6 minute read
Authentic Italian
Pizzicata treats everyone like family
By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski
Pizzicata owner Federico Venturini considers his guests and employees family at his Carefree Italian restaurant.
Guests impart stories of visits to Italy, from which Venturini hails. In turn, Venturini shares authentic dishes like Pinsa Romana, pizza (starting at $10) with 48% less sugar, 85% less fat and no cholesterol.
“We’re the first to make Pinsa Romana in Arizona,” Venturini says proudly. “People love and enjoy our patio, and it’s a beautiful area up here.”
Venturini and his chef/ wife, Viola, moved to the North Valley two years ago from a small town in Umbria, an Italian region bordering Tuscany, Lazio and Le Marche. They opened the restaurant on September 26. He didn’t expect the success he has garnered.
“People love our food,” he says. “We are the only authentic Italian restaurant in North Scottsdale and Carefree.”
He chose to open Pizzicata in Carefree after visiting a friend from Paradise Valley.
“I came here to stay together with his family,” Venturini says. “He showed me this country. I changed completely my life. Five years ago, I started my plan to open this
Pizzicata is led by chef Viola Venturini and her husband, Federico Venturini. (Photo by Pablo Robles)
and two in Italy. Soon, they will open Pomodoro Italian Grill and Seafood, an upscale restaurant in the former Cartwright’s location in Cave Creek. Pizzicata is a bit more casual, The Montebianco pizza—one serving pizza—which is 65% ball of fresh buffalo mozzarella, prosciutto di parma and extra to 70% of the business—and virgin olive oil—is a specialty of homemade pasta such as Pizzicata. It sells for $21. (Photo by Pablo Robles) fettuccine, gnocchi, ravioli, lasagna and tortellini ($18-$28). “People love our pasta,” he restaurant. First, it’s very hard to get the says. visa. But I realized my dream in five years. Appetizers at Pizzicata include caprese, Italians love Americans, and Americans which features fresh tomatoes, buffalo love Italians.” mozzarella, burrata and prosciutto di
Pizzicata is part of a chain that also has parma ($14); and polpette al sugo, simply locations in Nice, France; Barcelona, Spain; meatballs in tomato sauce ($10).
The red-and-white-hued Pizzicata in Carefree is nestled in historic Spanish Village in Carefree. (Photo by Pablo Robles)
Salads are aplenty, with insalata di gamberi a showpiece—arugula, shrimp, mango, avocado, red onion and yogurt dressing ($15).
All desserts are $10—lava cake, tiramisu, cannoli, cheesecake, lemon sorbet stuffed, coconut sorbet stuffed and creme brulee.
Venturini is managing to make it through the pandemic, thanks to a successful winter season and the Paycheck Protection Program loan.
“I think the government did a great job,” he says. “My employees are more like my sons and daughters. We have one big family. I kept all my employees at work during the quarantine. I didn’t fire no one. We survived.”
Those familial feelings carry over into the atmosphere. Walls are adorned with paintings and photographs of Italy and Tesla lamps. A well-stocked bar separates
Tucked in historic Spanish Village in Carefree, Pizzicata and its patio are teeming with atmosphere. (Photo by Pablo Robles)
the red-accented dining rooms.
“There is no Italian atmosphere like this place,” he says. “My guests try to speak in Italian, and they share with me their experiences of them being in Italy one time in their life. It’s a nice atmosphere. I have special customers, and I’m very happy.”
Pizzicata 7212 E. Ho Road, Carefree 480-488-2848, pizzicatausa.com
BETTER • HEALTH Passionate About Her Work
Susan Clark says education is the key to a perfect massage
By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski
Susan Clark is all about education.
When her Clark Bodywork Therapies clients visit her, she shares her treatments on an oversized muscle chart on her wall.
“I show them where muscles connect and why I worked the areas,” Clark says. “A lot of people who have low back pain have super tight psoas and illiacus muscles, which are in the pelvic region. They’re amazed at how their low back pain has diminished or is gone after I’ve worked those muscles.
“I work the deep core muscles that are often missed.”
Clark, a board-certified, licensed massage therapist, is a member of American Massage Therapy Association and a 2004 graduate of Southwest Institute of Healing Arts in Tempe, specializing in therapeutic massage.
Clark, who works out of her Cave Creek home, says one patient’s chiropractor suggested she have an MRI because she wasn’t improving. After her first treatment with Clark, she started feeling better.
“She could walk normal again. It’s so gratifying. I love doing this work.” she says. “When the psoas muscles are tight, it affects low back pain and posture.”
Clark decided to pursue a career in massage in 2003, when she was 49. She attended Southwest Institute of Healing Arts in Tempe.
“It’s something I had been thinking about for a while,” Clark says.
“I was tired of working in the corporate world. I thought I could be working for myself. I worked in research and development and saw how the FDA worked. Drugs have their place; however, I think people end up using them chronically. It’s causing degeneration rather than regeneration.
I always had a passion for exercising, working out and weightlifting. I was a speed skater when I was younger in Chicago. I also loved horseback riding and owned my own horses. If a horseback rider wants to improve their riding, a massage is excellent for that. If someone is tense, the horse can feel it. The gait may not be as smooth because the rider is stiff.”
For patients’ first appointments, Clark offers a consultation, during which she describes pain and referral pain.
“A lot of people say, ‘I just want you to focus on this one particular area where it hurts,’” Clark says. “They could be hurting in a localized area, but the pain can actually be referred from another area. I usually tell them I’ll do a fullbody massage but focus on the area of concern.”
When she founded Clark Bodywork Therapies, she quickly learned that people don’t always understand the connotation “deep tissue massage.”
“They think that deep tissue has to hurt,” Clark says. “I try to explain to them there’s so much involved in deep tissue therapy.”
“We have fascia that runs through our body like a three-dimensional web. The purpose of the fascia is to hold each individual muscle together. If the fascia is tight it becomes ‘sticky’
Licensed massage therapist Susan Clark uses all-natural creams and oils that do not have harmful additives or parabens. (Photo by Pablo Robles)
and the muscles can’t glide against each other. I work the fascia first and then go into the deeper muscle tissue. In doing that, I can get into the deeper tissue without excruciating pain. It’s more like a ‘good hurt,’ where the client feels like something is being accomplished and there is healing and relaxation involved. There are ways to make it less painful by slowing down the stroke, stopping at a trigger point and holding it while the tightness relaxes or ‘dissolves.’”
“When my clients tell me ‘That’s a good hurt,’ that’s wonderful. When they start tensing up, it’s counterproductive. They’re tensing their muscles and undoing the therapy work.”
Besides deep tissue massage, her services include Swedish massage, manual lymphatic drainage, hot stone massage, prenatal massage and reiki. For deep tissue issue and Swedish massages, her prices are $45 for 30 minutes, $60 for 60 minutes and $85 for 90 minutes. For pricing on other modalities, visit clarkbodyworktherapies.com
For products, she uses all-natural creams and oils that don’t have harmful additives or parabens. She also uses high-quality essential oils to enhance the massage.
