Luigi’s Ristorante & Pizzeria – Albuquerque, New Mexico
Luigi’s is the eponymous brainchild of Luigi Napolitano whose very last name translates to citizen of Naples, the city from which his mother Tina emigrated more than four decades ago. Tina is the bread-baking, pasta-making dynamo in the kitchen and is also responsible for many of the restaurant’s homey touches. Tina painstakingly hand-sewed the delicate lace covering over each lamp (below) as well as the curtains over each booth. Other homey touches include viney plants hanging from pillars throughout the restaurant and a framed picture of the Mona Lisa hanging above the buffet. Tina, a spry octogenarian, is one of the sweetest, kindest restaurateurs you could ever hope to meet. She’s cut down the hours she works and sometimes the volume of guests prevents her from leaving the kitchen to meet them, but if she makes her way to your table, you’re in for a treat. Tina is not only the restaurant’s best ambassador, she’s a wonderful ambassador for her homeland, She doesn’t return to Naples as often as she’d like, but her fondest wish is that everyone has the opportunity to visit Lo Stivale. She escorted me to a map on the wall and pointed out Naples then regaled…
