My writer, Calvin, goes to interview Sally for real after a fake article goes viral among LA Foodie Hipsters. What ensues is a downward spiral of Sally nervously inhaling wine to ease his nerves and Calvin growing more and more intrigued at the story behind this restaurant. I fit in one bit of patriotism I find worth sharing from Sally’s back story as the son of Italian Americans and how, even though his “investor” forced him to open an Italian restaurant, he’d originally wanted it to be a more fusion style bistro:
“So, how’d you get your start in cooking?” Calvin started simply.
“My mom and dad, I come from an Italian family,” Sally sat back and curled around the bottle he was clutching like a baby against him, except when he lifted it for a large [gulp].
“So your family, and that’s why the restaurant is Italian?”
“Actually, that’s my investor’s doing,”
“Investor?”
“Uh yeah, I have a partner who put up the money, but,” [gulp] “let’s just say Italian isn’t my first inclination.”
“But your investor,”
[gulp] “leave that out,” [gulp] “please.”
“Okay… So why didn’t you want an Italian restaurant at first.”
“Because this is America.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t follow.”
“My parents are both Italian and while my mom taught me to cook, she taught me how to cook everything, not just Italian food, because I was third generation and she said America is great because so many different cultures come together and learn from each other, and that’s especially true of cooking.” [Gulp]
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