My food journey takes me to M’tucci’s Moderno, an Italian restaurant in Rio Rancho with other locations throughout Albuquerque, to try their delicious Eggplant Parmesan.

If you do not know, M’tucci’s has been voted as the best Italian restaurant by Albuquerque The Magazine, and is a great choice for traditional and contemporary Italian food.

Daniel Zuniga

M’tucci’s is less than a mile from my other job, and my coworkers told me that ‘their Eggplant Parmesan is more than just a dish for vegetarians.’

That’s pretty high praise. I had to give it a try.

The restaurant had a cool vibe — a very spacious and stylish dining area, a slick bar area with an open patio and a TV showing the Broncos-Seahawks  game.

As soon as they brought me a cucumber water, I knew the food was going to be good. And it was!

The Eggplant Parmesan comes with three fried Eggplant medallions, homemade marinara sauce, fresh mozzarella, pesto fettuccine, and, of course, fresh parmesan.

It was crispy, cooked to perfection, and the medallions were thick cuts of fried eggplant.

I’ll be honest, I am usually not a big fan of Pesto. So, I was a bit skeptical, but their homemade pesto did the trick for me. Maybe it was the olive oil or maybe it was the fact that I was trying to eat my sorrows away as the Broncos could not convert in the red zone.

As a bonus, I was able to try a slice of my friend’s Pepperoni and Green chile pizza, and snag a bite of some Chipotle Chicken Pasta.

All of M’tucci’s dishes taste fresh, and it is a perfect spot for date night.

The only thing that would have made the experience more amazing was a Broncos victory, but I blame that on Nathaniel Hackett.

What should I try next? Email me: [email protected]