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