August 22 • 2019 55
jn
Bar Verona
dining around the d
nosh
PHOTOS VIA BAR VERONA FACEBOOK
T
he New York strip steak I
ordered recently at Bar Verona
stands out as one of the tast-
iest steaks I’
ve enjoyed in years.
Topped with garlic-herb butter and
grilled medium-rare as specified, my
steak came with whipped potatoes
and roasted Brussels
sprouts with bacon.
Based on this entrée
and other items
sampled, I have
high hopes for this
upscale-casual Italian
trattoria that opened
June 30 in Commerce
Township.
Bar Verona is a new
venture for Executive Chef Fabio
Viviani, a native of Florence, Italy. In
2008, the celebrity chef/entrepreneur
was a popular contestant on Bravo
Network’
s program Top Chef. Moving
to southern California, Viviani began
launching restaurants in the United
States, including
three in his cur-
rent hometown of
Chicago. Viviani’
s
restaurant group
co-owns this first
Bar Verona with
Troy-based Yellow
Door Hospitality
Group, whose principals are Chris
Kouza and Joe Caradonna. The part-
ners will open another Bar Verona
in mid-October in Washington
Township, while looking forward
to coming downtown to Greektown
next year.
Bar Verona’
s handsome exterior
uses gray stone. The nicely land-
scaped building would look natural
in the Italian countryside. The focal
point inside is the bar, fronted by
large copper tiles with a design and
several TVs overhead. The neutral
interior includes more gray stone
and gray-patterned wallpaper in the
dining room, and black-and-white
photographs in a hallway. Then
there’
s the surprise of seeing colorful
wallpaper featuring tiny angels and
cherubs in restrooms.
The tagline for Bar Verona is
“
casual food & craft cocktails,” but
also consider the extensive wine and
beer list. Though usually not much
for drinking, I decided on one of the
seven craft cocktails. As the server
promised, this combination of water-
melon-infused rum, lime juice and
cane sugar syrup was very refreshing.
So, too, was my delicious melon
salad, made with two kinds of
melon, cucumber, pickled onion,
ricotta salata, orange crumble and
mint yogurt. Four more salads are
available. The nine starters include
antipasti, fried calamari and Fabio’
s
meatball.
I’
m a soup person, no matter the
weather. The house minestrone,
chocked with beans and vegeta-
bles, includes extra virgin olive oil,
cracked pepper and fresh parmesan
cheese topping. I’
ll order it again.
There’
s also a soup of the day.
Besides the wonderful steak I
described, roasted salmon, local
whitefish and chicken marsala are
among the menu’
s
six entrees. Bar
Verona offers seven
dishes with house-
made pasta. My
choice was orecchi-
ette (resembling little
ears), tossed with
shrimp and aspara-
gus in a lemon-butter sauce. Oh, that
was good.
For dessert, I was encouraged to
try the chef’
s signature bomboloni
(no-hole Italian doughnuts), served
with dark chocolate and raspberry
dipping sauces. As full as I was, I
probably should have chosen from
a list of four assorted gelatos and
sorbets. Two more desserts are
Cast-Iron “Cookies & Cream” and
a tiramisu made with roasted white
chocolate.
Some guests will appreciate Bar
Verona’
s nut-free environment.
Everyone should like the friendly
staff. There’
s seating for up to 350,
including 100 in a private dining
room. Dinner only is offered, start-
ing at 4 p.m. Closing time is 11 p.m.
Sunday-Thursday and 2 a.m. Friday
and Saturday. ■
Esther Allweiss
Ingber
Contributing Writer
Bar Verona
500 Loop Road
Commerce Township, MI 48390
Phone: (248) 387-5400
www.barverona.com
$$$ out of $$$$
FINE CHINESE DINING
“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
come as you are
248.438.6741 • www.cayagrill.com
1403 S. Commerce Rd., Wolverine Lake
HOURS:
Tue - Sun dinner starting at 4:30 p.m.
Brunch: Sat and Sun starting at 10 a.m.
THE
AREA’S
MOST
POPULAR
SMOKEHOUSE
BISTRO
OFFERING
A
CASUAL
AND
FUN
DINING
EXPERIENCE!
Enjoy a casual dining experience
focusing on quality food made with
local ingredients. House-smoked
meats along with fresh seafood,
steaks, chops and bistro entrées.
Happy
Hour
Dai
l
y
•
Carry
Out
Cateri
ng
•
Speci
al
Events
Weekend
Brunch