All About The Bon Vivant
I subtitled this blog "NYC Film, Food, and Dining" and that's what it's all about. I moved to Brooklyn, NY in January of 2007, and I am having a torrid love affair with this amazing city. I intend to share my adventures and explorations with you, and I hope you enjoy everything I post here. I think that my voice and my particular perspective on the world will make it a more interesting read, but it's not so much about me as it is about what there is to enjoy here in New York City. But if you would like to know a little more about me, please continue.
I was born a third generation Italian-American in New Haven, Connecticut in 1974. My ancestors came here by way of Ellis Island at the start of the 20th century; so in some ways, I feel like coming here is like coming to where it all began for me. As a child, I spent a lot of time with my maternal great-grandparents and paternal grandparents, and as you'd expect from the stereotypes, my Italian-American family households were all about food. They would cook every single day, and on weekends they would cook for an army (whether we were feeding one or not) and freeze gigantic portions of all kinds of foodstuff.
I learned to really appreciate the joys of cooking and eating, and to preserve the culinary traditions of my family. And as I grew older, I found myself wanting to explore the universe of food more and more, and began trying all manner of ethnic cuisines and exotic meals. Whenever I traveled with my family, I made a point of sampling the unique things I could find wherever we went; this eventually blossomed into a great love for fine dining (and of course by "fine" I don't exclude any of the wonderful greasy spoon eateries of the world).
My second great passion was movies. I began to memorize the TV Guide schedules when I was around 6 or 7 years old, and could recall upon request whatever was on a particular channel at a particular time; eventually my parents got cable and Home Box Office, and I was exposed to films of all stripes - even ones I wasn't supposed to be! I have vivid memories of watching horror movies from between the railings of the landing at the middle of the stairs. Again, over the years, my tastes in film expanded and grew beyond the pale of the mediocre mainstream fare peddled to the American masses.
But please, don't think me a snob! I promise to do my best to not come off that way. If anything, my sincerest hope is that I can expose more people to film, food, and dining they've never heard of - and doing this in New York City is quite a challenge, but one I am sure I can rise to. This place has some of the best experiences available in the world for each of my passions, and I plan to relate it all in sumptuous detail. Please enjoy!