••
•
MOM'S ARE SPECIAL AT
BAR & GRILL
Subtle Tastes Of Japan
Brought To Farmington Hills
In The Halsted Village Plaza
37610 W. 12 MILE RD. AT HALSTED • (810) 848-9009
LET US HELP YOU CELEBRATE
BRING MOM
MOTHER'S DAY, SUN., MAY 12
And She'll Enjoy A
Complimentary Glass of House Wine
With Her Meal
or
DANNY RASKIN LOCAL COLUMNIST
kre:5
OUR DINNER FOR 2
• 2 Glasses Of Our House Wine
• Choice of 2 Entrees From
Our Special Menu For Mom
• 2 Dinner Salads
For
2
Make Mom Feel Good
Call For Your Reservation Now
Open Sunday 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
ff"4.fy
tWe4tffetyzeffrkt
Enjoy gracious dining amid
a beautiful
of casual elegance
Open 7 Days
• Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner
Monday to Saturday, 7 a.m.-9:30 p.m.
Sunday 8 a.m. - 9 p.m.
West Bloomfield Plaza
6638 Telegraph Road and Maple 851-0313
•
/
■ lk
■
W I ■ IN ■
ffziel
6e•ce/R,e,v,
-.
*OUR SOUTHFIELD COUNTRY FRENCH RESTAURANT
Is Now
OPEN FOR DINNER. MODERATE PRICED,
SMOKE FREE ENVIRONMENT. CHILDRENS MENU AVAILABLE.
Enjoy The Music Of
Robert Dempster
Saturday Evening From 8 p.m.
(96,- d°-‘7°‘/6
108
e ,,,x—a—ae,x,gz, •
.‘ 9 clWicill; Adeo€44,,,,,
;4 •
Za!•••.g.jejliTle
fec9//
wamped as we are by the vinegar ... Octopus with rice on
electronic and mechanical the bottom is a big selection.
Cooked items include sukiya-
artifacts of industrial
Japan, the culture once ki, Japanese stew made with
epitomized as sublime restraint thinly sliced beef, an assortment
can seem as remote as its tea cer- of vegetables, tofu and yam noo-
emony, its flower arrangements dle from yam potato; favorites of
swept away on a tide of Sonys, steaks, chicken, salmon, etc.
Toyotas, etc. ... Of course, the ex- made with teriyaki; yasai tem-
quisite, serene Japan still exists, pura, deep-fried vegetables;
seafood curry over rice;
not least in a cuisine
sushi moriawase, an as-
that is the antithesis of
sortment of fresh seafood
mass production.
on top of seasoned rice;
Have a meal and see
sashimi moriawase, an
... at Hakata, for exam-
assortment of sliced
ple, on Northwestern
fresh seafood; battera,
Highway between Mid-
marinated mackerel
dlebelt and 14 Mile
pressed with sushi rice,
Road.
DANNY RASKIN
etc.
The discipline and
LOCAL
Diners at Hakata are
eye for detail that made
COLUMNIST
big on the California roll,
the country a commer-
avocado, cucumber and
cial colossus are ex-
pressed differently in the kitchen crabmeat rolled in rice ... as well
... This time the product is per- as other items of culinary inter-
sonal ... the chefs edible commu- est.
It is open seven days ... Lunch
nication with his honored guest
... and presented so beautifully it Monday through Friday, 11:30 to
can seem almost criminal to con- 2; dinner Saturday, 5:30 to 10:30;
sume it ... No wonder it is the cus- and Sunday, 5 to 9.
Japanese food is healthy ... low-
tom to observe an admiring pause
before plunging in with both cholesterol fish, soybean cakes,
etc. ... And Rocky is also proud of
chopsticks or fork.
Hakata is a city in Japan ... the way his items are prepared ...
The restaurant is the former Nip- solely in vegetable oil.
Many people think it is an of-
pon Kai, now owned by Takashi
"Rocky" Simazu ... His wife, fice building, but Hakata is strict-
Keiko, has the Noodle House ly a restaurant ... and much
larger than it looks, with wide-
Japanese restaurant in Novi.
Seating is for 140, including open space, sushi bar, separate
two private rooms ... One for six rooms and an eight-seater bev-
and another four ... Either may erage bar that serves the won-
be had only by reservation ... A derful sake rice wine among
Hakata's 12 Japanese wines, four
sushi bar seats 15.
People using the private rooms Japanese beers and choice cock-
may only enter without their tails.
Hakata makes its own miso
shoes, and are given slippers to
put on instead, in traditional
Japanese style ... In the beauti-
ful Tatami Mat rooms, customers
sit on cushions with feet dangling
in the "well."
There is a 15 percent service
charge to use the rooms, but this
is more or less a gratuity ... In
Japan, tipping is strictly forbid-
den except at top restaurants and
hotels ... If people leave no tip at
Hakata, it is very graciously ex-
plained to them that this is the
custom in Japan, but not in the
United States.
Rocky was the former head
chef at Akasaki in Livonia, and
took over the new Hakata on Feb.
12 of this year.
Contrary to much belief, sushi
is not strictly raw fish ... Only half
the items are raw, says Rocky ...
The other half cooked ... Raw fa-
vorites at Hakata include shrimp,
eel or mackerel marinated with Hakata's "Rocky" Simazu
soup, a Japanese favorite, deli-
ciously concocted with soybean
and fish base.
Japanese people too, like to
come because of its authenticity
... for lunch or dinner, with spe-
cials changed daily ... plus a well-
diversified menu, from appetizers
to complete meals.
Hakata takes a step forward
by taking a step back ... to the na-
tive Japanese custom in many in-
stances of specializing.
AFTER ALL the commotion,
it's a done deal as itemed in this
column a number of months ago
... The exciting Star-Loeks The-
ater, with its 20 screens and four
restaurants, will open on 12 Mile
between Telegraph and North-
western ... 1997 isn't out of the
question.
THE OPENING of Tribute
Restaurant, 12 Mile west of Or-
chard Lake Road, April 23, had
been one of the major look-fors in
the fine dining realm ... and
guests weren't disappointed ... It
was everything, and more than
people could imagine.
Five days prior, at a pre-open-
ing togetherness, restaurateurs
Mark Larco, Larco's of Troy;
Johnny and Peter Ginopolis, Gi-
nopolis'; Robert Jacobs and Wes
Pikula, Buddy's Pizza; Mark Pap-
pazian, Hunter House; and many
more enjoyed the elegance with
eye-opening look around ... espe-
cially downstairs at the massive,
elegant kitchen which brought
much oohs and aahs from them.
Tribute is an all-out effort by
the fine Wisne family and its
Epoch Enterprises ... The array of
talent, Mickey Bakst, maitre d';
Takashi Yagihashi, executive chef,
<11: