ENTERTAINMENT areali6ur One of Metropolitan Detroit's Most Beautiful and Exciting Restaurant-Lounges available for your favorite occasion every Sunday (all day) and Saturday from 12 to 5 p.m. • Bar Mitzvah • Shower • Birthday • Bat Mitzvah • Banquet • Sweet 16 • Wedding • Anniversary • Reunion 'NJ ewt takeout Pwthi 'Nage, tot we'et Wet to gem keste eit a ice. call your host PAT ARCHER: 358-3355 28875 Franklin Rd. at Northwestern & 12 Mile Southfield, MI Advertising in The Jewish News Gets Results Place Your Ad Today. Call 354 6060 - AMERICAN GRILLE A RESTAURANT AND MUCH MORE! Lunch Served Monday Through Friday 11:00 a.m. till 4:00 p.m. Dinner Served Until 12:00 Midnight Monday Through Saturday Nibbles and Dancing Till 2:00 a.m. IN THE AMERICAN CENTER BUILDING 27777 FRANKLIN ROAD Southfield 350-8450 PRIVATE BANQUET FACILITIES UP TO 175 PEOPLE FOR ALL OCCASIONS VISIT OUR OTHER LOCATIONS ... PANACHE IN BIRMINGHAM AND MAVERICK'S IN ROYAL OAK 54 Friday, January 9, 1987 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS BEST OF EVERYTHING DANNY RASKIN BACK IN 1965, Fran and John Kales opened their little 22-seater Biff's operation at 575 South Hunter Blvd. in Birmingham . . . Nine years later in 1974, it was still a 22- seater, but the Buffs name had been dropped . . . and in it's place went Lemon Peel. This is when things began to happen . . . Next door was Carl's Car Wash. . . . and the Kales, together with Fran's dad, Leo Dimitrios, bought the operation in 1975 . . . not for expansion . . . but to continue running it as a Carl's Car Wash. However, they must have had something in mind . . . be- cause in 1976, that little 22- seater suddenly sat 100 . . serving a general Greek menu and a couple of sandwiches .. . They had no liquor license .. . Birmingham is tough . . . and folks who wanted wine or beer with their dinners looked elsewhere for the spirits. The Kales continued to hang in there . . . surmounting the odds . . . and got a license in 1978 . . . It brought some people back, but wasn't the prime reason why many re- turned . . . The atmosphere was homey and intimate .. . the food good . . . and Fran and John so very likeable. In 1979, the menu was changed . . . and daughter Elly composed a "menu book" for everyone . . . that included omelettes and hamburgers ga- lore . . . ribs, Greek specialties, pizza . . . open breakfast, lunch and dinner. As the changes developed, so did The Lemon Peel . . . and today it is considered among the finest places to dine . . . at reasonable prices . . . in a won- derful atmosphere of complete comfortable relaxation. It now seats 148 . . . with an unbelievable different look .. . The Lemon Peel always was an attraction . . . with lounge that showed movies, small dining area where the family usually sat with friends . . . and the main dining room whose walls were covered with show busi- ness posters and theater maga- zines . . . while a long Charlie Chaplin drape hovered above hanging from the ceiling. But now all three have been combined into one for a very attractive area of intimacy and spaciousness . . . seating 148. Where once people entered from a door into the dining room is now an open foyer ex- panse sided by etched glass .. . with folks going either right or left . . . to the lounge or dining regions . . . into a complete new experience. A large settee booth has been removed from the dining room to make way for the foyer .. . and situated by a corner fire- place and large TV screen in the lounge. The dining area still has those showbusiness posters .. . wouldn't be Lemon Peel with- out them . . . and the now famous Charlie Chaplin drape . . . But brass railings are all around . . . and the stucco walls are enhanced by soft pink lighting peering from the ceil- ing . . . There are no more cur- tains between the dining room booths . . . brass railings now. The wall separating lounge and dining room is still there . . . but you can now see the lounge . . . Plus the opening in front, cut out completely by John . . . he also cut away a large window in the wall .. . and put in an etched glass to see through. Fran and John don't have to work hard anymore . . . It was daughter Elly's idea . . . and a very good one .. . to completely remodel the place . . . She is their general manager .. . while other daughter, Kathie, is assistant manager . . . Leo opens up in the morning and overseas the kitchen goings- on. Even the menu has been changed . . . and how! . . . So very colorful now, with lemons and lemon peels on the four- color cover . . . and four-color inside listing 15 appetizers .. . five soups . . . nine salads .. . eight omelettes (Elly's book menu had many more but these are the favorites that have been retained) . . . nine sandwiches . . . five croissants (roast beef, breast of chicken, tuna, turkey, ham and cheese) . . . seven burgers made with 100 percent fresh ground round (these were also the favorites taken from Elly's previous menu) . . . five side orders . . . five frozen specialty drinks . . . three coffee drinks . . . eight house wines served by the glass, half carafe or full carafe, two Greek wines (a selected wine list is also avail- able) . . . 15 beers (four on tap, 11 by the bottle.) All the hot drinks except hot chocolate (coffee, decaf, tea) are served in handled glass mugs . . . a distinctly tasteful way of service that psychologi- cally seems to make them taste better . . . At least it does for me . . . and I'm not alone. Just about everything at Lemon Peel is made on the premises . . . It even has its own bakery, serving all those delicious breads and dessert goodies. The lounge area and dining room have two different decors . . . Lemon Peel's lounge is more contemporary, with framed pictures Elly ordered from New York. When John bought the wood to do his masterful remodeling chores, he selected choice oak . . . which is elegant and beau- tiful . . . But one thing for sure John never counted on . . . it being so hard that he would have to drill in every nail. The omelettes and burgers are still great at Lemon Peel . . . and you won't find too many places with better lamb chops . . . or baby back ribs . . . I had roast chicken on a recent visit there and couldn't get over the natural flavor that is preserved . . . Many folks go for the teriyaki chicken, too.