ti

Michigan's finest upscale,
yet casual American bistro

Savor the taste that is the
talk of the town

•

•

\

"Oakland Grill gets wows for
class act." — Observer & Eccentric

•

"Our meal at Oakland Grill was
exceptional and it left us talking
about our food all weekend long."

—

Oakland Press

Tuesday through Thursday evenings and
complimentary }rav-passed Sushi in the
lounge every hursday evening

Hours:
Mon-Wed

11:30 a.m. - 12:00 midnight

Thur-Fri

11:30 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.

Sat.

5:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.

Please join us for happy hour,
Monday thru Friday, 4-7 p.m.

Domestic beers

$2.00

Imported beers

$2.50

Well drinks

$3.00

Available for private
engagements Saturday
afternoons and
Sundays.

■

32832 WoOdward Royal Oak

1998

104

Bringing back wild memories from the turbulent 1970s.

DANNY RASKIN
Local Columnist

he Mystery Muncher writes

•

2/20

The Best Of Everything

Oust Soufh of 14 Mile Rd.)

(248) 549-7700

"Baby boomers who
came of age in the 1970s
thought the decade was bland and
boring after the funky, frantic mania
of the 1960s.
"But the '70s was the period when
the women's movement exploded,
abortion was legalized, the energy cri-
sis was under way and 18 1/2 minutes
of a subpoenaed conversation were
accidentally erased in the Watergate
cover-up.
"It was before answering machines,
call waiting, compact disc recorders,
cable television, word processors,
modems, faxes, virtual reality, genetic
engineering and Tianannmen Square.
It was a decade of polyester, disco and
pet rocks. -
"A series of scandals ended with
Richard Nixon's resignation and dis-
grace. The country was ravaged by
inflation and recession and women
went to work.
"Folks were concerned with the
environment and Earth Day in April
1970 was a national event of recycling
and trash collection.
"A generation raised on Sugar Pops
switched to health food. 'I am
Woman' was the cry of the feminists
who fought for equal pay, for equal
work and the choice not to reproduce.
"George McGovern was a symbol
of the political left wing and led the
Democratic Party to its biggest elec-
toral defeat in 1972.
"In 1974, Gerald Ford became the
38th and only unelected president. He
helped heal the nation of the Viet-
nam-Watergate trauma but he stum-
bled and fell to his hands and knees
while debarking a plane.
"Jimmy Carter was elected presi-
dent after the debacle of Watergate
and Ford's pardon of Nixon made the
Democrats look better than ever.
Carter 'lusted in his heart' but didn't
last long.
"On the movie scene, Love Story
packed them in with a five-handker-
chief melodrama in the best Holly-
wood schmaltzy style.
"In 1971, A Clockwork Orange

dining scene and wasn't it romantic?
juiced up the screen with violence,
"Cadillacs and old clunkers alike
sex, gang fights, murder and robbery.
drove up to the Clam Shop where
The film earned an initial X rating in
seafood lovers could never get enough.
the United States.
And Detroiters were enjoying the deli-
"Billy Jack was the most popular
cious meals at restaurants
film in 1971. Woody Allen was
like Mayfield Chop House.
considered a funny guy making
The London Chop House,
slapstick films until he pro-
in a dining and wining class
duced his masterpiece, Annie
all its own, was where the jet
Hall.
set went to see and be seen.
"Jack Nicholson was a hit in
"The disco look, the
the '70s with Five Easy Pieces.
preppy look and the punk
Chinatown and One Flew Over
look were in. Hot pants were (
the Cuckoo's Nest swept the
big and came in every color
academy awards.
and material. Then came
"The Godfather and The
DAN NY
granny dresses, overalls, hip
Godfather Part II were the best
RAS KIN
huggers, earth shoes and the
films of the decade. Barbra
Local Co lumnist Annie Hall look. Running
Streisand was the female star
shoes were status symbols
of the '70s with What's Up
and jogging outfits were the rage.
Doc?, Up the Sand Box, The Way We
"Singles bars, the singles pads, Hus-
Were, - Funny Girl and A Star is Born.
tler magazine, The Last Tango in Paris,
"How did we dress in the 1970s?
coed dorms and water beds were part (
Women tottered on platform shoes,
of the sexual revolution.
wore mood rings, mini-skirts and
"If you were single in the 1970s,
designer anything. Men wore three-
you may remember the Lion's Den in
piece suits in the recession, believing
the Raleigh House in Southfield. On
dressing for success would get them
Thursday nights, the darkly paneled,
good ohs.
dimly lit lounge was groaningly
crammed for the 6:30 p.m. happy
hour. The drinks were 75 cents from 5
to 7 p.m. and it was two deep around
the bar.
"In the 1970s, kids used pot and
graduated to coke. Some baby
boomers were lured by cults and
movements like Children of God and
Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification
Church. Confused kids who shunned
organized religion became Moonies.
Scientology and EST satisfied some
young people in their spiritual quest.
"Fats Domino, the Coasters and
other groups were making big money.
Elvis Presley and Rick Nelson had
top-10 songs. John Travolta and
Olivia Newton John were box office
smash hits in Grease.
"Mark Spitz won seven gold medals
Adrian Zmed as Danny Zuko in
in swimming in the 1972 Olympics.
"Grease."
Mohammed Ali regained his heavy-
weight crown in 1974.
"The American Motors Gremlin
"People,were dining at the
was the first subcompact car and one
Pontchartrain Hotel, a living seminar
of four 1970 models priced under
on how to combine setting, service
$2,000. The energy crisis of 1973-74
and decor in a perfectly harmonious
sent big-car sales plunging. The most
way. The Pontchartrain Wine Cellars
popular downsized car was the Cadil-
was truly a perennial on the Detroit