PATSY’S RESTAURANT
Patsy’s Restaurant owes its fame to the fact that for 50 years it was Frank Sinatra’s favorite in New York.
Patsy’s Restaurant … Located at 236 West 56th Street, in the heart of New York, it is a legendary place opened in 1944 by Pasquale “Patsy” Scognamillo and frequented since then by people of various classes and conditions, particularly entertainment figures who are attracted for the exquisite authenticity of its Italian cuisine and the fact that The Voice spent countless nights within its walls, enjoying epicurean pleasures with family and friends.
The singer’s favorite table is today a shrine to his memory, and every December 12 the place celebrates Frank’s birthday in style by serving his favorite dishes, such as veal Milanese, Posillipo clams, fusilli with fileto di pomodoro and, for dessert, ricotta cake.
Sal Scognamillo, grandson of the founder and current chef of Patsy’s, says: “We wouldn’t be where we are today if it hadn’t been for him.” Much of his high-end clientele has a seat at the table thanks to Sinatra; For example, Julia Roberts arrived through George Clooney, who learned about the restaurant from her aunt, the singer Rosemary Clooney, who in turn was “recruited” by Sinatra.
And who took Sinatra to Patsy’s for the first time? Sal Scognamillo claims on YouTube that it was Tommy Dorsey, who commissioned his grandfather to “fatten up the skinny guy from Hoboken.” The dates don’t add up to me; By 1944 Sinatra was not with Dorsey, their breakup had not been cordial, and he was a superstar light years away from being merely the “skinny guy from Hoboken.”
The loving relationship between the star and the restaurant was forever welded during Sinatra’s darkest period, in the early 1950s, with his career in free fall and toxic marriage to Ava Gardner. On Thanksgiving Eve, a dejected Sinatra was alone in the restaurant, while the rest of the clientele ignored him; many did not even recognize the former star of song, radio and cinema. Frank asked for a table for dinner the next day and Patsy didn’t have the heart to tell him that the restaurant wasn’t open on Thanksgiving; He called his employees together and told them that they were going to open for Frank, and to bring their families to spend the night together. Despite some protests, everyone ended up understanding that it was courtesy for a man who needed it more than ever. A group of diners were also invited to pack: the key was that Frank did not perceive that it was an exceptional situation and might feel uncomfortable. Sinatra didn’t know they had opened especially for him until several years later.
After Frank’s professional resurrection, with the filming of “From Here to Eternity” and his record contract with Capitol Records, the applause and collective adoration returned. Frank often came hungry to Patsy’s, which was full of lurking fans. Patsy came up with the idea of building a secret staircase for Sinatra to use, accessed through a small door right next to the restaurant entrance, which leads directly to The Voice’s favorite table, hidden in the back. behind.
When Frank Sinatra left on May 14, 1998, many of his friends and followers gathered at the restaurant’s doors. The bond that had been formed between the star and the venue went beyond the dishes and the nights full of anecdotes, and all those people who had lived loving Sinatra’s art simply felt that they should be there.
Article written by Mahnuel Muñoz. https://www.facebook.com/mahnuelmunozoficial
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