Arts

ntertainment

The Best Of Everything

Stimvi Dam

TWO GREAT LEGENDS
ON THE SAME BILL!

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Fri, & S.
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Our Pal Joey

Mr. Joe's owner doesn't sing like his look-alike, but serves great food.

DANNY RASKIN
Local Columnist

cloth restaurant that sat 90.
At the 12-High Bar, there
were only hamburgers, hot
hen people ask
dogs and chili ... No french
for his auto-
fries ... Even when the present
graph, he
Mr. Joe's opened on 12 Mile
might say, "Do
east of Northwestern, french
you want mine or who you
fries still weren't available.
think I am?"
Since 1985, when they
DA NNY
Joe Machiorlatti doesn't
were first put on the menu,
RA SKIN
play guitar, or sing like him
Local Columnist more than 700,000 pounds
... but the Kenny Rogers
of fries have been sold ... It's
look-alike plays piano and
nothing now for Mr. Joe's to
vocalizes too.
go through 40,000 pounds of fries a
This is Joe's 35th year in the restau-
year.
rant business ... and he is a personality
Mr. Joe's seats 160, including 17
in his own right.
booths at its present locale ... with
Mr. Joe's off 12 Mile Road, just east
seven TV screens (two are 10-footers)
of Northwestern Highway in
which can be seen from anywhere in
Southfield, is considered one of the
the spacious room.
better upscale neighborhood bars
The hamburgers at Mr. Joe's were
around ... One where the owner is
rated the best in the state of Michigan
almost always there to greet people
by the Detroit Free Press ... and
coming in.
acclaimed by WJBK-TV2 along with a
Very big, too, is Mr. Joe's cleanliness
variety of publications.
... which has had health marks from
Joe's hamburgers are char-grilled on
the Oakland County Health Division
an electric grill, which is known to
as high as 98 percent ... and is a
remove some fat content ... while still
favorite spot among health inspectors.
retaining their moisture and good
However, these aren't the main-rea-
taste.
sons why Mr. Joe's is so well-noted.
Among the nine types of burgers at
Foremost among them are the ham-
Mr. Joe's is one that has raised a lot of
burgers he sells ... Over 2 million since
eyebrows ... available since 1990.
Joe put them on the menu
According to Chicago Beef, Joe
after moving to
Machiorlatti's supplier, his is
Southfield and his
the only restaurant in
former 100-seat
Michigan's tri-county
12-High Bar on
area that has the lean
Northwestern
Plevalean cherry
Highway,
burger ... with its
south of 12
low fat and low
Mile ... Joe
calories ... to go
had moved
with a very clean
from his first
and delicious taste
place opened
... This meat by
in 1967 ... Mr.
Ray Pleva in Cedar,
Joe's Nocturne
outside Traverse
Lounge on
City, has cherries
Greenfield and
that you can't taste
Fenkell, a white-
but are so essential to
table-
the moistness of this
tasty morsel.
Also on
the

Mr

.

.

Ai

Celebrity Shoivroom

7096 East Fourteen Mite Road

9/27

2002

86

(Between Mound &Van Dyke)

(586) 268-3200

Joe Machiorlatti of Mr. De's

menu is another major product from Ray
Pleva ... the Rite Bite steak from beef that
is cut into thin layers, then mixed with
cherries in a patented process.
Result is 88 percent lean, 95 calo-
ries, total fat 10 grams, saturated fat 5
grams ... with a consistent texture of
good taste and tenderness ... and great
served on a bun at Mr. Joe's.
This and the Plevalean burger are
big favorites with athletes who visit
Mr. Joe's ... plus show biz celebrities
performing at various venues around
town ... Local personalities from TV,
radio, newspapers, etc., are regulars.
Among Mr. Joe's nine burgers is a
tasty, low-fat buffalo burger which has
been receiving many raves.
The soups, a different one each day,
are all homemade ... and the menu is
far from just a hamburger bill of fare
... Kosher hot dogs, five salads, chick-
en breast on a bun or sweet-and-sour
chicken breast on a bun, chicken
strips, chili fries, onion rings, veal pat-
ties, barbecue chicken sandwich, fish
sandwich, shrimp basket, chili, etc.
A couple of employees at Mr. Joe's
have been with Joe Machiorlatti since
he began in business 35 years ago ...
Carol Lynn, manager, and Linda Rice,
night bartender.
It is a six-day-a-week operation ...
Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to
midnight.
Back in the early 1990s, Joe bought
the former Roman Terrace on 12 Mile
and Orchard Lake Road out of bank-
ruptcy ... and had it two years before
the popular dining spot burned down
... Before the tragic fire, he had plans
to take the downstairs (McFrock's) and
make it another Mr. Joe's ... Its name
was to be McJoe's.
Joe has the oldest Class C liquor -
license (by the glass) in Southfield ...
and was the first Class C approval for
transfer by the Southfield City
Council ... It had previously been the
mayor's job to decide.
Wouldn't it be something if Kenny
Rogers came to town and got up to sing
a song during Saturday night karaoke at
Mr. Joe's? ... People would be shocked
at how great "Joe sang" ... But the ques-
tion would be asked, "Where did he
learn to play the guitar?"
As a show biz performer, Joe's only
claim to fame is his look-alike ...