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It's what I like to
call The
Sopranos effect. If they shot an episode of the show in a restaurant,
or anyone from the cast ate in your joint, it instantly becomes legit.
Granted, I too could buy a signed photo of James
Gandolfini and stick it in my kitchen and claim that my lame turkey
burgers and tuna sandwiches are endorsed by the mob. A fat actor does
not a food critic make. Case in point is my local ice cream store,
Holsten’s,
where the series finale was shot. Truth be told, the place is kinda
shoddy, and the food sorta blows. Yet there's Paulie Walnuts and the
little thieving hooligan, Robert
Iler, mugging for the camera on every wall. The effect creates
a conundrum: is the place a classic, and thus attracted The Sopranos,
or did the fact The Sopranos shot there make it a classic?
Judging by Mario's bland meat sauce, I'd say it's the latter. Sure
the joint is kind of a novelty, sitting in this weird little Italian
enclave in the middle of the Bronx, but this is a grub review, not
a "gee, look at the stereotypical crowd in their funny natural
Italian habitat" exposition. Or is it? The food was honestly
nothing to write home about--typical calamari, okay salad, fair bread
and disappointing spaghetti and meat sauce, but the flavor of the
restaurant, and its oddly Ukrainian/Serbian waitstaff was highly entertaining.
Not to mention some of the shenanigans going on in the neighborhood.
So if you're coming for the Italian meal of your life because Steve
Schirripa happened to fake dine here, you're gonna be outta luck,
my friend. But if you want some flavor that is unique to this Bronx
'hood, bring your camera and a sense of irony and maybe a sidearm
and forget about it. [MF]
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