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Changing The Game
Danny Raskin
Senior Columnist
Buddy’s celebrates
71 years of pizza
innovations.
ABOVE: Robert Jacobs and Wes Picula
While the entire Buddy’s Pizza
11-restaurant chain celebrates
its own combined 71st anniver-
sary, attention is also focused
on the Buddy’s flagship restau-
rant operation, Northwestern
Highway and Middlebelt,
Farmington Hills.
It wasn’t until 1981 that
Shirley and the late Billy Jacobs,
with son Robert, made it their
third pizza restaurant … Today,
the Farmington Hills locale,
owned and operated by Robert
Jacobs and assisted by vice presi-
dent of operations Wes Picula,
also serves what so many people
continually say has among the
finest-tasting array of home-
made soups that can be found …
broccoli, minestrone, chili, etc. …
The Buddy’s chain is now
what has been become one
of America’s top-ranked pizza
and varied Italian items dining
emporiums with a reputation for
goodness … An outstanding pen-
chant for new items and upgrad-
ing has also brought Robert and
Wes much note.
Along with the opening of the
Farmington Hills site came a
first in the square pizza industry
… pure whole wheat crust …
healthy, with natural ingredients,
no preservatives, fresh vegeta-
bles and natural dairy cheese …
The same location saw anoth-
er first in square pizzas … It was
called Seafood Delight, with
shrimp and crabmeat … And
each week was a different gour-
met topping special … pine nuts,
chicken and turkey, steak, fresh
mushrooms, etc.
The Farmington Hills loca-
tion is open Monday-Thursday,
11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday and
Saturday, 11-11; Sunday, 11-10.
… Seating is for 242 … also
including 12 bar stools in its own
separate sector along with 46
outdoor patio seats.
Today, Buddy’s Pizza has
added numerous healthy dining
options that include gluten-free
pizzas, endorsed by the Tri-
County Celiac Support Group,
and multi-grain pizza with nine
grains (oats, wheat, barley, corn-
meal, cracked wheat, rye, flax
seed, millet and sesame seed).
There is even a special treat
for the furry four-legged dog-
gie family members … “Buddy
Bones” that are made from the
multi-grain crust and sold with
a suggested $2 donation … $1 of
each contribution benefits the
Michigan Humane Society.
It is estimated that at the
Farmington Hills location alone
almost 2,000 pounds of dough
are used weekly … Almost 1,400
pounds of cheese each week …
and more than 3,000 pizzas are
purchased per week.
Buddy’s Pizza has been hon-
ored many times, including
being named one of the nation’s
five best pizza spots by Food
Network, one of GM magazine
and Food & Wine magazine’s top
pizza operations in the country,
etc.
To many folks, Buddy’s is
much more than just a pizza-
only restaurant, also serving
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chicken tenders dipped in
low-fat buttermilk, meatballs
oven-baked with mozzarella
cheese and served with garlic
bread, a super pizza with brick
cheese, pepperoni, onions, green
peppers, mushrooms, with or
without ham … The Sicilian
style of pepperoni under Buddy’s
Wisconsin brick cheese and
sauce on top makes for a true
award-winning Detroit original
… Plus numerous Italian dishes
and choice desserts.
Stopping Robert and Wes
from adding new pizzeria items
would be like yelling halt with
arms raised in front of a run-
away train.
READER MINI REVIEW
… From Jon Isenberg … “While
vacationing recently with my
wife, Lorrie, in Turks & Caicos
Islands, we enjoyed a thoroughly
delightful dining experience at
the Caicos Cafe Bar & Grill, a
Caribbean, Italian and seafood
restaurant there. Lorrie savored
a beautiful and lip-smacking red
snapper that had been caught
that day and served that eve-
ning, then was presented with a
medley of tomato, capers, fresh
thyme, roasted artichokes, sweet
red peppers and crunchy polen-
ta. I had a most unusual house-
made black spaghetti pasta
with squid ink for the odd dark
coloring. My black Tagliolini was
mixed with Caribbean spices,
arugula, tomatoes and sweet
green jalapeno. Our seafood side
dish included a most delectable
selection of mussels, oysters, cal-
amari, squid, scallops and baby
shrimp prawns. Before dinner,
our rum punches consisted of
three different flavors of rum. A
wonderful, casual romantic din-
ing adventure at Caicos Cafe Bar
& Grill is not to be missed!”
REARVIEW MIRROR …
Going to Al Siegel’s Elmwood
Casino in Windsor with Bud
Sherbow to see Sammy Davis Jr.
… We came back with Sammy to
the Meyerson’s Scotch ’n Sirloin
where Bud was manager … After
arriving there, Bud suggested to
Sammy that he go in the back
door to avoid the crowd … “No
way!” said Sammy. “My going in
the back door days are over!”
OLDIE BUT GOODIE … The
rabbi was opening his mail one
morning. Taking a single sheet
of paper from an envelope,
he found on it only one word:
“JERK!”
The next Friday night at his
sermon, he announced, “I have
known many people who have
written letters and forgotten to
sign their names. But this week,
I received a letter from someone
who signed his name and forgot
to write a letter!”
CONGRATS … To Stephanie
Finck on her birthday … To Rose
Freedman on her birthday … To
Moshe Barash on his 18th birth-
day … To Don Morrison on his
birthday … To Richard and June
Moss on their 60th
anniversary. •
Danny’s email address is
dannyraskin@sbcglobal.net.
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March 16 • 2017
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