SantaFe.com

The sun is setting when Heather Rowley, owner of Eco-Clean Albuquerque, finishes working in the house in Albuquerque’s Northeast Heights. It’s been a backbreaking day that began a tad after eight a.m. She has moved couches to vacuum underneath, climbed ladders to catch ugly streaks on windows, and scrubbed counters with white vinegar to bring out a gleaming shine. When Rowley walks out the door, she notices the dirty welcome mat on the front porch and cleans it, too.

If something attracts this energetic, hard-working woman’s attention, it’s bound to be improved by it. Ever since she was a...

Saturday, March 1, 2008
by Pari Noskin Taichert and Joe Picard (Photographer) • localflavor magazine

Forget for a moment the long stretch of cars outside on NM 528. Ignore Intel’s industrial bulk next door. Block out the vision of the Sandia Mountains looming to the east. Instead, when you walk into Venezia’s New York Style Pizzeria, close your eyes and inhale. You could be in the Bronx, or even Little Italy. Because that smell is New York style pizza at its finest.

Order a slice. See that crust, how it’s hand-tossed, puffy at the edges, and tapers to a thin, crisp middle? That’s how you make a pizza crust. The sauce is of course made fresh each day with nearly a dozen different spices,...

Saturday, March 1, 2008
by Rena Distasio and Joe Picard (Photographer) • localflavor magazine