Trans A.J. Soprano

Rest in Peace Paulie....say hello to Ma

This is the best illustration of what these guys are like.

"I know you."

For additional info you can check out "Hispter Holocaust" at the old place.

That is what is taken up my time.

I did have to laugh that he was buried out of Regina Pacis. Do you remember the story about the junkies that broke in and stole the jewels off the statues?

She was a woman with a Virginia Ham under her arm complaining about not having any bread.

Nick called me out on my bad review of the "Many Saints of Newark" in that I didn't compliment the performance of Vera Famiglia as Livia Soprano. He was right. She did a great impersonation of Nancy Marchand who played the original role. She used some of the phrases and dialogue that Nancy used in the series. But more importantly she channeled the attitude and the hurt that was at the base of that character. She was spot on in her impersonation and should have been a model for the rest of the cast. The other actors were really doing something else. Well except for the guy who played Silvio. He also had it down. But the others were big disappointments. 

I didn't have a problem with young Gandolfini as I knew he was very limited as an actor since I saw him in "The Deuce" so I didn't think he was up to the task. But Corey Stoll who played Uncle Junior was a bitter disappointment. Considering how vital he was to the plot it was a bad miscasting. I think he was chosen because he was bald. He was good in other roles but he was terrible here. 

When you a doing a prequal and portraying beloved actors you really have to work at getting the character right. Vera did that. The others really did not. We will see if the actors playing the Ricardos and the Mertz family can do better.

They better not fuck up Fred. 
 

It's been a while

 

As you might know we spent the weekend in Jersey. I wasn't looking forward to it but we had to go to a birthday party. Since is was deep in the bowels of the Garden State we had to stay over. The wife got to hang out with her friends who had been her friend since the first grade in Saint A's. The party itself was fine and then we adjourned back to the home of one of the friends where it was decided we would all meet together again at a diner for breakfast. Now that was something I could look forward to for fucks sake!

I have a new procedure when I go to a new restaurant. It is usually not one of my haunts so I have no idea about it so I look it up on Yelp. Now Yelp is just a tool and it is often wrong about a business. You just have to know how to read the reviews. What is useful is that they normally have a link to the menu so you can see what they have and what they are the most proud of and feature as their specials.

This was breakfast so we were looking at the omelet and egg category. I never get pancakes or French Toast when I am taking a long car ride as they sit in my stomach like lead. So I was trending toward eggs and I saw my absolute favorite on the menu.

I got a bacon egg and cheese on a Kaiser roll with home fries, Back  in the day I would have a bacon cheese and egg every day for breakfast. Nothing is better with a good cup of coffee. This one was fine. I mean it wasn't the worst and it wasn't the best.  The roll was fresh and the bacon was crispy. The cheese wasn't that great so it threw it off from great to good. Still and all I enjoyed the fuck out of it.

The one thing that made me flinch was something I noticed on the menu. No meatloaf and mashed potatoes. What kind of freaking diner doesn't have meatloaf and mashed potato? I always order that when I am in a diner. I would have ordered it for breakfast. That's how you can tell if it is a great diner. If it has great meatloaf. I was very disappointed I must say.

But as the great Phil Leotardo said in the Sopranos when discussing the Jersey crew "Jersey, eh get the fuck out here."

A movie to watch tonight......Feast Of The Seven Fishes

A little late but the perfect holiday movie. It was a real nostalgia trip for me. It's all about an Italian family preparing the Feast of the Seven Fishes. They were workers in the coal mines in Penns but it is just like the longshoreman in Brooklyn. It hits all the right notes.

Check it out I know you will like it.