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BEST OF EVERYTHING

Double-Edged Sword

Samurai Steak House slices up both sushi and hibachi in grand style.

E

ver hear of a Japanese
double-header? ... No,
not the kind you get in
a baseball game, but a culinary
one.
That's what folks are discov-
ering at Samurai Steak House
on Haggerty, just north of 14
Mile, West Bloomfield ... Sushi
and hibachi-style on a larger
scale at the same locale ...
Truly a most interesting and
delightful find.
From the time one enters
Samurai, with its beautiful
and expensive Koi fish swim-
ming about the small lagoon,
the experience is fascinat-
ing ... Being titled as only a
steakhouse might be a bit of
misnaming since both sushi
and teppanyaki cuisine share
equal billing in the restaurant
... The main dining room, with
its 45 seats plus a well-stocked
fresh 12-stool sushi counter and
a bar that serves seven types
of sake, saketini (martini with
sake), volcano drink, plus wine,
beer and liquor ... The Hibachi
Room with 80-seating at eight
black marble teppanyaki tables,
where chefs in the center of
its oval structures put on their
culinary shows while tossing
fresh eggs in the air and catch-
ing them on the keenly-honed
knife edges, juggling razor-
sharp knives, etc., as they cut
up steak, chicken, shrimp, etc.,
with a flourish.
In fact, Samurai is so flexibly
interesting that, if desired, peo-

ple can even bring
and salad is $6.49;
their sushi from the
three rolls, $8.49 ...
sushi side and go
A popular lunch or
to the hibachi area
dinner special are
to also see a free
four salads, seafood,
show ... sort of like
seaweed, octopus,
a mix-and-match
avocado and ginger,
adventure.
$4.95, including soup
In back of the
... There is no charge
Sushi dining room
for
sharing on any
Danny Raskin
is a very popular
items
... Dinner hours
Senior Columnist
eight-seater Tatami
are Monday-Thursday,
Room where folks sit on the
4:30-10; Friday and Saturday,
floor with feet dangling com-
4:30-11; Sunday 4-10; lunch
fortably in its well.
Monday-Saturday, 11-3.
Samurai Steak House is cel-
Contrary to the thought of
ebrating its first anniversary
many, Japanese cuisine is not
in a somewhat quiet way since
centered around raw fish ...
so many know little about its
The culture has developed skill-
double-header presentation ...
ful cooks and devised many
Danny Xie, one of the owners
ways of serving food of marine
with wife Sherry Zheng, is also
origin ... But the Japanese
a fun-tossing chef, having plied
love for fresh food includes
his trade five years in Japan at
vegetables, fruit, fowl, beef, etc.,
a Japanese restaurant that fea-
which are usually prepared
tured teppanyaki cooking ... He shortly after being obtained ...
also owned a kosher restaurant
At Samurai, food orders come
in Baltimore ... Another owner, in six days a week ... and what
11-year restaurant veteran,
is made is sold that same day.
popular Ricky Dong, and Danny
Samurai Steak House, with
are good friends as well as co-
its two-fold-style of very good
partners.
Japanese dining enjoyment,
Lunch is served Monday-
teppanyaki and sushi, is easily
Saturday, 11-3:30, featuring
a culinary sleeper that packs a
specials like, on the Hibachi
satisfying punch.
side, choice of chicken, beef,
IT'S WHAT JUST about
shrimp, scallops or salmon, plus every community should have
soup, salad and fried rice, $8.95; ... A good Coney Island res-
on the sushi side, choice of
taurant ... Village Coney on S.
shrimp tempura, beef, salmon
Adams in Adams Square shop-
or chicken teriyaki, soup, salad,
ping plazza, Birmingham, has
four California rolls, $8.25 ...
plenty of the usual Coney Island
Two rolls any style, with soup
regulars along with its own

Coney Classics, but also much
more ... for breakfast, lunch
and dinner.
Village Coney is a very clean
true mom-and-pop home-style-
cooking restaurant, itself a huge
attribute ... operated seven
days a week by Beiko and Pam
Doresi ... Monday and Friday,
7-9 p.m.; Tuesday, Wednesday
and Thursday, 7-9 p.m.;
Saturday, 7-4 p.m.; Sunday, 8-4
p.m.
The neighborhood and points
around love it ... And why not,
with a menu unlike many Coney
Island restaurants? ... Eight
appetizers, at least four soups,
12 set breakfasts, six pancakes
and French toast choices, six
egg sandwiches, 17 three-egg
omelets, 10 breakfast sides, 25
regular sandwiches, gyro sand-
wiches and gyro combinations,
10 salads, 12 dinner entrees, etc.
... All low-priced selections ...
like the chopped sirloin steak
dinner, topped with sauteed
onions and gravy, $6.95, includ-
ing soup or salad, potatoes and
vegetable.
MAIL DEPT. ... "You wrote
that 'There is no more Lindy's
at Flamingo and no more Stage
Deli at Caesars Palace in Las
Vegas. The Stage Deli there is
alive and well at Caesars Forum
Shops. I recently had a great
pastrami and corned beef com-
bination sandwich there, though
not as good as at Detroit delis.
I've been a Las Vegas resident
since 1974 and a Los Angelino

for about 15 years before that. I
remember the good old days of
Ben & George on Dexter, Katz's
and the Stage in Oak Park." ...
Dr. Paul G. Smith, Las Vegas.
OUTGOING POSTAL
DEPT. ... To Jim Hiller, Hiller
Markets ... Hi Jim, having
those germ-killing wipes at
your stores is a great thing, but
don't you think more people
would use them knowing they
already get a handful of germs
by wheeling the carts over to
where the wipes are?
AD WATCH DEPT. ...
Frank Ellias, who looks for
humorous newspaper ads,
sends this one by Burger King,
"It takes many ingredients
to make Burger King, but the
secret ingredient is our people!"
CONGRATS ... To Avery
and Marilyn Warnick on their
50th anniversary ... To Dorothy
Sonne on her birthday ... To
Eddie Cohen on his birthday ...
To Alan Resnick on his birthday
... To Nadine Tack on her birth-
day ... To Harold Lang on his
birthday ... To Henny Spector
on her 85th birthday, celebrated
with table for 10 at Bogart's ...
To Heidi Martin on her birth-
day.
GET WELL WISHES ...
To Mida Giragosian, recuperat-
ing at Beaumont Hospital after
quadruple-bypass heart sur-
gery.

Danny's e-mail address is

dannyraskin@sbcglobal.net.

Voted

'Best Coney Dog"

by Style Magazine
2004 & 2005

Expires u111%07 • valid 7 days including
carry outs • with 2-drink minumun

"You'll like the
prices at OW Ole...
and the food
even better."
- Danny Raskin

of 14 ?ti;le Rd.
1103 East Lake Drive approx. corner
Novi
1/2 miles test of Novi Rd.
248.668.9005

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January 4 • 2007

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