RASKIN
THE BEST OF EVERYTHING

MAY 13 • 2021 | 53

W

ho was that fel-
low sitting with 
owner Pat Archer 
at his now-closed Excalibur 
Restaurant on Franklin and 
Northwestern Highway?
He was the spitting image of 
Frank Sinatra … and Ol’ Blue 
Eyes himself 
enjoyed a stack 
of bar-b-q ribs 
after his show at 
the Fox Theatre 
… compliments 
of then-Executive 
Chef Marty Wilk 
who also sent 
some ribs to Sinatra at his hotel 
suite.
Marty didn’t know it then, 
but he would eventually also 
become Excalibur’s excellent 
owner … at the favorite show 
biz place for celebrities who 
were appearing in this region 
… as well as many locals who 
had made Excalibur a day and 
night fun stop.
He had been a favorite 
London Chop House chef 
before coming to Excalibur in 
Southfield … and after taking 

over ownership, his years there 
rubbed off as his first acts 
were to transform Excalibur 
so much that it soon became 
known as “The London Chop 
House of the Northwest.”
It didn’t take long for 
Excalibur to become a place to 
be seen and a celebrity show-
place.
From the informal-style 
menu came steaks, chops, lob-
ster, veal dishes, etc.
With each passing year, 
Excalibur became bigger and 
bigger on fresh fish … nothing 
frozen … I recall enjoying its 
excellent Dover sole, filleted 
and placed into a light bread 

crumb mixture and baked to a 
nutty brown.
Music of the Billy Rose Trio 
was a dancer’s delight and Fred 
Astaire’s dancing elegance.
Having a premier fine din-
ing restaurant like Excalibur 
almost in your backyard was a 
major plus.
MAIL DEPT. … “The lob-
ster featured when I ate at 
the Clam Shop was a pound 
and a quarter and the $9.50 
dinner included soup, salad, 
shrimp cocktail, coffee or tea 
or milk or Vichy water” … Sid 
Luderman.
IF YOU BELIEVE some peo-
ple who say that fine dining 
is doomed, you’ll believe any-
thing … Back in the late 1980s, 
the death knell was again being 
sounded for fine dining restau-
rants … Dire observations 
were being voiced about value 
and extinction … Not only did 
white tablecloth restaurants not 
vanish from the landscape, but 
they have enjoyed a powerful 
resurgence over the past sev-
eral years … Take the dining 
pulse of any major areas or cit-

ies and you will find tablecloth 
restaurants thriving very well.
OLDIE BUT GOODIE … 
A Jewish town had a shortage 
of men for wedding purposes, 
so they had to import men 
from other towns … One day a 
groom-to-be arrived on a train, 
and two potential mothers-in-
law were waiting for him, each 
claiming ownership of him … 
A rabbi was called to solve the 
problem. 
After a few moments of 
thought, he said, “If this is the 
situation, you both want the 
groom, we’ll cut him in half 
and give each one of you half 
of him.”
To this replied one woman, 
“If that’s the case, give him to 
the other woman.”
“Do that,” said the rabbi. 
“The one willing to cut him in 
half is the real mother-in-law!”
 CONGRATS … To Michael 
Hermanoff on his birthday … 
To Warren Pierce on his birth-
day. 

Danny’s email address is 

dannyraskin2132@gmail.com.

Danny 
Raskin
Senior Columnist

The Southfield gem attracted 
its share of celebrities.

Behold 
Excalibur! 

FRANK SINATRA ENTERPRISES

Sinatra was a happy 
patron of Excalibur.

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