One thing you can say about Tino Del Signore: He’s got game.

So who better to whip up the CDS Foundation’s 14th Annual Wild Game Dinner than Tino?
The event took place January 26, 2007 at Livonia’s Laurel Manor, which Tino and his wife Nanci run for our indomitable Italian paisano, John Del Signore.  Having traveled to Del Signore’s hometown of Forte d’Amore in September to film Lina and him for ‘Our Italian Story’, we were able to reminisce with the best of the older Italians, who gathered around John like moths to a flame.

Tino held court throughout the event, passing orders via cell phone to make sure everything ran smoothly, which it did.  The spread of self-serve appetizers sustained growing crowds (upwards of 600) as did the able bartenders; chafing dishes brimming with deep fried alligator, grilled venison sausage and buffalo meatballs set the tone for a carb-challenged, high-protein blow-out.  Meanwhile, the gang, many of whom had attended all fourteen of the annual dinners, milled around the auction tables, appraising the wrench sets, power saws, automotive gee-gaws, rifles and camping must-haves, mimicking Tim ‘Tool Time’ Allen’s boar grunt of testosterone appreciation.  Raffle tickets, available in $60 and $100 booklets, were deposited in boxes adjacent to each.

As the beautifully-appointed Laurel Manor banquet room filled with burly, blustering, cigar-chomping hombres, many of them in khakis and OSHA orange, wearing trucker caps and even akubras, partaking liberally open bars, one twelve-year-old in the crowd asked in amazement, “No women are allowed at this thing?”  Given the affirmative, he replied, “…Cool!”

The much anticipated dinner from the able kitchen at Laurel Manor, served by a predictably hot wait staff, began with a Hunter’s salad, then a pasta dish of ground pheasant in ravioli (always the Italian touch).  Main course was sensational, consisting of a trio of braised Michigan rabbit, spicy roasted quail (a favorite at our table) and Canadian duck breast with orange sage sauce.  Everything was washed down with the rich red valpolicella from John Del Signore’s vineyard in Abruzzi, adding the personal touch to meals for which the family (Tino’s brother Luciano is chef/owner of Bacco in Southfield) is so justifiably proud.

The crowd was macho and pumped, but that’s not to say that they were in any way uncouth.  On the contrary, countless fascinating outdoor…and indoor types along with numerous culinary experts were there, including the wonderful wine writer Ray Heald and hairdresser/sailboat captain Richard Asztalos (owner of Charisma Salon and Day Spa) and of course, big bro Luciano, who tucked into a huge plate of food with obvious approval.

The auctions, both silent and live, drew interest from all concerned, though the highlight may have been a pair of hunting dogs, one a 5 yr. old German Shorthair finished gun dog and a six-month-old Shorthair/English Setter mix, both of which brought top dollar and promise to be somebody’s close birding buddy.  MC’d by the suave and polished Dr. Don Atkins (massive portions of meat are clearly on this Atkins Diet), the entire evening went to benefit many charitable organizations including St. Mary Mercy Hospital Cancer Center, Angela Hospice, Botsford Hospital and St. Pietro Celestino Church.  The final tally isn’t in yet on this year’s event, but in years passed, the Wild Game Dinner has raised over a quarter million dollars for such worthy institutions.

Bird excrement would be an odd highlight for any banquet, but in fact, Tino’s now-legendary ‘Crap Shoot’ was the much anticipated culmination of feast and festivities.  The game consists of a five-foot patchwork of purchasable squares, more than a hundred totals, which vary in price from five to twenty dollars each.  Once all the squares are bought and signed, a free-range denizen from Tino’s coop is let loose on top, and the first square that the wretched rooster graces with, well, you know, that proud square owner wins a 9 mm. pistol.

LAUREL MANOR
39000 Schoolcraft Road -- Livonia, MI 48150 -- Phone: (734) 462-0770