MARCH 18 • 2021 | 45

T

hat a Detroit dining 
favorite, Café Cortina in 
Farmington Hills, should 
become one of the nation’s true 
Italian old-world restaurants is a 
huge dedication to its goodness 
and honorable existence.
Celebrating another anniver-
sary this past December since 
opening in 1976, 
it has received 
untold amounts 
of accolades for 
being among 
those dining oper-
ations to serve 
Italian dishes very 
rarely seen in 
other locations.
The story has been told many 
times with much reverence 

how Rina and her late husband, 
Adriano Tonon, founded Café 
Cortina and were on a mission to 
have an artisan restaurant with a 
garden that could harvest vege-
tables, herbs and flowers … How 
they purchased the apple orchard 
farmland on Ten Mile Road and 
built the wonderful Café Cortina.
Today, it not only furnishes 
dining in and out of old-world, 
standard and favored dishes with 
a family tradition feel while con-
tinuing to be one of this coun-
try’s leading culinary destinations 
… The Tonon family’s commit-
ment to freshness, quality and 
authenticity is apparent in each 
dish and jar of Café Cortina’s 
critically acclaimed pasta sauces, 
pastas, etc.
And few others in America 
can boast of an outdoor heated 
patio like the shrubbery-filled 
beauty seating 75 persons with-
in mandate orders Mondays 
through Saturdays from 5-9 p.m. 
since reopening of Café Cortina 
in June of this year … also, 
a magnificent site for private 
events of all occasions 
Rina and Adriano’s son 
Adrian, a vital part of the very 

fine Café Cortina dining tradi-
tion … was also appointed by 
Mayor Mike Duggan as Detroit’s 
first 24-hour economy ambas-
sador.
The interior of Café Cortina 
captures the mood of one of 
Italy’s most beautiful towns, 
Cortina D’
Ampezz … amid a 
warm Italian/French decor.
If there were such a thing as 
authentic gourmet, passionate 
Italian dining, you might say that 
Café Cortina has a major claim 
on it. 
THE FORMER HILL restau-
rant in Grosse Pointe, taken 
over by Joe Vicari, will be called 
Bronze Door Chop House … 
His Bucky’s Tap Room in Shelby 
Township (23 Mile & Hayes) has 
been retitled Barley Corn Public 
House. 
IT HAS BEEN NOTED for 
years as having among the best 
barbecued ribs and broasted and 
barbecued chicken in this area, 
but Brass Pointe, Orchard Lake 
Road, near 10 Mile, Farmington 
Hills, has been somewhat of 
a sleeper to many who do not 
know that it has other food, 
too … The ribs and chicken 

selections are Brass Pointe main 
choices … But it also has 10 
Mexican favorites … enchiladas, 
tacos, botanas, wet and regular 
burritos, nachos, tostados, com-
bination plate, taco salad, stuffed 
jalapenos … along with 15 sand-
wiches and three-egg omelets. 
OLDIE BUT GOODIE … Two 
elderly ladies, Ruth and Naomi, 
were discussing their husbands 
over tea … Ruth said, “I do wish 
that my Ernie would stop biting 
his nails. He makes me terribly 
nervous.
”
 Naomi replied, “My Sol used 
to do the same thing, but I broke 
him of the habit.
” 
“How?” asked Ruth. “I’ve even 
asked my son-in-law, the family 
doctor, but to no avail … What 
did you do?” 
Naomi replied, “I hid his 
teeth!”
CONGRATS … To Erwin 
Eizelman on his 55th birthday 
… To Moshe Barash on his 
22nd birthday … To Richard 
and Judie Moss on their 64th 
anniversary. 

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

RASKIN
THE BEST OF EVERYTHING

Danny 
Raskin
Senior Columnist

Old World 
Italian Gem

Adrian Tonon and Rina Tonon

CAFÉ CORTINA FACEBOOK

Contact Raymond Jenkins
33700 Woodward Ave. • Between 14 Mile & Adams • Birmingham, MI

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