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Historic Name,
Modern Menu

Danny Raskin

Senior Columnist

The Caucus Club

celebrates one year

in business.

George and Alicia Sboukis

The revival of a Downtown
Detroit legendary restaurant
name marks its first anniversary
with much applause.
Takeover of a coveted locale’s
name and place is never easy …
And the new Caucus Club at the
same location in the Penobscot
Building, Congress, Detroit, is
not much different.
Gone are the many decorative
keepsake treasures … along with
the English Beefeater statue
that greeted customers … and
ceramic Toby coffee mugs and
Tiffany lamps … However, the
items that did much for atmo-
sphere did little in the varied
enhancement of its noted dishes
of quality … Menus many times
need changes in order to stay
relevant … But favorite items
like Caucus Club’s Braised Osso
Buco, tableside Caesar salad,
dry-aged Prime Tomahawk
steak, filet mignon, Chicago-cut
ribeye, yellow belly lake perch,
etc., may never be altered and
are still on the menu.
The new Caucus Club has
also presented its fresh and
own identity, which has been
met with much satisfaction …
Rather than being relegated to
simply following a legend, it has
presented its own version of
dining goodness … And is well
received in its own individual-
ity by former and new culinary
customers.
The new owners of Caucus
Club, husband-and-wife team
George and Alicia Sboukis, have

already endeared themselves in
the hearts of numerous people
… They no doubt met many
people who enjoyed the his-
tory of the former Caucus Club,
which must give the Sboukis
couple and their staff a proud
feeling … “Alicia and I feel that
it makes us better operators to
know the history from people
who actually lived it firsthand,”
George says. “While some are
nostalgic for the offerings of the
past, most of them are happy to
see that we have decided to take
the restaurant into a modern
and new direction while respect-
ing its past history.”
George’s family are owners
and operators of Louis’ Chop
House in Chesterfield, Mich.,
where he was a partner for 20
years … George sold his share of
the business to put money down
on a loan for the Caucus Club
rebuild … “I had no knowledge
of its history when I first saw
the space,” he says. “The more
I learned, the more I fell in love
with the thought of reopening
the Caucus Club. I love the his-
tory of old Detroit in its heyday,
the city that gave my immigrant
father from Greece an opportu-
nity to start a new life in the new
world.”
George is his own chef and,
on the weekends, is assisted by
Chef Rick Hussey who had gone
on to open his own restaurant
… George’s wife, Alicia, is also a
talented cook … In addition to
helping him in the kitchen, she

manages the dining room, coor-
dinates private parties and occa-
sionally works as a waitress.
Our excellent server, John
Healy, is recognized from the
former 1980s London Chop
House days.
The new Caucus Club seats
150 in the dining room along
with 13 stools at the bar … plus
entertainment Wednesday
through Saturday … Hours are
Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m.-
10 p.m., Friday, 11 a.m.-1l p.m.,
Saturday, 5-11 p.m., Sunday
10:30 a.m.-7 p.m.
Caucus Club is back again in
name only … but well received
with much goodness on its first
anniversary … as a fine dining
establishment of which to be
proud.
READER MINI REVIEW
… from Dennis Silber, Boca
Raton, Fla. … “We’ve heard about
it being the new hot spot for
great dining and went there,
coming away after a wonderful
dining experience.
“Kitchen restaurant, 319
Belvedere Road, West Palm
Beach, Fla., has been open for
almost five years in a tucked-
away strip mall out of the main
flow of traffic. What makes this
such a wonderful experience,
aside from the unique layout, is
the menu’s creativity. Our group
started off with Crispy Eggplant
with Roasted Peppers, Charred
Corn & Crab Cake and Blue
Beets in Walnut Oil.
“The entrees are generous

and tasty-enough for shar-
ing, Chicken Schnitzel under
Fried Egg, 5-Spice Duck Breast,
charred Filet of Beef. These five-
star dishes are complemented
with exceptional side dishes,
dill-roasted cauliflower, butter-
nut squash and Israeli salad.
“All made-in-house desserts
are tempting, presentable, tasty
and irresistible, Chocolate
Pudding Pie, Apple Blueberry
Crisp and its signature Coconut
Cake with Lemon Curd.
“The special panache of this
fine place is the owner/chef
Matthew Bryne, who has the
reputation of having been Tiger
Woods’ personal chef for several
years prior to opening Kitchen.
The personnel, in our case,
Jody, are personable, like fam-
ily. Not to forget, this wonderful
experience comes with a pricey
evening. But every so often it is
worth the splurge.”
OLDIE BUT GOODIE … An
elderly lady is walking home
from her garment industry job
when suddenly a man who has
been walking toward her stands
in front of her and flashes her by
opening his raincoat. She takes
a look and says, “That, you call a
lining?”
CONGRATS … To Hedy Blatt
on her birthday … To Ron Coden
on his birthday… To Julian
Katzman on his birthday. •

Danny’s email address is
dannyraskin2132@gmail.com.

Wishing our father,
Mel Seffi nger, the happiest
90th birthday.

May the wisdom you
instilled in us illuminate all the
generations of our family.

Love always,
Marla & Joel, Debbie & Doug,
Renay & Paul, and Murphy & Pearl

65

June 14 • 2018

jn

jn

June 14 • 2018

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