chocolate Gallery from
Oakland County is easy. Take 1-696 east
to Dequindre, make a left turn and head
north. At Chicago Road (131/2 Mile), turn
right (east) to find the cafe in a strip mall
on the right side of the street, just before
Ryan. Look for the Tina
Marie Dance Studio sign.
Muted classical music
plays in the tranquil cafe
serving gourmet breakfasts
and lunch. Wall decorations
include photos of tempting
desserts and sweet color
drawings of children at play
by the late Detroit Free Press
artist Jon Buechel. Atop most
of the 10 covered tables is a
little book of wisdom. The
passages are nice to read
silently or to a companion
while awaiting breakfast or lunch.
The warm, welcoming manner of chief
waitress Peggy Ploe adds to the cafe's
homey, "small-town" feeling. In fact,
she really makes the place! Peggy brings
around carafes of hazelnut-flavor and
other coffees and really seems to enjoy
helping guests choose their perfect entree.
Peggy and Cathy LaBash, the business-
partner wife of Chef Chuck LaBash, treat
my husband, Mike, and I like cherished
friends when we stop in. But really their
kindness extends to everyone.
It's hard to go wrong ordering here with
all the interesting options. Menu favorites
at breakfast include eggs Benedict, veg-
etarian Benedict and my usual choice of
Florentine omelet, made with spinach,
tomato, onion and Swiss. The chalkboard
specials offer great things like banana
walnut pancakes, Boursin cheese omelet,
with the chef's own Boursin-like cheese,
and another of my favorites — Swiss and
fresh asparagus omelet. Eggs Caliente is a
fiery choice. Accompanying the three-egg
omelets are delicious skin-on Cafe pota-
toes, sauteed with onion and peppers.
A lemon curd drizzle on top of the
warm, fluffy pancakes make the Lemon
Ricotta pancakes pretty special. Another
favorite is strawberry-filled French toast
topped with fresh strawberries. The pan-
cakes and French toast are not too sweet,
and that's good.
Lunchtime choices include turkey
Reuben, Dinty Moore, tuna melt on an
English muffin and Monte Cristo sand-
wich. Quiches may be on the special board
and ordered with a fruit cup.
Hungarian mushroom soup
is my favorite item here. It's
a marvelous concoction with
paprika and cream, caramelized
onions and lots of mushrooms.
, Especially for Mike, Peggy knows
to bring our soup out "hot, hot,
hot:'
If possible, you'll save room for
the house-made desserts, such
as key lime pie, bread pudding,
chocolate Buckingham torte and
chocolate "decadence" cake. Why
go to a cafe with chocolate in the
name and not try some?
A combination of factors led to the
LaBashes opening Chocolate Gallery Cafe
in 1993. They had outgrown their home
kitchen, what with Cathy's increasingly
popular handmade artisanal chocolates
and the jobs rolling in for her and Chuck,
a Macomb Community College culinary
arts graduate, to make other desserts and
hors d'oeuvres and cater full dinner par-
ties. Chuck, a city of Detroit paramedic
for 13 years, realized that his true calling
was in food preparation. The little cafe has
been great for more than 22 years.
Keeping to a three-day-a week schedule
at the cafe — 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday
through Sunday — gives Chuck the flex-
ibility to cater private functions. Chocolate
Gallery is also available to rent for events
(including a chocolate fountain) and pri-
vate classes.
The success of Chocolate Gallery Cafe
proves that a trendy location isn't required
to become a favorite dining destination in
Metro Detroit. Honors achieved include
2015 Best Breakfast on Detroit's "A-List"
and several years' inclusion on WDW's
"4TheBest:'
❑
Chocolate Gallery Cafe
3672 Chicago Road
Warren, MI 48092
(586) 979-1140
www.chocolategallerycafe.com
$$ out of $$$$