Arts & Entertainment

THE BEST OF EVERYTHING

Building A Better Burger

Hunter House keeps on grilling sliders, gaining fame.

I is just a little hamburger place, but a
huge legend as it celebrates a 29th anni-
versary with tremendous pride.
The Hunter House on Woodward, just
north of 15 Mile, Birmingham, had origi-
nally opened its doors when owned by Jerry
McCarthy back in 1952, but seems to have
obtained that exalted pride after being pur-
chased in 1981 by Al and Martha Papazian.
It became the dream come true of this
wonderful couple who worked side by side in
running it after he quit selling cars and she
left her job
at the Great
Scott! super-
market deli
counter.
Martha
passed on in
1996 and Al
retired ...
Their legacy
,...-.---„. continues
-- to this day
Susan Cobb and
with daugh-
Al Papazian
ter Susan
Cobb doing
a masterful
job in its continuance ... Susan had worked
at the little diner several years learning the
business from her parents ... and obviously
learned very well what with its many years of
fantastic success under her guidance.
From that small, 900-square-foot Hunter
House free-standing building with only 30
seats and two high-top tables, have come
astronomical numbers ... Since Al and
Martha bought it in 1981, more than 21/2 mil-
lion pounds of fresh hamburger meat have
been hand-molded into sliders, plus almost
11/2 million pounds of onions, about 300,000
gallons of pickles and around 5 million slices
of cheese have been served.

Hunter House is known mostly
Al's favorite dishes, stuffed cab-
for its luscious burgers (small
bage and stuffed peppers.
patty of beef smashed thin, with
After Susan took over
grilled sweet onions, served on
the diner solely in 2005, she
a soft, steamed bun), fries and
added a catering service and
thick, frosty chocolate milkshakes,
a 30-by-81/2-foot canopied
but it also serves delicious break-
mobile diner with a grill that
fasts seven days, 8-10:45 a.m. ...
makes 60 hamburgers in two
Breakfast is stopped at that time
minutes and is larger than the
because the little 2-by-3-foot grill
restaurant's grill.
Danny Raskin
is constantly loaded with ham-
Last year, TV's Food
Senior Columnist
burgers beginning at 11 a.m.
Network listed Hunter House's
Hunter House is open seven
hamburger as the No. 1 burger
days a week, Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m. -10
in Michigan and Gourmet magazine named
p.m.; Friday and Saturday 8 a.m.-3 a.m.;
it one of the top 20 burgers in the United
Sunday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
States ... Hunter House will be honored
Those yummy sliders have a main stand-
in a new book coming out in May 2011,
ing at Hunter House ... but it is also known
Hamburger America by George Motz.
for its delicious chili, the Hebrew National
Al retired, marveling happily at the won-
kosher hot dogs and its Coney dogs, grilled
derful work that his and Martha's daughter
cheese sandwiches, cheese and chili fries
Susan is accomplishing in the maintenance
and clam chowder prepared on Fridays ...
and advancement of the heartily received
Vegetarian burgers too, loaded only with
hamburger tradition that began with their
caramelized onions and cheese.
Hunter House purchase in 1981.
Plus things not listed on the menu like
GOOD DINING DEAL ... Angelo
Triple Burgers (three patties), Quad Burgers
Georgizas' Chicken Piccata dinner, like
(four patties), doubles (two patties), grilled
he served at his former Angelo's Bistro
kosher hot dog smothered in chili with
... Includes soup or salad, vegetable and
beans, jalapeno cheese sauce, caramelized
choice of potato, $9.95 at Village Palace,
onions, etc.
Orchard Lake Road, near Pontiac Trail,
Nationally noted celebrities appear-
Orchard Lake Village.
ing here make Hunter House a must stop,
AMAZING FORMER Detroiter, Jo
especially when staying at downtown
Thompson at 82 is being considered
Birmingham's Townsend Hotel, which highly for a Grammy Award this year ... She
recommends the diner to its customers ...
is one of the finest songster lassies to
Actor Jeff Daniels came in, put on a Hunter
appear around these parts, and today
House T-shirt and worked behind the coun-
looks and performs better than ever ...
ter for several hours ... A Detroit Pistons
Jo's voice and piano playing are super ...
commercial has been filmed there, and visits
Her newest album with the J.C. Heard
by players from pro baseball, football and
Orchestra, Jo Thompson: Forever Fabulous
basketball teams are regular occurrences.
is wonderful on 15 never-dying clas-
Martha was a terrific cook ... Her burgers sics like "Embraceable You," "Satin Doll:'
and meatloaves were standouts, along with
"Try a Little Tenderness:' etc. ... Check

-

or a Pumpkin pie

Complete ala carte "I hanksviving inenti s available

38 November 4 • 2010

JN

the "I'm a Woman" video montage of Jo
at the former Scotch 'n' Sirloin in 1964
... with Sammy Davis Jr. appearing at
the Elmwood Casino in Windsor ... and
with Billy "That Old Black Magic" Daniels
at a Detroit Masonic Temple concert
... Folks can buy Jo Thompson Forever
Fabulous on line at www.cdbaby.com
... To see her excellent hit offering of
"I'm a Woman," visit ww-w.youtube.com/
watch?v=eo84meCumuE.
IT ISN'T EVERY young girl who can
say that her bat mitzvah was honored by
a tribe of Indians ... Especially by two
of them ... Gabrielle "Gabby" Lowenthal
became a young woman recently at
Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, where
her mother, Kathy Lowenthal, had also
been bat mitzvah years before .... Both by
Rabbi Harold Loss.
After Gabby's mom and dad were
friendly divorced six years ago, he moved
to Tahlequah, Okla., where Jeff is a busi-
ness professor at Northeastern State
University ... At a social event there by the
Cherokee and Muskogee tribes, they had
a special prayer in honor of Gabby's bat
mitzvah with all money thrown onto an
Indian blanket given to a local charity.
Gabby's bar mitzvah reception, attended
by 26, was at Golden Phoenix Chinese
restaurant in Sugar Tree Plaza, Orchard
Lake Road, West Bloomfield, where proud
mother Kathy says Gabby had the same
Chinese dishes she has eaten since she was
5 years old ... General Tso's Chicken and
chicken fried rice.
CONGRATS ... To Dennis Green on his
60th birthday ... To Helene Engel on her
70th birthday.

❑

Danny's e-mail address is

dannyraskin@sbcglobal.net.

www.Vineyar • I eli.com
NibblesAndNuts.com

with order of 10 or more complete dinners

248.855-9463

ala carte menu available

32418 Northwestern Hwy,

between Middlebelt & 14 Mile