Tag: Pizza

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Pullano’s Pizza & Wings – Glendale, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Several years ago during a fund-raising effort, Albuquerque’s PBS television station KNME aired a program called “Sandwiches That You Will Like.”   The documentary was produced by the exceptionally talented Rick Sebak of Pittsburgh station WQED.  The entertaining travelogue featured delicious sandwiches (and the folks who make and enjoy them) served by shops, stands and diners from across the USA. This program originally aired in 2002, also the year a companion book titled Sandwiches That You Will Like was published.  The book was written by fabulous food author Becky Mercuri. I was well aware of most of the sandwiches showcased in the documentary and the book.  There were several, however, I had not tried.  The most intriguing sandwich to me was…

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GELATO DOLCE VITA & ITALIAN GROCER – Mesa, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

“La Grassa” (The Fat One) is the nickname of Bologna, Italy.  While that sobriquet may seem unflattering, Bologna bears it with honor.  This city in the north-central region of the country is considered the “gastronomic heart of Italy,” a place where food is an art form and a passion.   This may be best exemplified by one of the foods born in Bologna.  I’m talking, of course, about gelato.  Throughout “Lo Stivale” (the boot, a nickname bestowed upon Italy because the shape of the peninsula resembles a high-heeled boot) gelato is revered.  Not surprisingly, Bologna is not only the home of Italy’s oldest university (and the oldest in the western world), but home to Carpigiani, “Gelato University.” Mesa, Arizona is the…

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Joe’s Italian Restaurant – Farmington, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Is it disingenuous for restaurants to label themselves with titles and sobriquets they don’t quite (or at least not quite honestly) live up to?  (Politicians do it all the time, so why not restaurants?) Is it pretentious and haughty to use labels with which English-speaking diners might be impressed even though we don’t know what they mean?  Is it instead great marketing, a clever way to increase the number of guests?   It’s something I actually ponder when visiting Italian restaurants.  For example, when our friend Greg Hamilton introduced us to “Joe’s Restaurant” in Farmington, I momentarily wondered if it could possibly be good considering its humble name. Far too many Italian restaurants label themselves as trattorias, osterias and tavolas.  Not…

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Dion’s Pizza – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:35 PM

Toga! Toga! Toga! Ever since the misfit Delta Tau Chi fraternity threw the most debaucherous toga party ever in the 1978 “teensploitation” comedy Animal House, the toga party has been ingrained in the college party culture. The genesis of the toga party goes back much, much further than Animal House. Toga parties, in fact, precede collegiate life in the fruited plain by many hundred years. The first toga party was actually organized in ancient Greece in honor of the Greek god Dionysus, the deity of the grape harvest, wine-making and wine, of ritual madness, fertility, theater and religious ecstasy (that’s quite a job description, even for a god). Dionysus literally had a cult following of men and women who worshiped…

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M’tucci’s Italian Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:27 PM

“Sometimes the spaghetti likes to be alone..” —Stanley Tucci as Segundo in Big Night With a name like M’Tucci’s Italian Restaurant, you might wonder if the Italian restaurant on the intersection of Coors and Montano is named for Academy Award nominated actor Stanley Tucci. After all, Tucci co-starred in Big Night and Julie & Julia, arguably two of the very best food movies in recent years. Initially christened M’tucci’s Kitchina, the “Kitchina” part of the restaurant’s name was obviously a whimsical play on “cucina,” the Italian term for kitchen, but was spelled more similarly to Kachina, the Hopi ancestral spirits. In any case, if the amusing name and fun, casual ambiance don’’t ensnare you, the food certainly will. Step into…

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Sergio’s Bakery & Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In Italy, the oft-used idiom “Senza il pane tutto diventa orfano” translates to “without bread everyone is an orphan.” That’s how important bread  is in Italian culture.  Is it any wonder bread consumption in Italy is higher than in any other European country, even France. Many loaves are made by artisan bakers operating out of family-owned and operated bakeries.  Most work on a small scale and are heavily influenced by family recipes and regional traditions.  Those secrets and techniques have been handed down from baker-to-baker over the years. Family is essential to retaining the continuity of bread-making excellence in Italy.  Whether baking bread for home or operating a panetteria  and (or) a panificio, traditions are passed on from one generation…

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Little Deli & Pizzeria – Austin, Texas

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In the 1973 Woody Allen movie”Sleeper,” the neurotic comedian, writer, actor, and film director declaimed, “I believe there’s an intelligence to the universe, with the exception of certain parts of New Jersey.”  Comedian George Carlin pounced on New Jersey’s license plate, deriding the “Garden State” sobriquet, expressing that it should be “The Tollbooth State.”   In response to his son-in-law Michael “Meathead” Stivic’s “I hate Jersey” comment, Archie Bunker declared “Everybody hates Jersey! But somebody’s gotta live there.” New Jersey is the Rodney Dangerfield among the fifty states.  It gets no respect, especially when compared with its nextdoor neighbor New York.  Perceptions among some outsiders is that the population of New Jersey is replete with Italian-American Mafia types like Tony Soprano. …

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Happy Chickenzz – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:02 AM

“And believe me, a good piece of chicken can make anybody believe in the existence of God.” ~Sherman Alexie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Two things came to mind when my friend Nader and I approached Happy Chickenzz during our inaugural visit in September, 2019. First, I mused, “if happy cows come from California (a 2002 marketing campaign for California cheese), where do happy chickenzz come from.” My second rumination was to wonder if the ‘zz’ at the end of the word chicken is an indication that the chicken is so boring, it’ll put your taste buds to sleep. You know, zzzzz. As we were quick to learn, it’s not only the chickenzz who are happy here. …

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M’tucci’s Moderno – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno4:23 PM

“If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere It’s up to you, New York, New York <” ~Frank Sinatra Jeff Spiegel, the much-missed managing partner of the insanely popular M’tucci’s family of restaurants once described flagship restaurant M’tucci’s Italian Restaurant (previously M’tucci’s Kitchina) as “as good as anything we did in New York City.” That is really saying something considering over the course of 23 years, Jeff and his wife, life and business partner Katie Gardner owned and operated eleven restaurants in The Big Apple. Those eclectic eleven were highly regarded dining establishments, earning praise and acclaim from the dining public and media alike. One, The West End Bar & Grill, was a legendary Columbia University institution and…

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Joe’s Farm Grill – Gilbert, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

When primitive men, women and asgender people crossed the Bering Straits to escape global freezing, they eventually made their way to the Phoenix area.  Ever since, their progeny has been trying to figure out how to escape global scorching which transpires on most summer days (seven or eight months a year).  They built Biosphere 2, the world’s largest controlled environment.  They built a swimming pool in Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks.  When compelled to leave the air conditioned confines of their homes, Phoenicians risk third-degree burns from their car doors and  flee to their summer homes in Prescott and Heber where instead of 130, the temperature is only 99. They also join hordes of tourists in a utopian…

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Source – Gilbert, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

When Chef Claudio Urciuoli posed for a photograph with Source’s baker Ryan and chef Trevor, he sported a smile.  I joked with him about his stern countenance and he assured me that he really does have a sense of humor.  Despite the dissolution of his partnership at Pa’La, the acclaimed chef has every reason to smile.  He’s once again doing what he wants to do, operating a restaurant whose approach and raison d’etre are encapsulated in this statement from the restaurant’s website:  We are an ingredient driven, community centered, counter service restaurant, wine bar, and retail shop. Chef Urciuoli does indeed have a sense of humor and a personal warmth that really came across during our conversation.  He shared his…