raskin
the best of everything
Top Fiddle
When he opened the doors as
The Fiddler’s new owner in
2011, Sam Ismailov learned
one of many important things
former owner, the late Mike
Kuchersky, knew … That to be
a good Russian restaurant, it
must have foods of other cul-
Danny Raskin
tures as well … Sounds crazy,
Senior Columnist
but quite true because it also
applies to many other ethnic
restaurants … Along with his
The Fiddler offers authentic Russian presenta-
tions, the successes of both
Russian cuisine and Mike and present owner Sam
Ismailov of Fiddler on Orchard
so much more. Lake Road, West Bloomfield,
are due to their cognizance
of having additional dining
options to offer others.
Sam also became noted for
his authentic presentations of
Russian borscht, stuffed cab-
bage, chicken cutlets, beef stro-
ganoff, cheese blintzes, soups,
etc., in a long listing of Russian
delights … But there is
also Cornish hen and
Australian ranch-free,
cage-free lamb among
other hormone and
antibiotic-free meats,
etc.
Also of much
importance was the
self-insistent desire of
keeping prices steady
for the past three or
four years.
Because of these
Sam and Irina Ismailov
dedicated desires, Fiddler may
be a true Russian restaurant,
but with additions for everyone
to enjoy … Varied European
and Middle-Eastern cuisines
… Seafood platters, vegetar-
ian options, lamb chops, hot
Ukrainian borscht with a slight
sweet tang, meat blintzes, red
caviar.
I am not speaking about a
large restaurant … Seating in
the main dining room is only
for about 50 or 60 people, along
with eight bar stools … A sec-
ond room used mainly for over-
flow and occasions is much
larger and available when
needed … And when warm
weather ever comes, there will
be outside seating.
Violin music on Saturdays
… Piano stylings on Fridays
… Hours of operation are
Tuesday-Sunday, dinner from
5 p.m. … Sunday brunch, noon
to 4 p.m.
There is much good to be
said about Fiddler Restaurant
… And it is said by many.
THE NEW CASUAL fine din-
ing contemporary American
restaurant recently opened
on the site of what eventu-
ally may become a “tribute”
to the memory of its late
founder, Tony Gojcaj … Chef ’s
Table 12, no affiliation with
any chain and having its own
name copyrights, on the site
of the former Tribute, 12 Mile,
just west of Orchard Lake
Road, Farmington Hills … had
formerly been open only for
dinner … However, it is now
also open for lunch from 11-3
… Dinner hours are Monday-
Thursday, 5-10 p.m. and Friday
and Saturday, 5-11 p.m. … See
many familiar face employees
at Chef ’s Table 12, operated by
Tony’s wife, Ophilia.
REARVIEW MIRROR …
Customers suddenly got up
from their tables, years back
at Henry Warsaw’s Normandy
Grill on Grand Boulevard,
when told that the gent at the
piano was a noted composer
seeing a play with his music
at the Fisher Theater across
the street … He was asked to
hit the ivories on Cole Porter’s
wonderful “Night and Day,”
which he went right into with
closed eyes, smiling delight and
a happy nod of his head while
playing his wonderful “Night
and Day,” one of the favorite
tunes of Porter’s wife, Linda.
GOOD SERVER DEPT
… Service with a smile … I
like that … Makes dining so
much better … As exemplified
by waitperson Ilyse DeNike
at Pickles & Rye Deli, West
Bloomfield Plaza, Orchard Lake
Road, West Bloomfield … Along
with her polite efficiency and
want-to-please assistance.
MAIL DEPT … From Rachel
Kapen … “I remember liking the
Bangkok Cuisine Thai restau-
rant in Crosswinds Mall, West
Bloomfield, and commenting
about it in your column, men-
tioning, too, that the soup was
too spicy for my delicate taste.
After showing it to the manager,
he invited me for another bowl
on the house. My eldest son
came here from Virginia with
a cold and said that he would
like to go to a restaurant where
its spicy food could open his
sinuses. We went to Bangkok
Cuisine, and it seemed to serve
my son’s purpose and then
some. We liked indicating how
spicy or not we wanted certain
Thai dishes and enjoyed a pleas-
ant dining experience.”
OLDIE BUT GOODIE …
When the elderly gent had
reached the age of 85, he sud-
denly began chasing the young
chicks. A neighbor brought this
behavior to the attention of his
wife. “Whatta you gonna do
about it?” she asked.
“Who cares?” said the wife.
“Let him chase girls! Dogs chase
cars, but when they catch them,
they can’t drive!”
CONGRATS … To Maurice
and Mildred Wilson on their
60th anniversary. •
Danny’s email address is
dannyraskin@sbcglobal.net.
Fresh
SEAFOOD
DELIVERED DAILY
Bena Gjekaj Photography
6545 ORCHARD LAKE ROAD. WEST BLOOMFIELD, MI 48322
(SE CORNER OF MAPLE & ORCHARD LAKE, NEXT TO PLUM MARKET)
WWW.PRIME29STEAKHOUSE.COM 248.73.PRIME (77463)
jn
March 9 • 2017
61