 JANUARY 28 • 2021 | 45

I

t was acclaimed in the late 
1900s to be one of the finest 
restaurants in America.
Tribute, 12 Mile, Farmington 
Hills, had a goal at the begin-
ning … to get 
even better than 
just being a fine 
dining institu-
tion … Inside of 
about five years 
it reached that 
goal as a glittering 
jewel.
But to its general manager, 
Mickey Bakst, and world- 
class executive chef, Takashi 
Yagihashi, this wasn’t enough 
… There were more expensive 

restaurants than Tribute … But 
when people came to Tribute, 
they got what was recognized by 
Food and Wine magazine as one 
of the finest dining experiences 
to be had.
A typical meal, for example, 
might have been lobster risotto, 
a Takashi salad and an excellent 
halibut with fresh truffles done 
in a corn broth … or a won-
derful steak tenderloin … all 
for well under what customers 
would pay at many places else-
where.
It was also a restaurant where 
numerous customers would go 
just to sit at the bar, have a glass 
of wine or champagne and some 
of the elegant hors d’
oeuvres and 
an entree for under $45. 
Many people would enjoy 
taking others out to dinner at 
an upscale restaurant like this 
… or to go to a highly regard-
ed eatery just to drop in at its 
astoundingly low prices … On 
a Wednesday night, for exam-
ple, driving over and having a 

luscious piece of fish that would 
melt in their mouth and taste 
like Heaven … and not feel like 
spending a lot of money.
The food prepared at Tribute 
by Takashi, who has an upscale 
eatery himself now in Chicago, 
was contemporary French, 
meaning light … It didn’t have 
the heavy cream or the heavy 
butter sauce so many places use 
… Simply put, it was excellent 
contemporary French with an 
Asian influence … In just a 
short while, Tribute’s accom-
plishments were discovered and 
unequaled … The prices were 
right for its warm elegance and 
an unbeatable dining experi-
ence.
OLDIE BUT GOODIE … 
“Hello mom. Can I leave the 
kids with you tonight?”
“You’re going out? With 
whom? I don’t know why you 
left your husband. He is such 
a good man. You let him leave 
you, and now you go out with 
anybodies and nobodies!”

“I do not go out with any-
body. Can I bring over the 
kids?”
“I never left you to go out 
with anybody but your father.
”
“I just want to know if I can 
bring the kids over tonight.
”
“
A man who goes out with a 
divorced woman with children 
is a loser and a parasite. Poor 
children with such a mother. No 
wonder your husband left you.
”
“Goodbye, mother.
” 
“Wait! Don’t hang up! When 
are you bringing them over?”
 “I’m not bringing them over. 
I’m not going out!”
“You never go out. How do 
you expect to meet anyone?”
CONGRATS … To Irving 
Waldman on his 80th birth-
day … To Barbara Cohen on 
her 73rd birthday… To Lois 
Robbins on her birthday … 
To Howard Levin on his 78th 
birthday. 

Danny’s email address is 
dannyraskin2132@gmail.com.

RASKIN
THE BEST OF EVERYTHING

Danny Raskin
Senior Columnist

Rearview Mirror: 
Tribute was 
Fine Dining 
at Its Best

Chef Takashi 

Yagihashi

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