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Tutto Bene brings a delicious taste
of Tuscany to Farmington Hills.

BY JEFFREY HERMANN I PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANGIE BAAN

ike Tuscany itself, Tutto
Bene treats food with a hand
both rustic and refined.
When pasta first touches palate at
the Farmington Hills cafe — whose
name translates to "it's all good" — the
experience is subtly robust, filled with
detailed simplicity.
The menu goes well beyond pasta,
of course, but several of the nine dish-
es stand out: The Roma pasta — with
orecchiette, broccoli, garlic and olive
oil topped with toasted bread crumbs
— is surprising for its straightforward,
yet rich flavor. The fresh Bolognese
with veal-base sauce is lighter than
one would expect of the innately heavy
dish. Other pasta faves include puttan-
esca, the San Remo, a pesto dish with
potato and green beans, and polenta
with fresh mushrooms.
Pizzas come in many forms, from
the familiar Margherita (tomato
sauce, mozzarella and basil) to cre-
ations topped with rapini, caramel-
ized onions and fontina cheese (the
Verde); potato, mushrooms and truffle
oil (the Bianca); plus six more variet-
ies. Eggplant or chicken Parmesan
are popular, as is the Ribollita soup
(Tuscan vegetable with toasted cros-

L

8 • JULY 2006 • JNPLATINUM

tini and extra-virgin olive oil) and the
Tuscan bread salad (arugula, tomato,
cucumber, garlic croutons, olive oil and
balsamic vinegar).
The menu is fleshed out with five
kinds of panini and calzone; side dish-
es of garlic-drenched rapini, redskin
potatoes and a hearty, yet delicate tur-
key meatball; and, for dessert, tiramisu,
R.I.K.'s brownie (with ice cream and
drizzled in caramel sauce — just like
the old days in the Orchard Mall) and
a rich ricotta tart studded with choco-
late chips.
All of the above find ways of bal-
ancing the two elements of Tutto
Bene's "good food, fast" motto with-
out sacrificing either — and show
all the love and attention you would
expect from Rick Halberg, who gave
us Emily's (his daughter's namesake)
in Northville and long ago, R.I.K.'s
in West Bloomfield. It is that same
daughter, now 24, who is running
Tutto Bene.
That love for good food has a deep
history. When pushed to name her
favorite "civilian" meal, Emily quickly
responds, "My grandma's chicken
soup." And her father has long nur-
tured a passion for Italian food, par-

ticularly Tuscan.
"I was raised to not be in the
restaurant business," Emily says. "It
was instilled in me: too many hours,
too much stress. But we started talk-
ing about opening this place, and I
thought, I need to be there. I don't
know anything but the restaurant
business."
Take-out — an ideal option for
creating your own Tuscan-style pic-
nic — makes up about 50 percent
of Tutto's business, but eating in
shouldn't be overlooked. The space is
not large but feels roomy and cozy.
Like the food, Tutto Bene's atmo-
sphere evokes the Italian countryside,
with muted sun-bleached red walls,
wood-plank floors and dried fruit sus-
pended from the rafters.
So far, the restaurant hasn't
acquired a liquor license, but picking
up a bottle of wine to go with your
take-out makes a nice accompaniment
to your "tutto bene" feast. Where you
eat, though, is less important than
what. And it's almost impossible to
go wrong with whatever one chooses
from Tutto's menu, leaving diners
happy and satisfied in this home away
from Tuscany.
Continued on page 10

❑

Tutto Bene

29429 Orchard Lake Road

Farmington Hills

(248) 848-6000

emilysrestaurant.corn

(click on "Visit Tutto Bene" link)

Hours

Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m. -10 p.m.

Sunday, 4 p.m.-9 p.m.

Price Range

Soups, salads and sides: S3-S12

Pizzas, panini and entrees: $7.50-S14

Desserts: S1.50-S5

