ROCHESTER, Mich. (WXYZ) — It's Italian Heritage Month, and tucked away in Rochester with minimal signage sits a hidden gem that's been serving authentic Italian cuisine for more than a decade.
Silver Spoon restaurant is the product of a chance meeting between two Italian men at London's airport almost 30 years ago. Chef Daniele Dell'Acqua and owner Rito Lisi crossed paths while leaving their homeland and have been working together ever since.
Watch Jeffrey Lindbom's video report below:
"We met in the airport in London," Dell'Acqua said.
"The chef is from Milan. I am from the south," Lisi said.
Despite their different regional backgrounds, the two have built a lasting partnership, though they admit they don't always see eye to eye.
"Thirty years, we've been working together. I see more of him than my wife," Lisi said.
Their chance relationship has evolved into a long-lasting friendship over a shared passion for food. From the start, their goal has been authentic Italian dining.
"We just stick with what is the food in Italy," Lisi said.
"So you can have a nice dining experience without having to go to Italy," Dell'Acqua said.
The restaurant maintains its authenticity through traditional methods, including a manual prosciutto slicer that requires hand cranking to produce perfectly sliced meat.
"I'm happy when I make people happy," Dell'Acqua said.
"Make people feel like home when they're still at the table," Lisi said.
Lisi channels his Italian roots by making bread behind the scenes and has opened roughly 45,000 bottles of wine over the last five years. The corks now serve as keepsake decor throughout the restaurant.
"We are like a family," both men said.
Dell'Acqua describes his cooking philosophy as "easy food" — nothing over the top, just a few quality ingredients with a menu mostly made from scratch. He prides himself on his steady hands while holding a pan and skills honed since his grandmother stood beside him long ago. He still carries some of her recipes today and believes she would be proud.
"It's good because everyone is happy. If everyone eats, it means she taught me something nice," Dell'Acqua said.
"I hope they leave super happy and say, 'wow. What a beautiful experience we had,'" Lisi said.
"That would make me very proud of my staff and to do the job that I'm doing," Dell'Acqua said.
Silver Spoon shared a recipe for Spaghetti ai frutti di mare:
Serving 4
Ingredients:
Spaghetti 0.7 lb
Mussels 2.25 lb
Optional 4 medium size sea scallops
Clams 2.2lb
Calamari (squid) 0.66 lb
Shrimp 8
Cherry tomatoes 0.66 lb
Extra virgin olive oil 4tbsp
Garlic 1 clove
Parsley 1 spig to be chopped
White wine 3 tbsp
Fine salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
To prepare the seafood spaghetti start cleaning the mussels and clams, than place a colander over a container so that it does not touch the bottom and fill it with cold running water leaving the clams to purge any sand. Pour out the water and repeat.
Next clean the mussels, remove any dirt from the shell with the back of a knife, if needed tear off the “beard” that comes out of the shell.
Heat 2 table spoon of olive oil in a large sauce and when is hot pour in the clams and the mussels, cover immediately with a lid and wait until they are all completely open, about 3 – 4 minutes, remove the lid an pour them in to a container. Do not discard the cooking liquid but strain it and keep it warm. Than shell both the clams and the mussels, set aside (keep some shells for decoration)
Cut the calamari in strips . Clean the scampi, and cutt the tomatoes in half.
Drizzle a pan with 2 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and add a clove of garlic
Once is golden, pour the squid and add a pinch of salt
Cook for 5 minute then sweat with the white wine.
Let the wine evaporate, remove the garlic
Add the cherry tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water.
Add the shrimp to the sauce, season with salt and pepper.
Drain the spaghetti directly in to the pan 4 minute before their cooking time is up
Continue cooking and pour the mussels and clams cooking water you had set aside
Lastly add the shelled mussels and clams
At the end of the cooking, turn off the heat, season with chopped Italian parsley and toss one last time. Serve it very hot.
BUON APPETITO FROM THE SILVER SPOON!
——————
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
