A Thoughtful Review Of Leonardo’s In Romulus, Michigan
What do Alinea in Chicago, the Commander's Palace in New Orleans, and Casa Bonita in Colorado have in common? They present one with a unique and unequivocally profound dining and life experience that has the potential to alter the way a man perceives the consumption of food, and of the great ceremony of service that takes place around it.
Here at Leonardo's in Romulus, near the Detroit metro airport, one passes through the not just the front door, but a portal to a simpler time where man wanders the rustic streets of Italy. I hear the sound of Ella Fitzgerald as I first lay eyes upon the dimly lit restaurant and await my table. The low glow of warm lighting illuminates a smiling face who shows me to my less then comfortable seat. I close my eyes and focus and the smells and sounds and am transported to the Italian countryside far far away- far beyond the fears and anxieties of returning to work on Tuesday.
Here, life is simple. Here, it is about a community's passion for food and an eternal search for the perfect symphony of ingredients to work as one in order to enlighten the senses and satisfy the stomach. Generations of the culinary greats have surely passed down secrets and methods to heighten the experience I was about to partake in. Let the games begin.
I sip the house wine and imagine myself shirtless on horseback, sweat glimmering on my brow as I ride through the fields. I dismount and pick a grape straight from the vine as the Italian sun tans and leathers my bare chest. I collect a few more grapes and bring them back to the cottage I own for my beautiful wife to taste. My children are tending the animals and the chores as we discuss the harvest for the year. She kisses my lips and I see the glory of God right there before me.
My eyes open and the garlic bread arrives- the scent of butter and earth fill my nostrils. A bite sends me into a salty and buttery bliss, making me believe that love is really truth and that I was meant for more in this life. The combination of the bread and the wine, a sacred combination that for some signifies the ultimate sacrifice of the Lord and for others a symbol of lust and gluttony. For me, it consumes all and in that leaves nothing but the pure experience of flavor. In this moment I am whole. The veil lifts from before my eyes and for a moment the ego dissolves. Here in Leonardo's I am One with the One.
The pasta was not too bad: 6.25/10