I used to refer to Al’s Lounge as the classiest greasy spoon in America. I know that it doesn’t sound nice, but Al’s was a great place for a quick dinner. They had a nice interior, but what made me refer to it as this, was that the menu was a chalk board. It was quite a gathering spot for the locals of this area, plus a lot of business men and people who worked in the area, when it was a bustling area.
There were always people dining there, and as I said, there were a lot of locals and regulars. It was the type of restaurant where you would always run into people that you knew. The menu had a lot of Hungarian dishes, as well as popular diner type food with a Hungarian twist or flavor to it.
I think of it, every now and then because my children would always want to go there. They would inevitably order the same dish, as if it was an addiction. I can still hear them say, that they wanted to have roast beef on an open sandwich covered with paprikash gravy. If Al’s was still open they would still want to go there, just for that meal.
Al’s Lounge mostly dealt in beer and mixed drinks which was very common for the area and the times. I would just get order a Bordeaux wine, normally as the wine selection was very limited and that would be the type of wine, they would have by the bottle. Most of the wines were more of a jug type that would come out in a carafe. Typically I would enjoy a bottle like a B&G (Barton & Guestier) Pontet- Latour which was a generic Bordeaux blend. This was a good safe wine and would work very well with the dishes that we would enjoy at Al’s.
The Wine Raconteur 
del rey, huh?! lol ❤
Michelle,
Yes Delray. LOL
I have half of the old bar from Al’s in the basement of my house in Southgate from when he remodeled in the 60’s. Al and my grandfather were good friends (grandparents lived on Thaddeus in Delray) and when Al told my grandfather that he was tearing his old bar out and putting in a new one my grandfather told him he wanted to buy the half of the bar he always sits at…so they got out a chainsaw after hours one night. And my Grandpa and my Dad finished the basement and installed the bar down there…with the original green stools too! LOL! I now own the house, looks like there could be a couple of original bar glasses down there too that may have made their way home! hahaha!
Laurie, that is a very cool keepsake, and now I can honestly say that I know where the parts of Al’s and parts of Joey’s are located. Thank you for stopping by and enjoy your memory.
– John
Growing up in Allen Park, we (my high school pals and I) would take the short ride to Al’s for the tenderloin dinner.
A delicious steak dinner for what was an incredible price, as I recall.
JC, thank you for your memories and to be truthful, I am not sure if I ever had a steak there, because we were always thinking of one of their other dishes. – John