I

Oakland Universit 's

MEADOW•BROOK

T H E A T R E

A Professional Theatre

FEB. 10 - MARCH 6

Classic Comedy

YOU NEVER
CAN TELL

Authentic Taste
At Old Mexico

BY GEORGE

BERNARD
SHAW

DANNY RASKIN

a••

A middle-aged
suffragette returns
to Victorian England
is itistpa
after a long absence,
bringing with her a
beautiful 20-year-old
daughter and 18-year-old
twins. A visit to a seaside resort produces
a surprise reunion with the children's father!

.0

FOR TICKET INFORMATION CALL
MEADOW BROOK THEATRE
(313) 377-3300

_•••11.

Presented with the
generous support of

77C..X2,44,4A-STE

(313) 645-6666
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT

HUDSON'S, HARMONY HOUSE
& SOUND WAREHOUSE

One of metropolitan Detroit's Most
Beautiful and Exciting Restaurants

Wonderfully Prepared Catering
in Your Home, Office or at Our Restaurant

Fine Dining and Live Entertainment

7 Nights A Week

T JEWIS H NEWS

28875 Franklin Rd. at Northwestern & 12 mile
Southfield
358-3355

GOURMET DINNER
FOR 2

NOTHING LIKE IT ANYWHERE!

INCLUDES:

SIZZLING RICE SOUP, POT STICKER, CRAB RAGOON,
GLAZED DEEP-FRIED CHICKEN, GEE MA MEIN BEEF,
SPICY SHRIMP. VEGETABLE FRIED RICE, PEANUT
BUTTER SUNDAE, FORTUNE COOKIES.

$ 1975 FOR TWO!

LUNCHEON
BUFFET

MON. - FRI. 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT

ITEMS GALORE INCLUDING 4 ENTREES!
cf% $3 CHILDREN

$5

•■ ••.

10 & UNDER
ADULTS

•EXOTIC DRINKS • CHOICE COCKTAILS • PRIVATE DINING ROOM • CATERING • LUNCHES

84

THE GREAT WALL

33135 Grand River (Drakeshire Shopping Center)

476-9181

I

t's so authentic that you can
mone's Old Mexico continues to
even pay for your meal in
thrive and grow, which must
Mexican pesos . . . Those who
say something about the food,
have any left from the Mex-
service and restaurant know-
ican trip they may have taken
how of this authentic Mexican
can come here and get change
operation.
in American money after
Old Mexico is big on authen-
dining.
ticity . . . Foods like fajitas made
This is Old Mexico in the
with achote sauce from Yu-
Drake-Summit Plaza on Drake
catan, a paprika-flavored condi-
Road just south of Walnut Lake
ment that adds a bit of piquancy
Road.
to dishes; polle en mole, chick-
When Ramone and Vicki
en breast seasoned with peanut
Castaneda opened it on March
butter and chocolate sauce and
17, 1987, Old Mexico was just
cinnamon seeds; camarones al
a little place with 32 seats and
mojode ajo, shrimp sauteed
no bar . . . Today, one of the few
with garlic butter and spices;
authentic Mexican restaurants
camerones rancheros, shrimp
in this area has two rooms with
sauteed with bell peppers and
- over 100 seating, a liquor li-
onions in a ranchero sauce.
cense and three standing island
Also, chilaquites, sliced tor-
tables.
tillas scrambled with eggs, veg-
Ramone came here from
etables and a special tomato
Monterey, Mexico, in 1957,
sauce; tacos al carbon, grilled
worked as a busboy for Les Gru-
diced steak or chicken in soft
ber at the London Chop House
corn tortillas with cheese,
and Caucus Club, for
Carl Rosenfeld at Carl's
Chop House, and on to
Kingsley Inn before be-
coming a waiter down-
stairs at Mexican
Gardens and at Mexi-
can Village.
Then 22 years ago,
Ramone and Vicki
opened their own
restaurant on Five Mile
between Inkster and
Middlebelt
. . . They called it Old
Mexico of Livonia,
which Vicki still runs by
herself while Ramone
operates the one on
Drake.
The West Bloomfield
restaurant was previ-
ously a little store dec- Jose Riojas and Ramone Castaneda.
orated by Birmingham
interior designer Charlene Mor-
lettuce and pico de gallo; polo
ris, to give it a Southwestern
en mole, chicken breast with
look . . . When the next-door
chocolate-flavored gravy .. .
space, a wide-open area, became
quesadillas, enchiladas, chimi-
vacant, Ramone took over and
changas, burrtitos, tacos, tosta-
had their 24-year-old daughter,
dos, seafood, steaks, salads, etc.
Alicia, an interior decorator,
There's even grilled salmon
give that sector a composite look
and swordfish at Old Mexico .
of modernistic features and
.. The salmon a la parilla is
Mexican design . . . Long win-
broiled on the grill . . . Sword-
dow slat drapes are against or-
fish Cancun-style is marinated,
ange neon tubing around the
and topped with garlic herb
windows . . . Mexican hats, ser-
butter.
apes, Southwestern styling of
Everything is cooked to order
brick, wooden posts, all tables
at Old Mexico . . . all, that is, ex-
in a wide-open look, modern
cept the tortillas . . . It makes
light fixtures, gray stucco walls,
its own tortilla chips, sauces
etc.
(hot or mild), soups like tortilla
Drake-Summit is the same
soup, or menudo soup, pozole
shopping center where restau-
(chicken), or caldro de rez (beef)
rants like Dimitri's Wildflower,
. . . at $2.25 a bowl and $1.75 a
Oliverio's, Panda and Ming Dy-
cup.
nasty couldn't make it . . . Ra-
Many folks call ahead to find

out what the soup is that day .
.. Sometimes it's the delicious
black bean soup which people
rush over for in a hurry.
The only non-authentic item
served once in a great while at
Old Mexico is the American
hamburger, but when Ramone
was them, they are on tortillas
. . . which, I guess, makes them
part Mexican.
Old Mexico admits to not be-
ing the fastest, but with proper
patience, says Ramone, cus-
tomers get the food exactly as
they want it.
The main thing for Ramone
is seeing people happy . . . He
contributes much to the festive
atmosphere, walking around
the tables wearing a sombrero
and bandito set with bottles in
the holsters and tequila shot
glasses in straps over each
shoulder . . . Ramone goes about
his restaurant selling poppers,

(7-Up and tequila), and putting
a hard hat on someone cele-
brating his birthday or what-
ever as he knocks the
popper-filled glass against the
person's head . . . He even takes
pictures of people having a
flaming drink like la cucaracha,
popular in Mexico, and sends
them a copy.
And what would a good Mex-
ican restaurant worth its salsa
be without a winning margari-
ta? . . . Old Mexico has a variety
of them, freshly mixed with no
chemicals.
It is significant to note that
Old Mexico absolutely refuses
to make its food spicy unless re-
quested . . . All hot sauces or-
dered come on the side . . . never
put on the food before-hand
. . . The import of this cannot be