EXQUISITE FOOD & EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE
EpicKosher.com
Catering@EpicKosher.com
Supervised by the Council of Orthodox Rabbis of Greater Detroit
CHOLOV YISROEL
KOSHER CUISINE
GLATT
KOSHER CUISINE
2046060
Food & Spirits
Brass Pointe
The
10% OFF
TOTAL BILL
Excludes tax, tip and beverages. With this ad. Banquet Services not included.
Dine in or Carry out. Expires 12/7/16
2062420
T
here was a time years ago, when
truly authentic ethnic dining res-
taurants in America were largely
restricted to New York, Chicago and Los
Angeles and a few scattered others.
However, thanks to the ever-growing
presence of immigrants from overseas and
the huge upsurges of many diverse cultural
food presentations from these native coun-
tries, their traditional dishes became highly
desired here and grew in large numbers.
There was no question about many of
them, insofar as authenticity was concerned
But a problem existed when numerous
chefs and cooks said I can do better and
received kitchen jobs However, authentic
means just that and nothing else not
even maybe or somewhat.
A chef who completely personifies true
authentic heads the kitchen as a partner
with her husband at the popular Indo
Indonesian restaurant on Cass Lake Road,
between Orchard Lake Road and Cass
Elizabeth, Keego Harbor.
They don
t come any more authentic
than Chef Melik Alonzo, owner with hus-
band, Nick She is from Central Java,
Indonesia, and prepares those wonderful
traditional family recipes from which folks
choose at Indo Theirs is
the only brick-and-mortar
Indonesian restaurant in
Michigan That brick-and-
mortar reference is a tradi-
tional street-side business
that deals with its customers
face-to-face and is generally
open to the public at least
five days a week So-called
pop-ups in Indonesia gener-
ally do not have a set loca-
tion and present limited pre-
sentations at various venues.
Indo is closed on Mondays
and Tuesdays Open
Wednesday, Thursday and
Sunday, noon to 10 p.m.;
Friday and Saturday, noon
to 11 p.m. Seating in the
dining room is 80 A liquor
license has been recently
acquired.
Those folks seeking places
that can present dishes no
other restaurant has avail-
able can certainly look to
Indo, where Chef Melik and
Nick Alonzo, proudly serve truly delicious
Indonesian food Chicken coconut soup,
crispy garlic tofu, stuffed tofu, Rendang
(a slowly cooked spicy beef), Ayam Java
spicy chicken, Peppercorn Beef, Indo
crispy shrimp, Beef Delight, Javanese garlic
shrimp, Curry Tofu, Sweet and Sour tofu,
sambal eggs, etc. Plus Jamu, Indonesia
s
traditional tumeric and ginger herbal tea
Add these dishes to the regular large selec-
tion and you certainly have a wonderful
dining adventure.
Indo is noted by vegans for its unusually
large dining choices, with special accom-
modations also made for plant-based
vegans who do not eat oil or nuts There
may be small smat-
terings of Vietnamese
dishes, too, like Banh
Mi Pate Thit, the
baguette sandwich
with homemade pate
and grilled beef or
chicken But mostly
Melik
s colorful and
marvelous tasting
Indonesian favorites
that are with very
few ethnic culinary
equals.
All dishes may be
ordered mild, medium and hot
with assurance of it being such
This is only the second anni-
versary of Indo, but already it has
made a most indelible mark in
the acclaimed realm of authentic
ethnic dining.
The preparation and presenta-
tion of Indonesian cuisine at Indo
is a truly enjoyable experience.
MAIL DEPT. From Jim
Hiller, former owner of Hiller
s
Markets When my buddy
Mike Sucher comes to town, it
s always a
trip in the way-back machine. Mike left for
the brown pastures of Arizona to practice
medicine in 1974, and we always need to
revisit the places and foods of our child-
hood whenever he comes to visit. This time
it was Duly
s Place on Vernor Highway in
Southwest Detroit. A fixture in that spot
since 1921 and, according to Anthony
Bourdain, who ate there in 2014, it
s the
only
great
coney dog you can get in a city
that serves up lots of good ones. I have to
agree! This hole-in-the-wall diner produces
stellar Coney Island hot dogs, loose burgers
and the best chili ever. A great breakfast is
served 24 hours a day (yep, they
re open
all night for us insomniacs), along with
sandwiches and all the accouterments you
d
expect from an all-night diner with about
30 seats, including the counter, in a rough
and tumble neighborhood. This is a place
that memories are made of.
DINING DEAL DEPT. 10-ounce Sea
Bass Complete meal includes soup or
salad, potato, vegetable and bread basket
$9.95 10 days only Thursday, Oct.
27, through Saturday, Nov. 5 No coupons
Siegel
s Deli, West Maple, just west of
Haggerty, Commerce Township.
QUESTION & ANSWER DEPT. My
boyfriend, Syd Millman, and I had ham-
burgers at Mr. Joe
s, and they were great.
But we had a heated argument. He says that
the name
hamburger
is just something
made up by somebody somewhere. I told
him that someone once told me that the
sandwich used to have ham in it and was
never changed, so I
ve always gone with
that. Who is right? Shirley Shiffman.
(As far as I know, you might both be
off base. The question has come up many
times because it still has ham in the
name. I think it traces back to Hamburg,
Germany, where folks years ago used to eat
a food called Hamburg steak. The Hamburg
steak name made its way to the United
States where it was shortened to hamburger.
Now kiss and make up.)
OLDIE BUT GOODIE DEPT. Morris,
owner of a small Jewish delicatessen, was
being questioned by an Internal Revenue
Service agent about his tax return. He had
reported a net profit of $60,000 for the year.
Why don
t you people leave me alone?
Morris said. I work like a dog. Everyone
in my family helps out. The place is only
closed three days a year. And you want to
know how I made $60,000?
It
s not your income that bothers us, the
agent said. It
s these business travel deduc-
tions of $125,000. You listed 10 trips to
Israel for you and your wife.
Oh, that? said Morris, smiling. We also
deliver!
CONGRATS To Scott Raskin on his
birthday To Kathy Kwiecinski on her
birthday To Hazel Bender on her birth-
day To Melissa Litvin on her birthday
To Eileen Finck on her birthday To
Rose Light on her birthday To Herb and
Audrey Saperstein on their 60th anniver-
sary. *
Danny
s email address is dannyraskin@sbcglobal.net.
Ethnic Dining Waves
Indo brings much-heralded truly authentic Indonesian cuisine.
Melik and Nick Alonzo
58 October 27 2016
Danny Raskin
Senior Columnist
arts & life
the best of
everything