Warning: Spoilers ahead.
Throughout the years, the detailed depiction of food and drink in classic movies about the Mafia has played a memorable supporting role — from “leave the gun, take the cannoli” in “The Godfather” to New York mob boss Paulie Cicero meticulously slicing a clove of garlic with a razor blade while prepping for a multi-course jailhouse feast in “Goodfellas.” But David Chase’s landmark HBO series “The Sopranos” reset the red-checkered tablecloth for what would become a whole new world of culinary cinematic verisimilitude.
For eight years, and over six seasons and 86 episodes, hungry viewers pulled up a chair each Sunday night to linger at the table with waste management consultant and New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano. Within the bursts of shocking violence, countless murders, humor, and unforgettable eccentric characters, the everyday reality of eating, drinking, and talking about eating and drinking took on a character arc of its own.
In “Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos,” the recent two-episode documentary reflecting on the impact of the series, Chase marveled at how viewers virtually ate alongside these characters in a pre-streaming landscape when appointment TV thrived. “The best thing about it, people were having pizza parties to watch the show,” he said. “To think people were eating Italian food and drinking Italian wine watching this — it’s getting me choked up thinking about it now.”
Revisiting “The Sopranos” is like digging through a refrigerator full of delicious holiday leftovers. Nearly every episode featured food and drinks: platters of lasagna, lemon chicken, and braciole weighed down buffet tables at weddings, funerals, graduations, and birthday parties; bottles of California Cabernet at Sunday family dinners and straw-wrapped jugs of Chianti poured into glass tumblers in the backroom social club of a neighborhood pork store; poolside cookouts with sizzling rings of Italian sausage and cold bottles of Rolling Rock; string-tied white boxes of cannoli and sfogliatelle; cartons of milk and orange juice — not “pulp,” “some pulp” — chugged straight from the carton.
What the characters on “The Sopranos” ate and drank represented a perspective on culture, ritual, and tradition. And whether it’s a Thanksgiving dinner or a sit-down to seek approval to take someone out, the occasion to fill a glass of wine or offer someone something to eat brings these beloved and often reviled characters together.
‘So what, no f**kin’ ziti now?’
The foundation of food’s role on “The Sopranos” arrives in the pilot episode. Over the course of an hour, Tony is referred to a psychiatrist after fainting from a panic attack while preparing his backyard grill. His hot head protégé Christopher Moltisanti commits his first murder, shooting a rival Czech mobster in the back of Satriale’s Pork Store, inducing meat-filled nightmares. And in order to offset a planned public hit orchestrated by his Uncle Junior at Tony’s childhood friend Artie Bucco’s restaurant Vesuvio, he instead arranges to have it burned down for insurance money. Tony reminds his scheming and overbearing mother Livia that she’s expected at his son AJ’s birthday party with her baked ziti, but she’s ultimately a no-show, prompting AJ to memorably exclaim: “So what, no f**kin’ ziti now?”
Among the series’ smörgåsbord of memorable food moments, some have taken on a saint-like reverence among fans. From Christopher Moltisanti, feeling disrespected for being made to wait for service at a bakery, shooting the clerk in the foot (echoing actor Michael Imperioli’s similar fate as Spider in “Goodfellas”), to the totem-like power of Karen’s “last ziti,” the foil-wrapped Pyrex tray the newly widowed Bobby “Bacala” Baccalieri preserves in the freezer to honor the memory of his late wife.
After Tony experiences yet another panic attack sparked by a slice of spicy capicola (gabagool) it triggers a dark memory from his youth. Sneaking into Satriale’s Pork Store, he witnesses his mobster father Johnny violently shake down the owner over an unpaid gambling debt, ultimately chopping off a finger with a cleaver. Later that night, Tony watches as his mother prepares to serve the expensive rib roast his father brings home. Aroused by her husband’s spoils, she offers Johnny her finger to kiss, a drop of bloody rare juice on the tip, sending Tony crashing to the kitchen floor. Recounting this to psychiatrist Dr. Melfi helps Tony recognize the ominous nature of meat and how that very first panic attack remains an undercurrent of intertwined violence, corruption, and sexuality in his life. And with AJ soon experiencing his own first panic attack, the family curse Tony inherited from his father is now passed on to another generation of Sopranos.
“Pine Barrens,” one of the most talked-about episodes of “The Sopranos,” was driven not by food, but hunger.
Even in darker scenes rife with tension, food often served as comic relief. After putting him out of business, Tony hires his childhood friend Artie Bucco to cater a party at the Soprano home. While standing across the kitchen island, Artie rambles on about the loss of his restaurant with Tony encouraging him to move on. In an instant, Artie flicks a slice of prosciutto at Tony that sticks to his face, hanging off his eyebrow like a meaty eyepatch. If anyone else had done this they likely wouldn’t still be around, but Tony grins, curses Artie, and responds by throwing another slice of meat at him, initiating a friendly food fight. The two will come to odds again and again over the course of the series but this scene assured viewers that the dynamic and longevity of their friendship would persevere.
“Pine Barrens,” one of the most talked-about episodes of “The Sopranos,” was driven not by food, but hunger. Paulie “Walnuts” Gualtieri, a longtime captain in Tony’s crew, and Christopher drive to the snow-covered New Jersey woodlands to dispose of the body of a hulking, near-dead, Rasputin-like thug holed up in their trunk. The guys discuss hitting up Morton’s in Atlantic City after, but the bloodied Russian thwarts their dinner plans by attacking and wounding them both and fleeing into the woods. Underdressed for the elements and with spotty cell phone reception, the duo wander through the icy night blaming each other for their predicament. They seek shelter in an abandoned van where they come across a discarded Nathan’s bag containing some near-frozen condiment packets. Shivering, they tear them open with their teeth and suck on them like popsicles, savoring this unexpected bounty in their time of need. “Not bad,” Paulie says, advising Christopher to mix the ketchup with relish.
‘Enough! I’m so sick and tired of you people talking about food, food, food..’
At times, our world would intersect with the “Sopranos” universe — “He’s not even washing his hands!” remarked an appalled Livia Soprano watching Emeril Lagasse on the Food Network — and the characters’ focus on food was manifested in two bestselling cookbooks.
In 2002, “The Sopranos Family Cookbook: As Compiled by Artie Bucco” was written in the voice of the beleaguered chef and owner of Nuovo Vesuvio, with sidebars and cooking tips from other characters. This was followed in 2006 by “Entertaining with the Sopranos: As Compiled by Carmela Soprano,” with favorite family dishes and hosting tips from “the Garden State’s most gracious hostess” and mob wife, as well as advice from “family friend” Paulie Walnuts on throwing a surprise party.
While alcohol loomed large on “The Sopranos” as a constant presence, frequent depictions of drinking to excess (and often disastrous results) doesn’t inspire the same craveability as a plate of penne alla vodka.
There was even “Sopranos”-branded Italian wine, launched in 2008 from the Vesuvio Import Company offering a Chianti DOCG and Classico, Pinot Grigio, and Pinot Noir. (Lorraine Bracco, who played Tony’s psychiatrist Dr. Jennifer Melfi, launched Bracco wines in 2006). To go with the wine you could open a jar of Uncle Steve’s tomato sauce (“make every day Sunday”) from actor Steve Schrripa, who played Bobby “Bacala” Baccalieri.
‘French Armagnac, Tone. It’s gonna be the new vodka!’
Joining the “Sopranos” library this fall is “The Sopranos: The Official Cocktail Book,” though recipes like a Jersey Tomato Martini or a Pine Barrens Highball are more inspired by the characters rather than something they would’ve actually knocked back.
While alcohol loomed large on “The Sopranos” as a constant presence, frequent depictions of drinking to excess (and often disastrous results) doesn’t inspire the same craveability as a plate of penne alla vodka. For all the spirited toasts at bars, restaurants, casinos, and clubs, the show also covered underage drinking, drunk driving, getting sick from drinking, and dealing with sobriety when everyone around you has a glass in their hand.
The latter most affected Christopher, whose issues with substance abuse affected his personal and professional life, often in disastrous ways. After a darkly hilarious and violent intervention, Christopher is forced into rehab and manages to remain clean for a while, attending AA meetings for support. But a clean and sober Christopher is ostracized by his fellow mobsters when he can no longer hang out with them at their usual haunts.
In a world where sambuca, grappa, amaro, and anisette are expected regulars behind the bar of Italian restaurants, it’s Armagnac that lures the hapless Artie Bucco into a get-rich opportunity that almost ends Nuovo Vesuvio, and his life. Enamored with the restaurant’s new French hostess Élodi, Artie is eager to help her brother Jean-Philippe secure a bridge loan of $50,000 to lock down North American distribution rights for a new French brand. It gets back to Tony, who is insulted that Artie didn’t ask him for the money, and he loans him the funds for the business venture that Artie promises will be “the new vodka.” Jean-Philippe has duped Artie and the money’s gone. Tony saves Artie yet again and also sends enforcer Furio over to pay a visit to Jean-Phillipe. This episode seems rather prescient with a plotline pushing Armagnac as the next big thing. Even though that cycle continues IRL, with brand-funded bartender and media press trips to the estates of French producers, Armagnac remains a relatively unknown spirit stateside that tends to gather dust on back bars.
While the many cocktails featured on “The Sopranos” over the years leaned toward simple mixed drinks like Scotch and Soda, 7 & 7, Bobby “Bacala” may have been the only member of the crew to actually thumb through a cocktail book. For most of the series’ run, he was a mopey, overweight, low-level lackey who looked after Uncle Junior. But after slimming down, working out, and marrying Tony’s sister Janice, his confidence, and opportunities within the crime family, grew.
Just as we love to quote lines from “The Sopranos” and watch clips of favorite scenes online, the impact and influence of how these beloved but complicated characters ate and drank their way through their world continues to inspire evergreen fans and new viewers alike.
In the acclaimed episode “Sopranos Home Movies,” Bobby and Janice invite Tony and Carmela to their lakeside retreat in upstate New York to celebrate Tony’s birthday. Bobby, who earlier in the show’s history declared his pour of Amaro Nardini “tastes like medicine,” has a bottle of single- varietal Nonino Picolit Grappa on the table, and promises to serve Ramos Fizzes for brunch the next day. A booze-fueled round of Monopoly turns ugly and detonates those plans, as Tony’s drunken insults aimed at his sister spark a violent fight between him and Bobby.
In the series’ penultimate episode, Bobby’s enthusiasm for collecting model trains finds him talking with a train store owner who is asking 8 grand for a vintage Blue Comet Lionel. As he admires the level of detail of one of the passenger cars, what turns out to be among his last thoughts concerns what’s now the world’s most popular cocktail. “If that train still ran from New York to AC, Atlantic City would be a much different place today,” Bobby says, adding wistfully, “Imagine riding in the club car sipping on a Negroni.” Sadly there would be no last Negroni as the ringing bell on the door signals the arrival of a trio of New York rivals who seal his fate.
‘It goes on and on and on and on…’
The recent Sopranos documentary devotes some time to the “circularity” of the show’s first season finale and the series’ final episode that, no matter your thoughts on what happened after David Chase’s still controversial sudden cut to black, is worth noting.
Both scenes end with the Soprano family meeting for dinner. The first finds them seeking shelter from a violent storm at Vesuvio, where Artie pours wine by candlelight due to a blackout. Tony tells his kids, AJ and Meadow, “Someday soon, you’re gonna have families of your own, and if you’re lucky, you’ll remember the little moments like this, that were good.” As the clock ticks down the final moments in the series finale, Tony, Carmela, and AJ are in a booth at Holsten’s awaiting Meadow’s arrival. Over Cokes and a basket of onion rings (“best in the state” per Tony) AJ recalls the essence of what his father said that night many years ago, but Tony doesn’t remember. We all know what happens next, but if this was their “last meal” together, it’s nice to know that AJ inherited more than panic attacks.
Just as we love to quote lines from “The Sopranos” and watch clips of favorite scenes online, the impact and influence of how these beloved but complicated characters ate and drank their way through their world continues to inspire evergreen fans and new viewers alike. Twenty-five years after the series first aired, people still make pilgrimages to real-word locations like Holsten’s in Springfield, N.J., Brooklyn’s 124-year-old red sauce landmark Bamonte’s, and the Mulberry Street Bar in Little Italy that stood in for the New York crew’s Averna Social Club. And on Reddit, YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, you’ll inevitably come upon recipes for Karen’s Last Ziti and the “Tony Soprano” sandwich, replicating the specifications of the gabagool, provolone, and vinegar peppers sandwich he once ordered at Satriale’s.
Don’t even think about watching “The Sopranos” without a bottle of Chianti and a pizza. May we recommend AJ’s signature order of double meatball, pepperoni, sausage, peppers, onions, extra mozzarella?
