STAR
DELI
“…one of America’s finest
carryout-only delicatessens!
Star’s reputation
has never wavered!”
nosh
— Danny Raskin
COMPARE OUR LOW PRICES WITH ANY DELICATESSEN IN TOWN!
MEAT TRAY
DAIRY TRAY
SALAD TRAY
$10.99 per
person
person
$22.99 per
$12.99 per
person
SALAD TRAY W/ LOX & CREAM CHEESE
$16.99
per
person
Belle Isle Pizza
An ode to Detroit.
Best
Deli Trays in town!
We also have delicious Vienna Hot Dogs
with all the fixings for all your summer
Bar-B-Ques
$ 5
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24555 W. 12 MILE ROAD
OFF
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On Star’s beautiful already
low-priced trays
248-352-7377
Expires 9/7/17. One Per Order. Not Good Holidays.
10 Person Minimum. With this coupon.
www.stardeli.net
Prices subject to change
DELIVERY AVAILABLE
2140950
G H UA
N
O
H
F INE C HINESE D INING
“A wonderful adventure in fine dining” ~ Danny Raskin
Open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner
Catering and carryout available
Gift certificates
27925 Orchard Lake Rd., North of 12 Mile, Farmington Hills
248-489-2280
www.honghuafinedining.com
44
August 17 • 2017
jn
A
couple years ago, Leor Barak, 37, then-president of the
revived Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, was driving
home to Detroit’s West Village and noticed his favorite
local pizzeria was closed. A hand-written sign on the door gave
a number to call if interested in the space. He was shocked.
This wasn’t any pizza place, Leor recalled, but one of the top 10
places, the Free Press reported, prized in the area.
Leor, a Detroit native, wasn’t looking for something to do. He
had a full-time legal and real estate job, played in the funk band
7layers and began restoring a historic house behind his duplex.
He was also a trustee of JVS and a board member of the Great
Lakes Environmental Law Center.
Yet in November 2015, he bought the shop! With partner
David Essig of Livonia and a Hebrew Free Loan, he opened Belle
Isle Pizza, a few blocks east of the island’s bridge.
Leor, currently a Detroit Land Bank attorney, revised the
menu celebrating Detroit localities with pizza’s like “Hog
Island,” Belle Isle’s old name, featuring five different meats, and
six Neighborhood Pizzas that highlight ingredients from diverse
communities from “Corktown Pizza” with Thousand Island
dressing, Sy Ginsberg’s corned beef, Swiss cheese
and sauerkraut to “Dearborn Pizza” featuring
chicken shawarma, roasted garlic sauce, house
cheese blend, feta, pickles, tomatoes and romaine.
All pizzas are stone-fired and made from
scratch with homemade items like fresh herb-
ricotta and ranch dressing. Leor’s menu includes
subs, sandwiches, four signature chopped salads
and oven-baked chicken wings — with a super-
hot version named after Detroit’s mythical devil,
Nain Rouge.
I visited Sunday at 2:30 p.m., a slow time, Leor
figured. But before I entered, a woman pushing
a walker across Jefferson Avenue beat me to the
door. Soon after her, a young hipster showed
Belle Isle Pizza
up, followed by a couple riding their bicycles
(carryout only)
Downtown. All ordered pizzas. Then the delivery
Free parking in front.
man returned for more orders and left as the
7869 E. Jefferson, Detroit
phone rang and Leor had to deliver three more.
(313) 331-1222
Tasting a slice with marinated ground beef, I
could see why people came. My pizza was fresh
and flavorful. I took another home with ingredi-
ents Leor suggested: pepperoni, roasted garlic, mushrooms and
caramelized red onions. A hit. My Italian friend was pleasantly
surprised by the “good crust” and another guest found the
tomato sauce “something special.”
Leor was born nearby in the Cass Corridor. His older sister
was born in Israel where his parents met, one from Romania,
the other, Morocco. His father brought the family to Detroit
to get his Ph.D. at Wayne State University and eventually they
moved to the suburbs. Leor, however, was thrilled to move to
the city to study law at Wayne State University and never left.
He also never considered owning a pizzeria, but he had made
pizza for four years at the Diag Party Shop as an undergraduate
at the University of Michigan. “Like the United Nations,” Leor
said. The owner and the workers were from around the Middle
East.
His current customers are just as varied, suburbanites
picnicking on Belle Isle to locals; the wealthy and the lower-
economic. Everyone is welcome to Leor’s taste of Detroit, which
includes the music playing in the lobby like the Detroit-made
“Fever” I heard with Leor and a customer singing along. •
SHARON
LUCKERMAN
SPECIAL TO THE
JEWISH NEWS