Why We Love Restaurants, Part 2
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Chefs Cory, Shawn, John and Damian dining at Il Bucaniere, San Vincenzo, Italy
Last week we shared several restaurant memories from our Partners, Chefs and Managers at M’tucci’s. We have a few more for you today. We hope they will bring back some of your restaurant memories and inspire you to create new restaurant memories. Our restaurants and all local restaurants need your support at this time as we are bouncing back from a two-month shut down. You can be sure that you’ll be greeted with a masked face and smiling eyes at all M’tucci’s locations. Hope to see you soon.
Paulie Gonzalez, Manager at M’tucci’s Twenty-Five:
I raised my kids in the restaurants that I’ve run since they were all babies. One earlier opportunity that I had to get into management, I was still just getting visitation hours with my kids. At the time I was being promoted from a server to a manager in a breakfast style pancake house. The restaurant had an enclosed room that was typically only open on weekends and holidays. My GM at the time would let me end my shift and close off the room for my visits with the kids for a couple hours. They were only 6 months old at the time, and they have traveled with me to every restaurant where I’ve worked since then. They are even familiar with how to roll silverware. I believe everyone should have some restaurant experience at some point in their lives to experience guest service and to know that our jobs are more than just delivering food.
Amy Haas, Manager and Wine Professional at M’tucci’s Twenty-Five
Years ago I was invited by a wine distributor to visit California to attend their wine education trip. It's a fast and furious trip over only a few days visiting A LOT of wineries and usually snacking on small meals throughout the day. One of the wineries we visited was Limerick Lane where we were greeted by the winemakers with a pint of local beer (winemakers love beer too). We were then escorted through the vineyards and into the barn for a wine blending seminar. From the moment we stepped onto the property, the smell of roasting meat was at the forefront of my senses. It made it really hard to focus on tasting and blending and listening and learning. A worker at the winery was roasting a whole lamb on the rotisserie just outside the barn. They told us that he started cooking it at 5am that morning and we would enjoy it for dinner.
As the experience went on, my eyes and nose kept diverting my attention to the golden brown whole lamb spitting it's juices onto vegetables roasting under it on the fire. When it was finally time to eat, we all lined up to fill our plates. I had never experienced lamb this way. The best I had had was a high priced rack of lamb at restaurants in the past. I had no idea how delicious it would be and it didn't even matter because the labor of love to bring it to fruition was already worth it. To this day, it is one of the most incredible meals I have ever experienced.
Trey Godwin, Manager & Cocktail Guru M’tucci’s Twenty-Five:
All my family used to meet up in Panama City beach for the 4th of July. We always made it a a point to eat at this restaurant on the water, Pineapple Willy's. They had a pier that stretched out onto the ocean with picnic style seating for large groups. Some of my fondest memories are eating their "famous" ribs that they serve in a bucket, listening to all the banter from the family members surrounding me, and the live music for the night while sitting on the ocean. Getting older and working for a living I haven't been on that vacation with everyone in probably 8 years, but I definitely want to start taking my little guy down there to experience it too.
Arcy Law, Manager M’tucci’s Italian:
One of my favorite moments in a restaurant was sitting in a little bar inside the French Quarter of New Orleans. This little dive bar we walked into had an amazing bartender with great stories, it made you feel like you were talking to an old friend you’ve known for years. The highlight was looking at the menu and seeing a peanut butter bacon burger. After a couple of brews later, that burger sounded amazing. We weren’t that hungry so we split one of these bad boys and fell in love. After more laughs and a few more drinks, (it’s New Orleans, so of course you don’t just have one) we ordered a second peanut butter bacon burger! We let the day just slip away with great company, and cold beer.
Michael Lewis, Marketing Coordinator & Editor of La Gazzeta:
I was thrilled to visit Paris for the first time in 1979. My knowledge of Paris came from reading Hemingway's "A Moveable Feast" and numerous guide books. I spent some time with a French phrasebook so I could at least be somewhat accepted by the notoriously rude and dismissive Parisians (so the guidebooks said). After my first attempts at speaking French with a stern and scolding concierge at our budget hotel, my fears were confirmed and I was reluctant to speak French for the rest of the trip.
Since we were college students, we ate cheaply. We bought food from street stands, cheap plat du jour restaurants and from the markets. All of it wonderful. Brie, baguettes, pate, croissants, prosciutto. For our last night in this glorious city, we saved our money for dinner at a bistrot that was recommended by our guidebook. My girlfriend and I were seated in the middle of the room and received courteous nods from the locals, who filled the closely arranged tables.
I thought my menu French was passable and I was able to put together an order for both of us, coq au vin for her (I had made it before, so I knew it was chicken) and veu , which is veal, (followed by a word I didn't recognize, cervelles, probably a sauce I thought) for me. I had competently ordered deux verre du vin blanc (two glasses of white wine) for both of us and an appetizer of moules farcie (stuffed and baked mussels). When the entrees arrived, the coq au vin was preceded by the aroma and looked great. When the waiter put my plate in front of me, instead of the sautéed or breaded veal that I expected, there was something in a small casserole dish that looked like a small head of cauliflower in a shallow pool of melted butter. I stared at it and looked at my girlfriend and we exchanged glances and whispers, "What the heck is this? I don't know. It has a weird smell!" From one of the tables close to ours, a French woman leaned over and said in English, "Don't you like calf brains?" Ah, so cervelles means "brains." I was young and unadventurous and said, "No."
She gracefully called the waiter over and explained my error and they both laughed. He removed my plate and returned with steak frites, with a nice side of bone marrow (and they didn't charge me for the veal). I didn't know what the bone marrow was at the time, but it tasted great! Maybe I should have tried the brains? However, I changed my opinion of Parisians and have returned many times to the city. I could never find that restaurant again.
We hope you have enjoyed some of our memories.
Please share your favorite restaurant/M’tucci’s memories with us. The best will be published in this space on July 10 and will receive a M’tucci’s Gift Certificate.
Submit your memory by July 6 to: [email protected]
Weekend Specials
M’tucci’s Italian
24 oz Hand Cut Porterhouse - Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Balsamic Reduction $37
Pan-Seared Swordfish - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Artichokes, Sautéed Arugula, Lemon Cream Sauce $29
Sunday Only: Full Rack of Baby Back Ribs, Salt Water Potatoes, Sautéed Spinach and House BBQ Sauce for $27
M’tucci’s Moderno
16oz Hand Cut Black Angus Ribeye - Crispy Saltwater Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus and our Traditional Italian Salsa Verde Sauce $29
Pan Seared Swordfish - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Marinated Artichokes, Sautéed Arugula with Lemon Butter Sauce and Capers $25
M'tucci's Pesto Ravioli - Homemade Ricotta + Pesto Ravioli, Roasted Artichoke, Shallots, Grape Tomato, Lemon + Pesto Cream Sauce, Shaved Parmesan $19
Sunday Only: House Made Lasagna with Herbed Ricotta, Five Pork Bolognese and Roasted Tomato Marinara. Single portion for $16 (it’s large) and a double portion with a salad for $30.
M’tucci’s Twenty-Five
Roasted Bone Marrow Harris Ranch Smash Burger - Brioche Bun, Caramelized Onions, Green Chile, Worcestershire Braised Mushrooms, House Dijon, Side of French Fries and a Cookie $12 (only available this weekend from 11:00 - 4:00)
Pan-Seared California Halibut - Grilled Escarole, Garlic Whipped Potatoes, Prosciutto Powder, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce $24
M’tucci’s YouTube Channel
We’ve been adding videos about cocktails and cooking techniques for the past year on our own YouTube Channel. We added a new one each week during the shut down to help our guests cook their M’tucci’s @ Home Prep Kits. KRQE made mention of our channel this week. You can watch their segment here.
We are going to continue adding videos with cooking tips and techniques, wine education and cocktail tips. In the newest video, Partner Austin Leard introduces shows you some of work that goes into the two-week plus process of making Shrubs. You can watch it below:
There are now 28 videos on our channel. The next video will show you how to pickle and preserve some of your excess garden produce. Stay tuned! M’tucci’s YouTube Channel
Just one more . . . .
Breakfast by the Ewaso Ngiro River in Samburu National Park in Kenya
Thanks for reading. See you next week. Ciao!
