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'World Beat Cuisine'

Sweet Lorraine's Cafe & Bar: Serving global goodies for 25 years.

T

he time-honored question, "Why
Lorraine's today is much the
don't you go into the restaurant
same insofar as creativeness
business?" might have been fur-
in concerned, but with new
thered in 1978 when Lorraine Platman
innovations heartily accepted
and Gary Sussman were wed after a two-
by its growing list of patrons
year romance.
... Lorraine has always been
She came here from England as a
healthy-heart oriented and
9-year-old and he grew up on Detroit's
so the reasoning behind eat-
Northwest side ... Lorraine continued her ing natural without use of
passion for cooking and Gary had spent
chemicals.
six months at Israel's Kibbutz Gonen in
The original 4,000 square
the upper Galilee ... Her parents, Aubrey
foot Sweet Lorraine's in
and Rita Platman, now reside in Trinity,
Southfield, is now 8,800
Fla., and his mother, Zelman Sussman,
square feet ... with a spacious kitchen
lives in Farmington Hills ... Gary's late
for Lorraine to so expertly ply her lov-
dad was Herman Zussman.
ing trade ... It is estimated that since
The four parents were good friends and
opening 25 years ago, Sweet Lorraine's of
Lorraine's mother did what mothers do
Southfield has served almost 4 million
by telling her about Gary ... Rita brought
meals, 500,000 pounds of meat, 350,000
Lorraine with her to a
pounds of chicken,
Passover seder at the
250,000 pounds of
home of his parents
fish.
and later they began
Hours of Sweet
dating.
Lorraine's Cafe &
Thus was pos-
Bar of Southfield are
sibly the predestined
Monday-Thursday,
moment that they
11-10, and Friday, 11-
would someday
11, (lunch and dinner
answer that question
only) ... Saturday, 8-
and go into the restau-
11, and Sunday, 8-9:30
rant business together
(including breakfast).
... Sweet Lorraine's
Two of its origi-
Deli and Cafe was
nal
dishes are today
"Sweet" Lorraine Platman
started by Lorraine in and her hubby, Gary Sussman
Sweet Lorraine's Cafe
1982 on 14 Mile and
& Bar's best sellers
Campbell in Madison Heights and sold by
... Pecan Chicken, No.1, and Chicken &
Lorraine and Gary in 2003 ... The highly
Shrimp, No. 2 ... New dishes added to the
regarded Sweet Lorraine's Cafe & Bar of
menu include Down Home Pot Roast, Zen
today was born in 1984 when Lorraine
Garden Vegetarian Pasta, Pub-style Fish
and Gary opened on Greenfield, just
& Chips and Aunt Bea's Mac & Cheese
north of 12 Mile, Southfield, in the former
... Add these to daily specials that often
home of Raven Gallery, Bar-B-Q House of
include vegetarian dishes and items like
Southfield and Minnie's Seafood.
Latin-American stir-fries, "grass-fed"
Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Sweet
steaks, Cajun seafood, roasted lamb or

chicken, mixed grills, Asian hot-
pots and American pot pies ...
and at lunch those wonderful
burgers ... Piedmontese beef,
vegetarian, Bahama with crab
cake, California and Cajun.
Favorites continue like veg-
etarian jambalaya, maple-cured
and farm-raised salmon, veg-
etarian meatloaf, tilapia, pasta,
crab cakes, coconut shrimp, clas-
sic and Cuban quesadilla, etc.
And, of course, Lorraine's won-
derful carrot cake, cheesecake, Apple Brown
Betty, Scottish Country Pudding, Totally
Chocolate Mousse Cake, etc.
What began in 1984 as a dream further-
ance of togetherness, Sweet Lorraine's
Cafe & Bar of Southfield, is today one of
four like dining operations ... Within
the Livonia Marriott Laurel Park Place,
the Courtyard by Marriott in downtown
Detroit and its first restaurant outside of
Michigan, in Peddler's Village of Bucks
County, Pennsylvania.
Lorraine and Gary call the style of
cooking at their Sweet Lorraine's cafes,
"World Beat Cuisine, with inspirations
from cuisines of around the globe ... I call
it a true dedication of love, cooking wise,
people meeting and personal togetherness
... all integrated into continually happy
experiences.
GOOD WAITER DEPT. ... Dustin
Legato at Volare Ristorante, Pontiac Trail,
between Wixom and Beck roads, Wixom
... Effervescent personality and specials
told with bubbly graciousness ... His fine
service experience shows.
QUESTION &ANSWER DEPT. ... "I
can't eat meat anymore and someone told
me about a dish they used to get that was
originally prepared to be eaten by religious
people who didn't eat meat on Friday. Do

you know what it might have been?"
[One that comes to mind is Palmina
Cardinale, an Italian pasta selection folks
used to frequently order for just that rea-
son back at Villa Venice on Woodward,
Detroit ... Simply, wide noodles in a
tomato sauce:']
EXCELLENT RAFFLE at the coming
event of pis Women (formerly Jewish
Vocational Service) will include something
that many who see the Oscar Awards each
year wish they had ... An Oscars warmup
jacket given only to Oscar recipients and
invited guests ... Its one of the goodies
being donated by celebrity photojournalist
Linda Solomon when JVS Women puts on
its annual Trade Secrets, 6 p.m. Thursday,
March 18, at the Townsend Hotel in
Birmingham.
Linda, this year's honorary chairgal,
is responsible for other items like a Tony
Bennett autographed CD, Anita Baker
autographed CD, scarf from Kim Novak,
designed by her and Linda, etc., plus Lois
Shaevsk's arrangement for someone to win
a walk-on part in the film Sucker, etc.
Elaine Fieldman, Gwen Weiner and
Hadas Bernard are co-chairs ... Lila
Lazarus will be mistress of ceremonies
and the memory of Linda's good friend,
television producer Dell Warner, will also
be honored. For tickets ... call Sharon
Snyder at JVS, (248) 233-4290.
CONGRATS ... To Harry Lenchner
on his 95th birthday ... To twins Edyta
Friedman and Gabrielle Heller on their
41st birthdays ... To Eva Piasek on her
66th birthday ... To Sandy Hermanoff
on her birthday ... To Frank Ellias on his
67th birthday ... To Dr. Sander Klein on
his 92nd birthday ... To Roslyn Kaufman
on her 90th birthday. ❑

Danny's e-mail is dannyraskin@sbcglobaLnet.

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