A MEAL TO DIE FOR

Debut mob fiction with a light touch from the actor who plays hitman Vito on The Sopranos.

Benny Lacoco is king of the kitchen at Pazzo Ouef, the restaurant he opened with the backing of a couple of well-placed guys named Lacerra and Ranallo. Tonight he’s preparing an 11-course meal for a bevy of Brooklyn wiseguys, with every course lovingly described at least twice. But Benny is more, or less, than a chef. His road to Pazzo Ouef (the name means “crazy egg,” misspelled in French presumably just because) began with lying or bragging his way into his first cooking jobs. Benny covered his gambling debts by stealing from the uncle he was working for; got close to his patrons when he agreed to fence their stolen food; made a steady income by cheating the restaurateurs to whom he was selling olive oil and wine; and cemented his position when he agreed to cook an elaborate dinner for an associate who was about to be retired. Now, as this history passes through his mind in clumsy synchronization with the courses, he can’t help wondering if tonight’s meal will have an equally violent conclusion. There’ll be mysterious phone calls to different guests; sidelong glances from people Benny swindled long ago; and the long shadow of Big O, the legendary enforcer. Clearly, tonight is a special night—but special for whom, and how? Neither Sopranos alumnus Gannascoli nor Kupfer, of Nassau Community College, has the stones, or the surprises, to pull off the combination they’re aiming at—The Godfather meets Big Night—and the hitman ex machina climax falls flat.

Though Benny’s checkered backstory is utterly predictable, you could spend a worse couple of hours than watching to see if he gets his.