wq* * * NOBODY HAS BETTER •• ■ •: ■ h 4N kbh '‘kl'4. 1N kOk N N bh, 4. • - 0. h THAN STAR!* WE ALSO HAVE ALL THE FIXINS FOR YOUR OUTDOOR BAR-B-Q & PICNIC . • HOMEMADE POTATO SALAD • HOMEMADE COLE SLAW • HOMEMADE CHICKEN SALAD • HOMEMADE TUNA SALAD • HOMEMADE EGG SALAD WE COOK OUR OWN CORNED BEEF & PASTRAMI WE MAKE DELICIOUS FAT FREE TUNA TOO! WE ALSO CUT OUR OWN HAND CUT LOX! sm. ism mi. NM RIM IMMINI I OUR TRAYS CAN'T BE BEAT I I FOR QUALITY & PRICE! I • MEAT TRAYS . . .$5.50 per person I DAIRY TRAYS . . .$9.75 per person i * $5 OFF! :* * ON OUR BEAUTIFUL *1 I * 1 ALREADY LOW-PRICED 1* * 1 MEAT OR DAIRY TRAYS I With This Coupon I DELIVERY • Expires 12-31-95 AVAILABLE • One Per Person mom Now nom mm mum `' • 10 Person Minimum mos Ems Now .7W.ITIVtt 7r -1 r. . STAR DELI 24555 W. 12 MILE, Just West of Telegraph, Southfield 352-7377 Let Us Cater Your Next Affair * * * VAN& MQLitSr DINNER BUFFET 7 DAYS A WEEK FROM 5 p.m. LUNCH BUFFET MON.-FRI. 11 a.m. TO 2:30 p.m. TRY OUR WONDERFUL TABLE-SERVED 1 /4 STEAMED LOBSTER $ COMPLETE DINNER 1 495 ORCHARD LAKE ROAD AND 14 MILE ROAD • Farmington Hills U) ALSO TOKYO STEAKHOUSE 851-7400 LU Cr) LL, - D Give your heart an extra helping. . Say no to high-fat foods. . • CC LU LU H- 84 4 ink American Heart Ily Association . There's Nothing Fishy About Fran O'Brien's Seafood DANNY RASKIN LOCAL COLUMNIST T here is probably no other restaurant like it in this area ... And for certain some of the things on the menu cannot be gotten anywhere hereabouts. If you think we're talking about a large, fancy operation, guess again ... But if you've ever been to Fran O'Brien's Maryland Crabhouse, explanations are un- necessary. Opened in April 1990, by Dan Dunsky and Al Werthman, for- mer localite now living in Flori- da and Bermuda, it is located in a strip center, Auburn Hills Plaza, directly across from Auburn Pontiac on Opdyke be- tween South Bend and Auburn ... Less than a couple minutes from the Silverdome, five min- utes or so from the Palace and Meadowbrook. Seating is only for 95 (12 booths and four tables) at the un- pretentious Fran O'Brien's with its authentic nautical artifacts of nettings, deep-water lobster traps and 300 feet of tugboat rope, coral-covered pins that held Spanish ships of yesteryears to- gether and three cannon balls dating back to the 1700s ... Things of interest brought up from diving expeditions in the Florida Keys ... And the setting wouldn't be the same without some stuffed fish ... barracuda, shark, grouper, etc. Sometimes billing itself as "Michigan's Crustacean Head- quarters," Fran O'Brien's is the only place that can boast of 10 dif- ferent kinds of crab preparation ... including crab imperial made from 100 percent back-fin lump ... It is also one of the few places that gets its Maryland blue crabs directly from Chesapeake Bay ... For that matter, not too many restaurants even have them. A choice delicacy, Maryland blue crabs are in season from April until October .'.. and dur- ing this period, Fran O'Brien's goes through about 10 bushels (300 pounds) a week ... During the short soft-shell crab season, from middle of May to end of June, 150 pieces are served week- ly. Most of the items sold at Fran O'Brien's, however, are in-season all year ... like dungeness crab, Alaskan king crab legs, snow crab legs, etc ... And if you never had the Maryland special crab soup, a treat awaits you loaded with crab and vegetables .. Also the New England chowder, heavily loaded with clams. Casual dress, whatever you When customers are seated, wish, is the look at Fran O'Brien's they immediately receive a loaf ... This is so folks can dig into the of hot bread ... Also with meals mixed bucket of clams and mus- come soup or salad, redskin pota- sels or bushel of mussels or buck- toes and vegetable ... Fran et of clams, etc., and not worry O'Brien's makes its own soup, about having to be too dainty. dressings, batters and coatings. Sure Fran O'Brien's has fresh A full-service bar where peo- fish ... usually about seven or ple also like to eat has 15 stools eight daily ... Biggest sellers are ... It serves 15 types of tequilas, salmon and whitefish. and the house drink is a clamdig- And yes, there is a Fran ger (spicy bloody Mary with clam- O'Brien ... The good friend of ato juice) ... A no-crab margarita Dan and Al, living in Ft. Laud- has El Tesoro tequila, grand erdale, was a fine offensive line- marniere and margarita mix ... man with Michigan State, All 20 wines are available in both Washington Redskins and Pitts- bottle or glass. burgh Steelers ... He and Al at- Key lime pie? ... Of course ... tended Michigan State together over 100 slices a week. when former Spartan's coach George Perles was also playing It is not a chain operation ... The one here is the only restaurant. Dan is sole operator at Fran O'Brien's Mary- land Crabhouse ... and takes pride in the fact that people who move here from Maryland are happy to find out about his place ... Espe- cially so with Dan's full insis- tence on tra- ditional East- Coast cooking ... Old Bay season- ing is used a lot, fancy sauces are at a minimum and recipes are Dan Dunsky of Fran O'Brien's. the easy-to-cook kind. This is not a restaurant that It is open seven days a week ... sells seafood, but a seafood Monday-Friday lunch 11 a.m. to restaurant in the purest sense of 4 p.m., dinner 4 p.m. to 10:30 the word ... (For those who de- p.m.; Saturday 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.; sire them, New York strip steaks Sunday 3 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. ... The and Delmonico steaks from An- bar is open until midnight Mon- gus beef are also prepared) ... day-Saturday and to 10 p.m. on Even seafood sandwiches can be Sunday. gotten at dinnertime. Placemats tell people how to People don't have to be adven- eat crabs ... And waitpersons, turesome to eat seafood at Fran trained in full customer satisfac- O'Brien's Maryland Crabhouse tion, help if desired in the open- ... Traditional East-Coast cook- ing- of crabs at the cozy, intimate ing is probably the best that can Fran O'Brien's with its laminat- be gotten when it comes to ed tables. seafood dining ... This and Dan Dan is the son of Harriet and Dunsky furnish the necessary Bob Dunsky ... Mom has Bobette keys to full satisfaction. Shop on Huron in Waterford ... RENOVATIONS are in the Another son, Drew, is brother planning at Ritz-Carlton, Dear- Dan's host on Saturday nights. born ... Come February, its din-