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MARGOLIS NURSERY, INC.

OUTDOOR
SPACE...
LIVING SPACE

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Fire Pits...Retaining Walls...
Outdoor Kitchens

Due Venti
Ristorante

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Beautiful Landscape Design with
the area's largest selection of shade
ornamental and evergreen trees.
Great selection of perennials and
plants to brighten your garden!
_ -
Custom Design and Install.

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By Esther Allweiss Ingber

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Call for a consultation and
we will come to you or visit
our nursery!

Renovate your winter-battered
landscape back to BEAUTIFUL!

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Trees
Withcoupo n. Not valid with other

offers, limit one per customer.

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MARGOLIS 734.482.0771

NU RSERY 5 INC,

9600 Cherry Hill Rd. Ypsilanti, MI 48198
Just 30 Minutes from West Bloomfield

Hours: Monday-Friday 8am-6pm, Saturday 9am-5pm, Sunday, llam-4pm

NO MORE MOSQUITOES,

PERIOD!

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THE MOSQUITO TERMIN ATOR

99.9% Effective Results

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You Spend Your Time and
Hard Earned Money to Keep Your Backyard
Looking Nice,You Deserve to Enjoy it

MOSQUITO FREE!

For Ordering
Please Visit:

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or Call

734-922-5700

$25" OFF

Regular $74.95

Now $49.95

Single application only.
First time client only.
Expires 9/1 5/1 4.

Discounts available for seasonal packages.

36 July 2014

I RED MAD

FOODIE

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Transform you outdoor living
space with Brick Paver Patios....

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FOOD

,/ Family owned since 1926

or us, cooking is our life and our
passion7said Nicole (Pichan)
Seales. She is the pastry chef and
her husband, David Anthony Seales
Jr., is chef de cuisine at their Due Venti
Ristorante, entering its sixth year in
Clawson. Jeffery Pyke is front of the
house manager.
Northern Italian cuisine, reflecting
the heritage of Nicole's late grand-
mother Eva (Cafini) Theodoroff, is
offered inside the building on Main
Street, south of 14 Mile Road.
With 13 tables for 50, plus a
four-person bar, Due Venti offers an
intimate, pretty space for dinner only,
Tuesday-Sunday.
Decor features include a branched
chandelier with purple grapes and
500-year-old Italian roof tiles that
were made into wall lanterns. Murals
of ancient Italy enhance two cream-
colored walls.
This time of year, many dine on a
street-facing patio with arbor vitae
around the perimeter. Most of the six
tables, seating 16, have an umbrella
and are beside a planter box.Two gar-
den areas feature herbs, hydrangeas
and flowering bushes.
Staying small suits the chefs just
fine. Their intent with Due Venti is to
create a culinary experience that is
exceptional, even memorable.
"We're not cooking for the masses"
Nicole said,"so we can pay attention
to the little things people appreciates'
That includes accommodating di-
etary requests and food preferences,
and providing attentive, knowledge-
able staff. Mostly, it's about provid-
ing top-quality food and beverage
options.
Nicole said she and David, married
close to 11 years, racked up 10,000
miles on their most recent driving
trip through northern Italy.They
visited producers of cheese, wine and
balsamic vinegar from Tuscany to
Piedmont.
"We have relationships with these
people overseas and carry their prod-
ucts in our restaurant"she said.
The names of these sources, as well
as local vendors like Guernsey Dairy,
Chazzano Coffee and Michigan Fine
Herbs, are written on a chalk wall
outside the kitchen.
Gass Centennial Farm provides Due
Venti with heirloom tomatoes and
the best lettuce, which we use in our
mixed green house salad,"said Nicole.
The twice-washed greens, served
with a lemon-herb vinaigrette, are
mixed with toasted pine nuts, golden

Rhubarb tart served warm with mascar-
pone gelato

raisins and a wedge of Gorgonzola
cheese from a farm in the Alps.
A delightful rose vinaigrette
enhanced my Verdure Stagionale
spring salad, including poached pear,
hazelnuts, shaved celery, creamy goat
cheese terrine and arugula.
I also tried Caulifower Fritelle, Eva's
recipe for potato pancakes made with
cauliflower. Garlic aioli is swirled on
five thick patties that are definitely
meant for sharing. Warm tomato ca-
ponata accompanies them. Sixty per-
cent of the menu changes seasonally,
but never Due Venti's most popular
antipasti dish.
Rabbit Ragu, a popular entree even
the couple's 1-year-old son David
enjoys, was quite good and savory-
sweetish.
Chef David braises and shreds the
rabbit, then adds raisins, fennel, car-
rots and a little red wine. He makes
9-inch crepes cut into ribbons. Ragu is
poured over them.
"The dish is finished with Pecorino
cheese, made from sheep's milk, and
shaved truffles over it,"Nicole said.
A recommended vegetarian choice
is Vegetarian Tortino, white bean
souffle served with a mushroom and
fennel sauce and dollops of goat
cheese on top.
The Tasting Menu, available Tues-
day through Thursday, shows off the
cooks' creativity at $39 for four to five
courses.
Nicole makes light Italian cook-
ies, custards and more. Her specialty
is not-overly-sweet European-style
tortes and wedding cakes. Her Italian
butter cream frosting is comprised of
half butter and half egg whites. Cakes
can be ordered through the restau-
rant.
House-made gelato, incorporat-
ing fresh fruit as 80 percent of the
volume, makes for"a nice, light option
at the end of a meal'
I happen to be in love with Nicole's
salted caramel gelato. RT

,DUE VENTI RISTORANTE

220 S. Main
,Clawson, MI 48017
(248) 288-0220
www.dueventiristorante.org
$$$ out of $$$$$

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