Actor advises: ‘Shut Up and Eat'

SPARTA — The HBO hit television show “The Sopranos” may be over but its spirit lives on. Last Wednesday night, Tanti Baci Caffe in Lake Mohawk celebrated its first year anniversary with some very special guests from the show. Actors Vincent Pastore and Tony Lip from the cast joined chef and owner Sam Masih for dinner and a signing of Lip’s cookbook “Shut Up and Eat.” Masih explained his connection to the celebrities: “It is amazing how small people can have a big effect. Samantha, my 4-year-old girl goes to school and is a good friend of Frankie, Tony Lip’s grandson. On Christmas Eve of 2009, Tony and the family had dinner in our restaurant. He enjoyed it so much and thought that it is unlike any other Italian restaurant he dined at. He really wanted to do a book signing event with us and introduced us to his friend Vincent Pastore.” Lip, who played mob boss Carmine Lupertazzi on the show, has appeared in over 50 movies including the Godfather, Donnie Brasco and Goodfellas. He got the idea to collaborate a cookbook with favorite recipes from his fellow actors about five years ago in a diner. “I was eating and a bunch of kids walked in and sat behind me. They were so loud and kept on talking. I wanted to turn around and tell them ‘shut up and eat’ because that’s what my mother used to say to me all the time,” said the veteran actor. “I knew it was a catchy title.” And so the process began. The book was published four years ago and contains over 75 recipes and anecdotes about growing up from the likes of James Gandolfini, Chazz Palminteri, Lorraine Bracco and Danny Aiello. John Chibarro a friend of Lip’s and consulting chef was also at the event. “It took me a year to put together the recipes. When Tony would ask the actors for recipes, they would scribble something on a piece of brown paper. I had to organize all of it, but it turned out great,” said Chibarro. Diners enjoyed a three-course meal reflecting recipes from the book and received a signed cookbook and a bottle of red wine especially made for “The Sopranos.” They also got to schmooze with Pastore who played Big Pussy and is infamous for ‘being the first one whacked’ on the show. Masih was pleased with the evening and the past year. ”One of the main reasons we are still here is that we are real traditional but absolutely not ordinary — customers are attracted to that. We cater to people who enjoy dining, not grabbing a bite to eat,” Masih said. Since our arrival in Sparta, we have been overwhelmed by our customers’ reactions, we really love it here.” The Sparta location is the second Cafe Baci; the original is in Greenwich Village and opened in 1992. In Sparta they are at 2 White Deer Plaza.