arts & life out to eat Hidden Treasure Dining Around The D Discovered in Oakland County Chocolate Gallery Caf Elegant estate jewelr9 and beautiful one-of-a-kind pieces can be our for less than you would imagine Estate Buyers at David Wachler & Son R&R Jewelers - Now located at 100 S. Old Woodward Birmingham MI 48009 248-540-46 22 100 South Old Woodward Ave., Birmingham, MI 248.540.4622 Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 10am-5:30pm Thursday, 10am-7:30pm Saturday, 10am-5pm Sunday and Monday, Closed 1968210 Care Management & Home Care A Division of Feinberg Consulting, Inc. Overwhelmed by caring for an aging family member? Pam Feinberg-Ri N,CCM,eRRN, ABDA ifteiventlorEst . ounder & CEO (t We Can Help More than just home care... Our professionals will coordinate and support all of your needs Call: 248.702.6510 Care Managers: • Holistic Assessments • Detailed Plans • Management of Care • Oversight and Monitoring Caregivers: • Companionship • Help Around the Home • Meal Prep for Special Diets • Attending Appointments For additional services visit: wvvw.BridgewayCare.net 1999590 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 $$ out of $$$$