42 | JULY 21 • 2022 

O

n my recent visit 
to Soul Café in 
West Bloomfield, 
the Ricotta Blueberry Pizza 
I sampled — a fetching, 
house-made crust topped 
with sweetened 
whipped 
ricotta cheese, 
blueberry coulis 
and random 
shreds of mint 
— gave me a 
fresh reminder 
that kosher 
dining can be 
quite innovative.
“Diners responded well 
to our poll about their 
favorite new items on our 
spring-summer menu,” said 
Shalom Shomer, director 
of operations. My pizza 
was No.1. Providing input 
on the seasonal menu was 
Tim Maraj, the restaurant’s 
executive chef since August 
2019. Maraj, who formerly 
chefed at Novi Chophouse, 
said cooking at Soul Café, a 

kosher dairy restaurant, is 
“definitely a change,” but one 
he enjoys. 
The Council of Orthodox 
Rabbis of Greater Detroit 
provides the kashrut 
supervision at Soul Café. 
Hours are 9 a.m.-3 p.m. 
Sunday through Friday. The 
restaurant is inside Farber 
Soul Center, a facility that 
extends the programming 
offered by Friendship Circle 
of Michigan, a nonprofit 
organization affiliated with 
Lubavitch of Michigan. 
Young adults with 
special needs, the focus 
of Friendship Circle, find 
an inclusive environment 
at Soul Center. Clients 
receive guidance to create, 
and sometimes sell, the 
arts and crafts they make 
in Soul Center’s Dresner 
Foundation Soul Studio. 
Another option for the 
young adults is vocational 
training, including paid 
employment. They learn 

NOSH

DINING AROUND THE D

New Menu at 
Soul Café

Esther 
Allweiss 
Ingber 
Contributing 
Writer

ABOVE, CLOCKWISE: Ricotta Blueberry pizza; Breakfast Bowl; 
Mahi Taco with fries.

