I BEST OF EVERYTHING Fine Dining In A Contemporary Italian Setting Complementary Valet Parking Lunches Served Mon: Fri. 11 to 4 Dinners Mon.Thurs. 4 to 11, Fri. & Sat. til Mid. Entertainment Nightly Cocktail Hour 5 to 7 Catering For . . . Weddings, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, etc. OPERA NITE WITH ITALIAN BUFFET $ 11 95 per person DIXIELAND JAll & B-B-Q RIBS & CHICKEN EVERY MONDAY 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. per '1295 person 1NCWDES: BAKED POT. & SLAW EVERY WEDNESDAY 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. REGULAR MENU ALSO SERVED EVERY NITE 630 Woodward Bet. Fort & Congress • Detroit 961-2449:01 Kitchen Hours: Tues.-Thurs. 5 to 10, Fri. & Sat. 5 to 11 Closed Monday BANQUET FACILITIES FOR ALL OCCASIONS Restaurant Reservations ested Hiller Rd f ad Orcha rd' 9 ff Ponliac Trail to Old To Hiller l?ocr OPEN 7 DAYS MON.-SUN. 1 a.m. to 10 p.m. FRANKLIN SHOPPING CBITER. Nwinvestere N. of 12 358-2353 PLATTERS FOR 2 WHOLE SLAB BBQ RIBS $11.95 BBQ RIBS & CHICKEN COMBO . . . $10.95 WHOLE BBQ CHICKEN $8.95 2-12 OZ. N.Y. STRIP STEAKS $12.95 2 12 OZ. N.Y. - STRIP STEAKS & 4 JUMBO SHRIMPS $14.95 COMPLETE MEALS WITH GARLIC BREAD & DESSERT (Baklava, Rice Pudding or Ice Cream) eizediour 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 Tai so tikes! path Taw oK welt eats% to gds* lest a .Wes. call your host PAT ARCHER: 358 3355 - 28875 Franklin Rd. at Northwestern & 12 Mile Southfield, MI 60 FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 1988 It's Not Just The Food That's Attracting The Crowd DANNY RASKIN Local Columnist T he Mystery Muncher writes . . . "Wonder why some highly- touted restaurants remain popular long after the open- ing hoopla dies down and the quality diminishes. TGI Fri- day's was heralded when it came to Southfield as unique, trendy and with a flair sure to attract the office gang to sip and sup. "The high-decibel din is deafening but some regulars believe that's part of the im- age. The package includes smiling, energetic young waitpersons dressed in cutesy outfits and leaping around knocking themselves out to please. That's supposed to be upbeat and stimulating. "Friday's menu was a book of potpourri of meals from plan-it-yourself omelets to stir-fried anything to burgers and gigantic salads. The din- ing spot isn't noted for any special meal. But yuppies crowd the bar, whooping it up and ignoring the dinners. "Friday's remains noisy Yuppieville with a frantic at- mosphere not conducive to relaxed, leisurely dining. The menu has been scaled down but not improved. The drinks are weak and the coffee is cold. The food is, at best, mediocre and so are the choices. But still they flock, the young and the thirsty and the loud. "Carlos Murphy's is another spot that has surviv- ed in the fickle restaurant market. The carnival at- mosphere and bouncy servers blend with the fruity Margueritas. Not as busy or noisy as Friday's, the menu at C.M. is equally limited and tasteless. The name promises corned beef and cabbage and tortillas supreme but the food disappoints. "Dining out in the Detroit area isn't just for weekends anymore. On a recent Tues- day night, it seemed as though half the population decided to patronize a restaurant. "Out Telegraph and Maple way you couldn't find a park- ing spot at Beau Jack's, and it was before 6 p.m. Even if you were willing to brave the usual long lines in this ever- popular restaurant you had absolutely no place to put your car. "The nearby Hogan's, which seldom draws crowds, was also jam-packed as was its ample parking lot. We decided to try Max and Er ma's on Orchard Lake Road and 14 Mile, expecting to breeze in with no problem. We found a place to leave the car but nary a place to sit, not even a stool at the bar. The restaurant was jumping, kids were floating colorful balloons and everyone seem- ed to be having a great time. Was it worth the 30-minute wait for a table? If you're in a casual mood and you're not starving for exotic dishes, Max and Erma's is OK but not a place you can't wait to get back to. "Speaking of casual eating spots, whatever happened to state Sen. Jack Faxon's bill to provide beer and wine tavern licenses to delis and other small restaurants that can't get permits to sell liquor? Faxon believes beer and wine would give these establishments a shot in the arm and they'd be better able to compete in the marketplace with booze- serving dining spots. We hear the reason Faxon's bill has been withering on the vine is because of the strong restaurant association's lobby against it. But it seems there's enough business for everyone and competition is healthy. "Faxon, who was the author of Michigan's Clean Indoor Air Act, banning smoking in public places except for designated areas, wants to pass legislation strengthen- ing his bill to make restaurants increase seating reserved for nonsmokers and to put nonsmoking tables closest to the main source of fresh air. "Faxon claims the bill will make it easier for nonsmokers to get a table since abstainers now often have to wait for tables while tables in the smoking section are plentiful. The legislation says restaurants with a seating capacity of 50 or more should reserve half of their seating for nonsmokers. "What effect this would have on restaurants is hard to judge. Many former smokers are reformed and are the most intolerant of smoke-filled air. But many died-in-the-wool smokers may resent having to wait for a table and perhaps being shoved in a corner to prevent them from offending the nonsmokers. "If restaurants reserved the best and most tables for patrons without kids, for ex- ample, this may not sit too well with parents. A little more tolerance seems to be in order. Kids and smoking can be annoying. But nobody would be discriminated against and all must be ac- commodated when they're footing the bill. "Speaking of the bill, diners may be forced to swallow higher menu prices as restau- rants face added payroll taxes that eat into the profits. A flat service charge, instead of a tip, may also be in your future. "Restaurants are now re- quired to pay social security taxes on tips earned by their employees. The consumer will be forcd to pay the price. Restaurateurs say tips are private transactions which have nothing to do with the employer. Some servers deserve more and some less. The IRS thinks otherwise. "Automatic service charges may make an inefficient Waitperson even more lax. The recently imposed taxes are the latest in a series of federal requirements. In 1982, Congress passed an act making employers keep records of employees' tips for reporting purposes. If total tips don't equal eight perCent of gross sales, the owner must report which employee may be under-reporting tips. This is reputed to cause tension between employer and employee. "Washington again impos- ed controls in 1984 by requir- ing employers to pay federal unemployment taxes on in- come derived from tips. Legislation enacted in the past feW years has resulted in higher costs and decreased expansion, according to some restaurateurs, who maintain the cost will be passed on to the consumer. If it gets bad enough, some restaurants may have to go out of business. "Liquor-serving establishments now must carry at least $50,000 of in- surance to comply with Michigan's Dramshop Act of 1986. The Dramshop Act is intended to cut down on the number of frivolous lawsuits filed against bar owners. "In turn, bar owners were to carry at least some in- surance so accident victims could expect some compensa- tion. Mandatory insurance would also induce bar owners to act responsibly and refuse to serve drunken drivers since a lawsuit would drive up in- surance premiums. "The dispute over in- Continued on Page 62