Farewell
/There is an old saying, attributed to the English poet, Chaucer: “All good things must come to an end.” And so, this good thing, La Gazzetta, is coming to an end. Today is the final edition of this newsletter.
After nearly six years of producing the weekly newsletter, La Gazzetta, it’s time to say goodbye. It has been a privilege to write nearly 300 newsletters, writing about Italian food or travel and the amazing group of people who are members of the M’tucci’s family.
For me, it has been quite an adventure, telling these stories and sharing my photos. After ski bumming in Aspen in the 70s, working in wild restaurants during the winter and banging nails in the summer, I never expected to ever being involved in restaurants again. The last six years have been a comfortable blend of my life as a photographer and my early years as a bartender, server and cook.
If there has been one hallmark of my career, it’s been my willingness to reinvent myself as the photo business changed and evolved. During a career that has spanned more than 40 years, I have been a newspaper photographer, videographer, magazine photographer, National Geographic Photographer, wedding photographer, and now a food & beverage photographer. Along the way, as most photojournalists, I honed my writing skills. As a freelance photographer, I learned marketing skills.
When I returned to beautiful Colorado in the mid-80s, I took the leap of faith (without any big awards or a national reputation) and began a life of freelancing. It started with Suburu and the U.S. Ski Team in Colorado, which led to more work in sports and lifestyle photography. After a year traveling in Asia and Europe working on stories and traveling on my own dime, a return to Denver is where my career started to take off.
The first boost occurred when I decided to document the lives of Coloradans who had been on their land for 100 or more years. Their stories became my first book, “Colorado’s Centennial Farms & Ranches”, published in 1994. After that, regular assignments from TIME, Newsweek, The New York Times, People and Smithsonian magazine kept me busy.
Then in the summer of 1995, my life changed when the call came from Tom Kennedy, the Director of Photography at National Geographic. “Would you be interested in spending six weeks driving around Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho photographing national parks, historic sites and landscapes?” Oh, yes I absolutely would be interested. During the next four years I would photograph two NGS Driving Guides on the U.S. and two on Canada. Then I was asked if I would be interested in working on a book that would be a companion to an 8-episode NGS/BBC/PBS series on Africa? Yes, again.
I spent the next two years traveling to eight different countries on the continent, sometimes with a film crew, sometimes alone. I’ll never forget the camel caravan into the Sahara desert, the boat trip on the Niger River in Mali, or the incredible people of Zanzibar.
The road to Albuquerque and M’tucci’s took an eight-year detour to Cozumel, MX, where my wife and I were married. We spent our time on assignments for hotels, photographing beach weddings, and diving and snorkeling. We enjoyed much that Mexico had to offer, with frequent trips to Chiapas, Oaxaca and Mexico City.
One day, Jennifer looked at me and said, “I think it’s time to go home.” For us, the obvious choice was Albuquerque, where her parents lived. After six months of settling in and finishing our wedding commitments in Mexico, I saw an op-ed piece in the Journal by M’tucci’s founder, the late Jeff Spiegel. It was written with a forceful tone, telling business owners in the area to quit bitching about the lack of talent in the area. He pointed out that M’tucci’s had no problem finding and keeping talented people and would soon open their third restaurant. I contacted him and told him that I thought I could improve their website, their social media and their message. He agreed and I basically created the job.
I think they might have needed me as much as I needed them. In 2019, 99,000 of you visited mtuccis.com. Last year 359,000 of our guests and readers came to our site. M’tucci’s and I were a perfect match. I had worked in restaurants, I had been to Italy five times, I had built websites and I understood social media and marketing.
The past six years have been wonderful; researching and learning about food in general, and Italy, in particular. It has been filled with copious amounts of great food and wine at M’tucci’s and in Italy. I’m grateful that Jeff’s vision aligned with my skills and that our great relationship gave me the chance to elevate the M’tucci’s story to where it is today.
However, it’s time to move on and help other businesses in New Mexico. I hope you have enjoyed reading La Gazzetta as much as I have enjoyed creating it (thanks to Jeff for the idea).
Need professional photography or help with promoting your business? You can find me at:
https://www.michaellewisfoto.com
M’tucci’s Valentine’s Day
Make Reservations Now!
In addition to a special Valentine’s Menu (in addition to the regular menu), we are offering a M’tucci’s Sweetheart Special. For $15 each couple receives a long-stemmed red rose and two Hand-Dipped Chocolate Palmiers. Reserve your Sweetheart Special by clicking on the special links below.
M’tucci’s Italian (please call 505-503-7327)
Weekend Specials
M’tucci’s Italian
Beef Tips Ravioli - Mushroom/Ricotta Filling, Beef Tips, Kale, Black Pearl Mushrooms, Caramelized Onions, Black Truffle Cream Sauce $27
14 oz. Bison Ribeye - Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Grilled Lemon, Balsamic Reduction $43
Pan-Seared Ruby Red Trout - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Arugula, Grilled Artichokes, Lemon Caper Sauce $29
Pineapple-Rosemary Braised Sackett Farms Pork Belly - Creamy Risotto, Squash, Corn, Asparagus, Roasted Red Pepper Pineapple Relish $25
Weekend Cocktail
Friski Hibisci - Hibiscus Blueberry Gin, China China Amaro, Fresh Lemon Juice, Pineapple Juice, Simple Syrup
M’tucci’s Moderno
6 oz. Black Angus Filet - Crispy Salt Water Potatoes, Sautéed Broccolini, Italian Salsa Verde $36
Pan-Seared Mahi Mahi - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Broccolini, Roasted Artichokes, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce, Prosciutto Powder $37
Half Herb-Roasted chicken - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Broccolini, Cranberry Gastrique $23
Weekend Cocktail
Blackberry Barrel Capri - Tito’s Vodka, M’tucci’s Blackberry Barrel-Aged Shrub, Simple Syrup, Muddled Basil, Balsamic Reduction
M’tucci’s Twenty-Five
Garlic Shrimp Pesto Risotto - Shrimp, Carnaroli Risotto, Garlic Pesto Sauce, Calabrian Braised Mushrooms, Feta, Scallions $21
Pan-Seared Yellowtail - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Zucchini, Artichoke Hearts, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce $33
6 oz. Beef Tenderloin - Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus, Creamy Horseradish Remoulade $36
Weekend Cocktail
Blackberry Barrel Capri - Tito’s Vodka, M’tucci’s Blackberry Barrel-Aged Shrub, Simple Syrup, Muddled Basil, Balsamic Reduction
M’tucci’s Bar Roma
Pan-Seared Yellowtail - Garlic Whipped Mashed Potatoes, Braised Arugula with Garlic, Seared Stem-on Artichokes, Lemon Caper Butter Sauce $33
Rigatoni all’ Amatriciana - Braised Pancetta, Guanciale & Prosciutto, Dry White Wine, Roasted Pomodoro Sauce, Pecorino, Romano & Fresh Basil $21
Weekend Cocktail
Carda-Mango Shrub - Bombay Sapphire Gin, Aperol, Cocchi Americano Vermouth, M’tucci’s Mango Cardamom Shrub
Live Music for January & February
M’tucci’s Bar Roma - 6:30pm Wednesday & Noon Sunday
2/2 Chris Dracup
2/5 Shane Wallin
2/9 Gilbert Uribe
2/12 Cali Shaw
2/16 Michael Rascon
2/19 Ceekay Jones
2/23 RJ Perez
2/26 Robb Janov
M’tucci’s Moderno - 6:30 Thursday & 7:30 Friday
1/31 Cali Shaw
2/6 Shane Wallin
2/7 Gilbert Uribe
2/13 RJ Perez
2/14 Robb Janov
2/20 Ceekay Jones
2/21 Cali Shaw
2/27 Mya Gutierrez
2/28 Michael Rascon
M’tucci’s Twenty-Five - 6:30 Thursday & 7:30 Friday
1/31 Chris Dracup
2/6 Cali Shaw
2/7 Michael Rascon
2/13 Chris Dracup
2/14 TBD
2/20 Shane Wallin
2/21 Matt Jones
2/27 Gilbert Uribe
2/28 RJ Perez
Thanks for reading La Gazzetta. Grazie Mille! Ciao!
