January 10 • 2019 49
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Danny Raskin
Senior Columnist

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recent visit to the new Sunday
brunch at Station Square, Coolidge,
one block south of Maple, Troy, with
its bevy of beautiful selections, 10 a.m.- 3
p.m. ... all you can eat ... was sumptuous
enough to remind me of many brunches I
usually enjoyed on visits to Las Vegas.
They are still pride and joys in Las
Vegas ... Originally dreamed up by Beldon
Katelman, owner of the El Rancho Hotel,
Las Vegas’
first hotel on its strip, as a means
of keeping customers in the hotel after the
second show ... His Midnight Chuck Wagon
Buffet dated back to the early 1940s ... The
idea caught on immediately, resulting in
most casinos coming out themselves with
beautiful and tasty arrays of food.
Las Vegas itself is not the same today
... The beautiful showgirls will always be
there ... They are as much a part as the great
brunches that Katelman started ... all you
could eat for a dollar ... and also the first

place to have those lovely show gals ... But
they’
ll never replace the Rat Pack of Frank
Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Joey
Bishop and Peter Lawford ... and so many
other wonderful entertainers who made
Las Vegas the “Entertainment Capital of the
World.
”
The days of those bevy of great enter-
tainers who used to play the Las Vegas Strip
were replaced by huge extravaganzas ... Just
about everybody who was anybody played
Las Vegas ... Bob Hope, Judy Garland, Liza
Minnelli, Elvis Presley, Debbie Reynolds,
Ann-Margaret, George Burns, Liberace,
Sophie Tucker, Andy Williams, Red Skelton,
Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, etc., etc., etc.
The food at most places has retained its
goodness, but service has taken a big dip,
with too many servers owning “take-it-or-
leave it” attitudes that bring wonderment as
to how they got the job in the first place ...
Thankfully, it’
s not like this everywhere ...
There are still many things to like and enjoy
in Las Vegas ... and many of its extravagan-
zas are amazingly wonderful.
But enough about Las Vegas and back to
the more than 60 items at the new all-you-
can-eat Station Square in Troy now here
and being enjoyed by many ... Prime rib au
jus, shrimps galore, salmon, chicken, pasta,
ham, bacon, sausage, French toast, pancakes,
omelets made-as-you-like, etc. ... plus all
excellent house-made pastries and desserts
galore by Executive Chef Chris Hessler and
his five-person staff ... Many pastries you’
ve
never seen or tasted before, plus rice pud-
ding, etc. ... Chris is quite a top-notch gent in
the restaurant kitchen ... 13 years at Kruse &
Muer, eight years at Golden Mushroom and
2½ years at Win Shuler’
s in Marshall, Mich.
The addition of excellent servers like Toni

Besho are always huge favorites ... His smiles,
very efficient fast service, and needed take-
aways and refills are huge assets.
The magnificent Station Square Sunday
Brunch by itself in a 20- by 50-foot room
next to its three dining rooms and bar areas
is a big winner that has all the elements of a
great presentation.
The low price is $17.99 adults for a sump-
tuous and most elegant Sunday brunch is
very much a good price ... 11 or under, $8.99
... Children under 3 eat free.
RECENT CONTEST by WDIV-TV on
the Best Sandwich in Metro Detroit had
newly owned Siegel’
s Deli, 15 Mile, west
of Haggerty, Commerce Township, third
among 150 restaurants ... Another heavy
seller is its new Reuben Egg Rolls, hand-
rolled every morning ... The Reuben is rolled
in Russian Dressing and egg roll wrapped.
PARTNERSHIP AT Pickles and Rye Deli,
Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield, has
been dissolved by Rick Therrien and Linda
Collins ... He is now sole owner as Linda
leaves “to work less and spend more time
with my family and grandchildren” ... A very
friendly working separation of two good
friends.
OLDIE BUT GOODIE ... A man and his
girlfiend were out to dinner one night and
the waiter told them their specials of the eve-
ning were chicken almondine and fresh fish.
“The chicken sounds good. I’
ll have that,
”
the woman says. The waiter nods. “
And the
vegetable?” he asks. “Oh, he’
ll have the fish,
”
she replies.
CONGRATS ... To Jerry Parr on his
birthday. ■

Email Danny at dannyraskin2132@gmail.com.

Las Vegas-style
brunch comes to
Station Square.

Station Square owners: George Lukaj, Jennifer Lukaj and Anton Lukjaj.

All-You-Can-Eat Delish!

raskin
the best of everything