Tag: Panini

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Little Europe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Few natural wonders are as awe-inspiring and spectacular as  the chalky White Cliffs of Dover on the English coast.  Only for a short while are those bright white, natural geological formations visible at night as you’re sailing away toward France on a cross-channel ferry.  Instead, as you depart from Dover’s busy port, you’re treated to an increasingly receding facade as the 350-foot chalk faces dim, their bright white geological features vividly reflecting moonlight.  That’s the view I remember most from my first English crossing some 21 miles away from France.  Along with a busful of eager passengers, we were bound for Calais, the closest point in France to Great Britain. For the Germans, that made it the most logical and heavily fortified location for an Allied invasion. Our “invasion” wasn’t to visit wartime sights most of which are some 230 miles east at Normandy D-Day landing beaches (such as Omaha and Juno). Our excursion was much more peaceful (although not necessarily quiet). We were bound for Auchan, a well-stocked hypermarket (a massive retail establishment that combines a supermarket and a department store under one roof) in Bolulogne-Sur-Mer.  Auchon was reputed to be the ideal place to purchase French wines, cheese…

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Cafe Bella – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno1:08 PM

Caffeine is my shepherd; I shall not doze. It maketh me to wake in green pastures: It leadeth me beyond the sleeping masses. It restoreth my buzz: It leadeth me in the paths of consciousness for its name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of addiction, I will fear no Equal: For thou art with me; thy cream and thy sugar they comfort me. Thou preparest a carafe before me in the presence of The Starbucks: Thou anointest my day with pep; my mug runneth over. Surely richness and taste shall follow me all the days of my life: And I will dwell in the House of Mochas forever. ~Author Unknown Among the many unflattering stereotypes about Information Technology (IT) professionals is that we’re all propeller-headed Poindexters hopped up on Mountain Dew, Red Bull and strong coffee. As if to lend credence to that stereotype, the Intel cafeteria where I worked for eighteen years provided free coffee to its employees from the ubiquitous (and unnamed here) industry leader–as much of it as employees can drink. All day long programmers and systems analysts turn down the volume on Metallica, doff their headsets and leave the sanctity…

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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 home of two of Carpigiani’s distinguished alumni.  Both Walter Bergamaschi and Marti Printy, founders of the Gelato Dolce Vita attended the Gelato University.   Having grown up in Bergamo, about two-and-a-half hours from Bologna, they have been around superior gelato all their lives.  In 2010, they launched Gelato Dolce Vita (literally “Gelato Sweet Life) in Mesa.  At the time there were only two gelato shops in Phoenix.  Ice cream shops dominated the market.  In time, customers began to appreciate the difference…

ArizonaDog FriendlyItalianPizzaRating: N/R (Not Rated)United States

Fabio on Fire – Peoria, Arizona

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

In the early ’90s, a mesomorphic V-shaped woman’s man with the mononymous name Fabio garnered worldwide recognition for his appearance on the covers of hundreds of romance novels.  With his flowing mane, chiseled physique and aquiline nose, Fabio Lanzoni was lusted after and admired–at least by readers of romance lovers.   The idyllic man perceptions were reinforced when Fabio revealed that he cooks (albeit with I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, a product he’s been hawking on television for more than a decade). When I told my Kim, we were headed to the western enclave of Peoria, Arizona to dine at a restaurant called Fabio on Fire, her immediate reaction was “you mean that hot guy on all those book covers has a restaurant.”  As a not-so-hot guy perpetually waging war against a middle-age spread, I certainly fall short in any comparisons to the hunky Fabio (thankfully my Kim hasn’t resorted to calling me “Flabbio”).   I did console my Kim with the assurance that “there are several “hot” guys at Fabio.”  I didn’t tell her they’re hot because of proximity to stoves and ovens (and the 82-degree Phoenix heat on a late December day). Though somewhat ambivalent about the hot guy…