I BEST OF EVERYTHING
A new name. A new face.
A new Clarion Hotel
Ring In A New Year
With Us
Our New Year's Eve Package
In The Orchard Ballroom Includes:
• Dinner at 8 p.m.
(Prime Rib of Beef or
Char-Broiled Breast of Chicken,
Baked Potato, Vegetable,
Amaretto Mouse)
• 2 Drink Tickets
• Cash Bar Until 2 a.m.
• Dancing To Sounds of
Trade Secrets
• Overnight Accommodations
• Champagne In Room
• Brunch New Year's Day
11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Late 4 p.m. Checkout
• Party Favors
$1 79 9 ct
Clarion
Hotel
I
pie
31525 Twelve Mile Road
Farmington Hills, Michigan 48018
871-1590
SPECIAL QUALITY PARTIES
UP TO 200
Specializing In: Bar Mitzvahs, Sweet 16s,
Showers, Anniversaries, Retirement
Parties, Birthdays, Weddings, Etc.
Special Appetizer Parties Available
CALL ERNIE . . . AND ASK
ABOUT OUR LOW BANQUET RATES
FOR ALL OCCASIONS.
Kitchen Hours: Tues.-Thurs. 5 to 10
Fri. & Sat. 5 to 11, Sun. 4 to 8
Reservations Suggested
1990 Hiller Rd. (Old Orchard Trail)
Off Pontiac Wail to Old Orchard
Wail to Hiller Road
50
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1988
t's ages and ages old .. .
but one of the nation's
fastest-growing cuisines
. . . and would you believe, a
"new rage" . . . is Middle-
Eastern fare.
The reasons are numerous
. . . Also, since so many seem
to be on health kicks these
days, Middle-Eastern food has
loads of wholesome proper-
ties, taste goodness and other
wants for the calorie-
conscious and average
consumer.
Among the top proponents
of Middle-Eastern culinary
expertise is also a spot many
people may never have heard
about perhaps or thought had
been closed.
Sure Mr. Donnie's moved as
some customers say . . . but it
was from a place on Dix to
which customers traveled for
18 years . . . closer in for more
accessibility.
In September 1987, Shirley
and Donnie Abess opened the
doors of Mr. Donnie's at its
new locale .. . on the corner
of Michigan Ave. and
Telegraph, next door to
Bootleggers Again in
Dearborn.
In fact, they share the same
large lighted parking area .. .
although both are separate
operations.
You can't miss the former
site of Baja's, Chuck Muer's
Sundog, etc. . . . and the
popularity of Mr. Donnie's has
followed it.
The 99-seater assures
diners of quiet, relaxed dining
with a masonry wall that
muffles out the sounds of
Bootleggers Again.
Mr. Donnie's on Dix was
previously in an obscure
neighborhood . . . but people
who knew good Middle-
Eastern food seemed to find it
. .. just as they're finding the
location at Michigan and
Telegraph . . . Customers like
Rick Brode, Fay and Marty
Weinstock, Shirley and Ray
Abrams, Stuart Borman, Ber-
nie Farber, Mark Brock, Lil
and Izzy Besser, Jerry
Feldman, Harry Pollack,
Ruth and Irving "Bucks"
Kaplan . . . and so many
others.
The romantic arched booth
areas, tables, split booths,
mirrored decor and much lat-
tice work, striped cement
walls . . . pink tablecloths and
red napkins . . . welcome
diners to a world of fresh
wholesome Middle-Eastern
dining.
,
For reservations, call 313/553 - 0000.
7618 Woodward Ave.
DANNY RASKIN
Local Columnist
Discover a new name and a new
face. Discover the Clarion Hotel of
Farmington Hills.
AM■
Middle-Eastern Food Making
Big Splash With Restaurants
OPEN
SUN.
4 p.m.-
8 p.m.
682-1347
Shirley is in the kitchen
and Donnie out front hosting
. . . Unlike too many other
restaurateurs, they leave
nothing to chance at either
end of the very important
customer relation restaurant
outposts . . . Nothing is taken
for granted by this hard-
working couple whose
business of pleasing
customers in all areas has
become a byword.
Employees like Tracy
Wilkinson are added assets
. . . especially when they
smile . . . Tracy's efficiency,
cordiality and pretty smile
promote warmth in the essen-
tialities of relaxed dining.
With Shirley in the kitchen,
Donnie out front and
employees like Tracy, there is
an attraction of confidence
which people enjoy.
The fresh raw vegetable
variety plate Tracy brought
was what you'd expect from a
place like Mr. Donnie's .. .
cold, crispy and colorful .. .
The taboulee salad made by
Shirley ranks among the best
. . . and there are a lot of good
ones around . . . But Shirley
has a secret with hers .. .
Like many of her other
dishes, she chops and
prepares as they are ordered
. . . and quick as a wink it's
ready for joyful consumption.
There's chicken kabob and
there's chicken kabob . . . One
taxes the muscles in your jaw
. . . another is almost like
chewing a stick of margarine
. . . and there's the one you en-
joy . . . in effortless enjoyment
. . . Maybe it's the chicken .. .
there are different grades you
know . . . But at Mr. Donnie's,
chicken kabob is as it should
be . . . not too tough, not too
soft . . . The right consistency
in this dish is a note of both
good buying and good
preparation.
Even the pita bread at Mr.
Donnie's is different . . . slic-
ed on the premises with
pockets and put into plastic
bags both for freshness and
sanitary purposes.
Customers rave about the
rice pudding at Mr. Donnie's
. . . And here too, it's different
. . . firm, without runny tex-
ture . . . only egg whites and
without rosewater . . . The dif-
ference is mainly its prepara-
tion . . . as people desire .. .
Raisins and chopped walnuts
are both brought in separate
containers for those who
choose to add either.
There's a family at-
mosphere here, also . . . to go
along with Mr. Donnie's in-
timate, very clean and highly
relaxed surroundings
.
Lucille Green, Shirley's
sister, is a waitress on Satur-
days and Sundays . . .
Shirley's aunt, Tina Osman,
is a cook at lunchtime.
And there's personality, too
:Donnie greets the world
like everyone is a long-lost
creditor . . . People come into
the kitchen, yell "Hi,
Shirley!" and go back out to
eat.
About the kitchen . . . of
which she is so proud that
Shirley loves taking
customers to see where their
food is prepared . . . Gleaming
stainless steel and large
working areas in compact ar-
rangement . . . Items on the
floor or lying about bring out
Shirley's temper . . . "This is
my kitchen and I want it
clean! clean! clean!" she lets
others know.
The vegetarian assortments
made at Mr. Donnie's are big
pluses . . . This is another ad-
vantage of Middle-Eastern
cooking . . . as it has been
through the decades of time
. . . Many items may be
vegeterian but they have the
taste of eating meat . . . as ex-
ample the stuffed vegetarian
grapeleaves . . . If no one told
you, the cracked wheat
delicacy without meat con-
tains the same delicious
flavor and would highly test
your taste buds.
I remember going to Mr.
Donnie's when it was on Dix
. . . The thing then that im-
pressed me most was seeing
Shirley making raw kibbee by
hand . . . She did this every-
day . . . Such type of freshness
stood out in my mind that if
Shirley took the trouble to
chop and knead her own kib-
bee, everything on the menu
must be treated in the same
manner.
If you love aw or baked kib-
bee . . . and millions do .. .
then its being fresh is impor-
tant . . . There's no need to eat
raw or baked kibbee any
other way . . . Of much import
at Mr. Donnie's is that this
delicacy is not only prepared
by hand in every single step
of the way, but also done so
upon being ordered . . .
Remember when corned beef
was cut by hand at delis in-
stead of machines? ... I don't
know if this is much of a cor-
relation, but it sort of reminds
me of those days gone by.
Mr. Donnie's is open six
days . . . Monday through
Friday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
and Saturday 5 p.m. to
12 midnight.
Where is Mr. Donnie's?