BEST OF EVERYTHING I-

RESERVE

A Nostalgic Look At the Old
Restaurant Scene In Detroit Area

1985

Napa Valley

CABERNET SAUVIGNON

PRODUCED AND BOTTLED BY

ROBERT MONDAVI WINERY

LIMITED QUANTITIES

$275°12-BOTTLEERCASE

EXCLUSIVELY AT

VINEYARDS
WINE CELLAR

• Mideastern Cuisine • Fresh Homemade Salads
• Over 50 Gourmet Sandwiches • Homemade Soups
• Colombo Lite Frozen Yogurt

32418 NORTHWESTERN, BET. MIDDLEBELT & 14 MILE
Farmington Hills
855-9463

LOBSTERS

NORMS 357.4442
NORMAN'S 647.7774
NIFTY'S 62.4-6660

$12.95

946-89 thru 10-31.89

Let's Meet at

Banquet
Facilities
•
Entertainment
7 Nights
Italian-American Dining At Its Finest
Mon.-Fri. 11 to 11, Sat. 4 to 12 Mid., Sun. 2 to 11

DETROIT

4222 Second Blvd.
Bet. Willis & Canfield

80

Valet
Parking

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1989

833-9425

DANNY RASKIN

Local Columnist

A

Mystery Muncher
took a stroll through the
yellowing pages of old scrap
books holding a multitude of
memories . . . Re-discovering
menus from restaurants
which have faded away but
never die . . . and are pasted
in your mind as well as in old
scrapbooks, is a step back in-
to the past.
"Stored away in my
memorabilia is a 1942 menu
from Hund's on Grand River
and Bagley. The special of the
day was whole broiled baby
lobster with drawn butter,
mixed seafod with tartar
sauce, salad, potatoes, rolls
and butter and coffee for the
unbelievable price of $1.60.
lbday, the lobster alone could
cost almost 10 times that
much.
"How can you beat a com-
plete dinner which included
Hund's special antipasto,
fresh jumbo shrimp cocktail,
garden vegetable soup, chop-
ped liver, Florida fruit cup,
double consomme with egg
drops or Rhode Island clam
chowder, salad, frog legs Nor-
thwood Inn style, a choice of
potatoes, Harvard beets or
Michigan corn on the cob,
assorted home-made pies,
special sundaes, watermelons
or Roquefort, Liederkranz or
Camebert cheese for $1.80.
"Steak with all the trimm-
ings was $2.20 and Hund's
special baked stuffed deviled
crabs were $1.40. When was
the last time you had a corn-
ed beef sandwich at these
prices? Hund's also provided
music and entertainment.
"Speaking of Hund's
reminds me of Northwood Inn
on Woodward, which was
owned by the same
restaurateur, Mildred Hund.
The Tuesday night buffets at
Northwood, with all the
shrimp (among other things)
you could eat between dance
sets were relatively inexpen-
sive treats and there's not
likely to be anything like
them again in these parts.
"I came across a 1940s
breakfast menu which says,
"William Boesky, Joe Freed-
man and staff wish you a
Happy New Year.' That
breakfast menu at their Brass
Rail on Adams featured broil-
ed filet mignon sandwich
with tole slaw and French
fried potatoes for 65 cents. Or

you could have smoked lox
and eggs with French fries
and toast for the same price.
Coffee was a nickel.
"Who can ever forget Dar-
bys on Seven Mile and Wyom-
ing, which catered to
breakfast, lunch, dinner, bar
and after-theater crowds.
Waiting for a table was like
being in a reception line at a
wedding. It seemed as though
everybody knew everybody
and exchanged greetings.
Darbys served a number of
dishes guaranteed to please
everyone. The one I remember
best was the chicken poulette.
But Darbys was more than an
eating spot; it was a social
experience.
"Many thought the now
defunct Piccadilly Restaurant
in the former Raleigh House
would be a reasonable fac-
simile of Darbys. But it never
quite made it. I was, however,
impressed with the imagina-
tion and talent of whoever
described the goodies on the
bill of fare.
"I recently found a Piccadil-
ly menu in my collection
which says, 'If you try to rip
off one of our table menus, it
will activate our electronic
menu-stealing machine
which will unload a cage fill-
ed with 124 gossiping women
programmed to talk your ear
off for one whole week.'
"Among items on the menu
were, 'Too much grief and ag-
gravation to the waitress —
25 cents! Others were, `Liver
Come Back lb Me, chopped
liver with onions and chicken
fat guaranteed to come back
and haunt you with gas and
indigestion; 'Play It Again
Salmon' starring arbequed
salmon, garnishes, Hum-
phrey Bogart and Ingrid
Bergman; and fishy gourmet
items called "The Lox Ness
Monster' and `Checky Chub-
ber and The Platter,' smoked
fish. Did you ever think of
calling our mundane • meat
loaf, 'Quit loafing around'?
"Digging further back into
yesteryear, do you remember
Chidwa Tha Room on Wood-
ward and Frame's downtown?
Men may have found the pick-
ings slim at these tearooms
but women still talk about
the hot, home-made biscuits,
chicken ala king and other
items on the menus which of-
fered light but right meals for
dainty eaters.
"In 1941, the Olde Wayne
Club on Wayne Street adver-
tised choice foods and
beverages, singing guitarist
Charles Costello and his or-
chestra, piano interludes by

Jack London and the 'Flower
Bar' where custom-made cor-
sages could be had.
"A Dec. 25, 1941, Cass
Theatre Playgoer in my scrap-
book had a column called,
`Dining and Dancing `Round
Town! It was headed by a,
poem — 'Good friends to
greet, good things to eat, a
toast to drink, a year
complete!
"The Book Cadillac Casino
was featuring a review with
ballet and comic pantomime.
Joe Richman, his orchestra
and singer Jane Fulton were
blending musical memories
in their programs with cur-

A new show at the
Club Three 666's
was called 'The
West Indian Dippy-
Dip Review.'

rent dance music. One of the
numbers was 'Remember' by
Irving Berlin.
"With a festive atmosphere
abounding, Huck's Redford
Inn on Grand River and
Seven Mile was offering
guests wonderful food, the
warmth of wine and spirited
music: Host Emil Huck in-
vited all to bring their fami-
ly and friends for a steak or
seafood dinner.- Glen Moor's
orchestra played popular
dance tunes and in the
cocktail lounge, Don Miller
provided musical moments at
the Hammond organ.
"Flamingo Bar in Hotel
Dixieland on Farmer and
John R claimed to bring to
downtown Detroit a bit of the
sunny South in a colorful set-
ting of palm trees, flamingos,
bamboo colunins and soft
lights. You could frequent the
spot for luncheon, dinner or a
rendezvous over a cocktail.
.Joseph Wohl entertained on
the piano.

"An October, 1942, Playgoer
beckoned theater-goers to
give a dinner party at the
Clam Shop on E. Grand
Boulevard to put everyone in
a receptive mood for a play at
the Cass. The Clam Shop pro-
mised good clam chowder and
seafoods at their best. And
that was evidenced by
Cadillacs and old clunkers
alike driving up to the
restaurant. The atmosphere
left much to be desired, but
the seafood was among the
greatest. Wonder why the
Clam Shop didn't make it
when it moved into the
former, exotic Mona Laua