![]() In front of the wall of windows, facing the street, is a stage surrounded by multi-colored lights for a fun touch. He ended up back in Middletown, where he found a space by the old Public Market on Main Street, decorating it with guitars and other musical decor mounted to the wall. When DiStefano moved back to Connecticut last spring, he looked “all over the state” to find a spot for his new venture. “I’d always wanted to go back into the pizza business because I enjoyed it and was good at it.” “That was the genesis of the idea,” he said. He would often produce songs with the bands, bring them out to play, and was encouraged by the crowd they attracted. From that success, DiStefano then launched an offshoot: a frozen pizza company called Gina Marie’s Frozen Food.Įventually, DiStefano moved to Boca Raton, Fla., where he owned Dark Star Recording, a recording and music lesson school. That venture was so successful that it won over even people directly from Italy. The idea to create a restaurant centered around live music actually dates back to 1983, when DiStefano opened Gina Marie’s Pizzeria in Middletown. DiStefano has been booking live bands, mining the local music scene and Wesleyan University, so guests can enjoy music as they eat in an atmosphere that DiStefano describes as “chill.” The food is available for takeout or delivery, but if diners choose to eat at the restaurant, they’ll get a full musical experience. If you're Italian, one person in your family can really cook.” ![]() “I think every Italian boy says the same thing. “My mother was a really good cook,” he said. The business logo is a cartoon rendering of his mom as a young adult around 18. The recipes, though original, are inspired by DiStefano’s mother. The “Mini Haha,” with meatballs, sausage and peppers, or chicken cacciatore served on garlic rolls is named after his grandmother’s best friend, who lived across the street when DiStefano was a boy. Many items are named after friends and family of DiStefano’s.įor example, the “Arturo,” a pie with broccoli on it, is named after a friend who enjoyed that combination, while "IV Tommy" is named for DiStefano’s son. The menu offers pizza (by the slice or a full pie), grinders (both hot and cold), pasta, and other Italian fare, including roasted provolone and cannoli for dessert. “The experience is about having a riotous good time.” It's a mood piece, and enjoying it is a question of mood, too.“The concept is combining live music with really good food in a speakeasy atmosphere,” he said. If you willingly suspend your disbelief, this picture is a welcome foray into peace of mind and gentility of nature. Somehow, Hickman's patience, devotion and constance culminate in a healing for his wife, and they all live happily every after. The deaf father has a curious past and an amusing secret treasure that is wildly implausible but works in this fantasy setting. Even the BBC news has sign language today. There's a lot of US sign language, which was very today two years ago but now seems faded. The Great Bandini, has a fantasy friend who makes magical music boxes and has a sexy Chicano wife with a deaf daughter. It's an exercise in leprechaunish whimsy, with the main character one of those sad party magicians who never grew up, saddled with a barren wife who makes up for having no children by fighting with her father, torturing her partner and flirting with an old schoolfriend. The media terrorises the public, corporate employers keep wage-slaves' noses to the grindstone, genders are confused, and there is little room in the market for a film like this. There is a curious unreality about Speakeasy because both the above are not available in contemporary American life. I like a small comedy of manners that gives itself time to develop characters and observe them in action. Call me old=fashioned, but I hanker after movie content where men aren't monsters and couples get along.
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