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?