I fell in love with Al Pacino when I was in my teens. It hit me the moment I read the book The Godfather and my parents took me to the movies to see him as Michael Corleone on the big screen. Even though I was probably too young to witness The Godfather saga, I managed to endure the horse’s head in the bed scene long enough to enjoy my celebrity crush. I was able to capture every detail of his being by viewing his movies on videotape, and eventually DVDs, over and over again. I thought he was gorgeous and extremely talented! Given that I’m Italian, I have a certain soft spot for Italian men. I followed his career through all of his famous hits: Serpico, The Godfather sequels, Bobby Deerfield, Author Author, Dog Day Afternoon, and well, the list goes on and on. I was thrilled when he won the Oscar for his performance in The Scent of a Woman.
When I approached my fortieth birthday, my friends and I decided to head to the Big Apple for a little celebrating. They didn’t need to ask me where I wanted to go for dinner—as they all knew too well. The restaurant is Joe Allen’s, located smack dab in the middle of the theatre district. Rather off the beaten tourist path, the restaurant is usually frequently by actors, dancers, and the locals living within its neighborhood. I had always heard that this restaurant was a frequent favorite of Al’s so, naturally, we headed there for my birthday dinner. Jokes were made, and ribs were poked at the actual thought of seeing Al in the flesh. Wouldn’t it be funny …
The restaurant is small and quaint, with a rather pub-like quality. The bar sat to the right of the room, and the restaurant itself, is basically one square shaped room with tables dressed in white linen and lowly burning candles. It gave both a formal and rather informal feeling—definitely a neighborhood haunt. We chose a round table situated in the middle of the room, which sat the eight of us, with me seated facing the kitchen.
