Let's get one thing out in the open: Camelia's is not authentic Mexican cuisine. Yes, there are some authentic items on the menu, but most dishes are of the Tex Mex persuasion.   Owner Gregory Alvarado brought Camelia's to Royal Oak two months ago. Prior to that, he helped his family operate Camelia's in Farmington Hills. A second location was something Alvarado always wanted to open. "The building became available, so we decided to do it," he said of the new location on 11 Mile Road west of Campbell. Open for lunch and dinner seven days a week, Alvarado wants to integrate Camelia's into the …

At the corner of Fourth Street and Lafayette Avenue is one of downtown Royal Oak's more unique spots, Sangria. "We are the first true tapas restaurant in the area," said Luigi Cutraro, who opened Sangria more than a decade ago. Tapas are basically appetizers in Spanish cuisine. The term "small plates" is more widely used in this area, but the intent is the same: Offer smaller tastes of an item rather than a large entree-sized portion.  "Tapas are very fun, nontraditional (for Americans) cuisine," Cutraro said. "A table can order tapas instead of entrees, so people are sharing, conversing, …

The Onion Roll Deli is not going to bowl you over with its decor, but in a place like this, the decor doesn't even come into play.   The Onion Roll Deli, 27302 Woodward Ave., is rightly focused on serving the proper sandwiches. Meat sliced to order, thick cut rye or pumpernickel bread and high quality cheese make Onion Roll's sandwiches something special.   The straight forward menu has salads, soups, side dishes and sandwiches. The soups are made from scratch. In the cooler there's Detroit's Faygo pop as well as deli favorite Dr. Brown's soda.   Because the Onion Roll Deli is cash only, an …

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Dave and I were walking around downtown Royal Oak looking for a place to review. Even though we ended up at Second Street Sub Shop, we stopped in to Ernie's Pizza Cafe first to check out if the rumors we heard were true.   At Arts, Beats & Eats last year, Ernie's served up some Eastern European cuisine along with its famous stuffed pizza. These Eastern European dishes, as we learned, are not available all of the time.   Anatoliy Dubovitskiy is the owner and head cook at Ernie's. A proud man, he offered us stuffed pizza, which we happily accepted, while …

Walking into Second Street Sub Shop, you would not expect to be blown away.  There are three tables with six chairs in a small, dingy space. In fact, Second Street, 108 W. 2nd St., is Royal Oak's smallest restaurant at 400 square feet. Owner Scott Perry doesn't need much room, though.   It is truly amazing what Perry creates with such limited space and equipment. He has a meat slicer, small deep fryer, a couple of refrigerators/freezers, a sink and some counter space. Oh, there is also a cool tomato slicing device, which slices perfectly uniform tomatoes for the sandwiches.   Perry is there …

Holiday stress got you down? Does the thought of having to prepare an entire Christmas feast have you freaking out? Take a step back and breathe a sigh of relief knowing that Moti Mahal has you covered. The restaurant will be open 5-9 p.m. Christmas Day, offering its full menu for your dining pleasure. For patrons who don't want to leave their warm, cozy abodes, delivery is also available ($40 minimum). Joe Ullah's family has been in the restaurant business for close to 40 years. His grandfather opened Taj Mahal in Berkley, one of the first Indian restaurants in Michigan, in the early 1970s. …