Around the Italian Roundtable: Food, Film, and Fun

Welcome everybody to another episode of the Ride Home Rance Podcast . This is , as always , your host , mike Bono . I got one of my favorite episodes of the year coming up . This is the second year that we are doing this and it is my Italian round table episode coming out for this Columbus Day . I have a bunch of my favorite Paisons together for us .

I'm Carlo Guadagnino . I'm from Plumbboro , pennsylvania , I lived in Morgantown and , yeah , I'm 85% Italian , 90% Italian somewhere in there .

We'll just say you're full-blooded . I mean , that's close enough , right , I'm up there , all right . Next , we actually went to college together and I'll let her introduce herself Andrea .

Hi , I'm Andrea Precorato , sadly like 50% Italian , my dad's 100% . My mom wasn't Italian at all , but I do have Italy tattooed on me , so I think that bumps me up there a little bit .

We're going to give you like 10% more just for that . Like we'll give you that one .

I'm from Youngstown , Ohio , so big Italian place as well .

Absolutely love Youngstown , done a ton of shows in Youngstown and looking to get back . They haven't had me there in a while , so anyways . Next , you've seen him on a couple of times . We've highlighted his big Italian festival in Lowville . Zach , and please pronounce your last name , Zach , because I'm not going to butcher it this time .

Yeah , I'm Zach Harkelrod , not in Italian last name , but I am right around that 50% mark as well . The other part of me is mixed with Irish and a bunch of other stuff , but being from Lowville , ohio , I think just living here gets me in that extra 50% . So we'll pretend I'm 100 , but I just don't have the val at the end of the last name .

That makes sense Absolutely we're not going to fault you for that . You know it's fine , it happens . But yeah , you definitely get bumped up in Lowville and running the Italian festival . And last but not least , she was actually on last year's roundtable . We're bringing her back mainly to help me try to keep this group of pizons together , Brittany .

Hey , I'm Brittany Jamuso . I am from the east side of Cleveland , currently homeless , sold our house , living with our parents . You know everything on the east side . If you know , I am full blooded Italian , as far as I'm willing to admit , Half Sicilian . We've heard that there's a little bit on my on one side of the family that could be French . I deny it .

Absolutely so . This is going to be your panel of guests for this roundtable . And , brittany , I get it . You know , with the . Yeah , there's other parts of me . I'm not full blooded , but you know my dad's full , my mom's half . So it's like why do we even need to worry about that slow , block part that she's ?

talking about , doesn't ?

matter .

It's not even a thing ?

No , that's not even close , no , but yeah , this is going to be it . So I got a couple of questions . I want to get through all things Italian for this show . So , that being said , color , we're going to start with you , since you are the newest one here for the show and being on . So , carlo , what's your favorite Italian food ?

I'm pretty simple . I'm a pasta visual guy . My Graham has a very simple recipe for which it's not a very complicated thing , but it's just that's . That's kind of where I sit with it , and then obviously pasta's on Sunday . But I figure that's a just a given .

Right .

Yeah that's a given Andrea , let's go over to you .

What's your favorite Italian food ?

Sorry , did you say Andrea ?

Yeah , I did .

All right , I didn't hear you , okay , so I'm probably going to bring up a topic here , because I've heard Italians say it both ways and argue about it too . But I'm going to get specific . I like pasta , but I like gnocchi , and I've heard some say gnocchi , some say gnocchi , and so that's a big controversial thing to us . My favorite Italian food .

Okay , well , go to Brittany , because I see her shaking her head and I know she's going to talk about that pronunciation . So , brittany , what are you going to do ?

Hey , if you've heard it both ways , I'll let you have it both ways . I've only heard gnocchi , but that's what I've heard . I don't know . I'm simple . I like has an Italian food Beans and greens , just something simple . So much so that that's pretty much what my kids eat . They eat Paz and Italian food and it's great .

Exactly , I'm pretty straightforward . Anything that ends in parm , I'm in Feel chicken eggplant . If it ends in parm , I'm about it .

He's on that parm life right now .

That's the stuff . When you go to Italy they're like what is this ? That's ?

not a . Thing .

That's a fake Italian food .

You know from here no , that's that .

Yeah , right , you know from here .

So I'm going to start with my resident two club guests for this one here because I'm interested to see in Zach , since you ended us here , we'll start with you what is your favorite Italian festival you've been to over the years ?

and you cannot say lowville Can't say lowville , I mean that's my go to answer , but I probably second in line has got to be Briar Hill . I think they do it up right there . You got to get the wine with the peaches , you know , you got to get the same , which you got to it's . We play a lot of more up there . It's a really good one , I will say .

All right , Brittany , what about you ?

You guys are gonna kill me . I can't do them . That's two people away from me , but if anything , it's the feast . It's the feast in little Italy , cleveland , the most you'll get me . I mean , when I was in my , in my younger days , I go down there , that's fine , but right now it's two people away from me , so I go down , I volunteer at the church .

Spoken like a true Italian . Two people , it's two people .

I can't deal .

I don't do . I don't do people no , I go home .

If I want good food , I'm gonna eat it at home . I'm not gonna go somewhere else and eat it . They're cooking for too many people .

I'm not gonna go anywhere else .

So actually the feast . So even though I'm from Youngstown , we have a lot of Italian festivals . My neighbors used to live in little Italy so they brought me up there my first time . I was seven and love it . When I'm in Cleveland I'll still go to little Italy to eat , so Okay . Lasantas .

Perfect , all right , carlo , round us out here .

I don't want , I don't want Italian to see . The only time that you get to see all the old Italians come out and play their music and do all the all the things that they're supposed to do , and it's not mixed with the Irish and the Polish , et cetera .

Yeah , I got to say for me it's weird , but it's the Wheeling Italian festival in downtown Wheeling , west Virginia . Like little known , not a lot of people know about it . It's not as people-y Brittany you might like it I mean , so it's not bad .

I've heard that's where it's at .

So I will make it next year . I'm already marking it on my calendar as we speak for next year . So , oh , parking spot reserve for you . That's what I like to hear . All right , carlo , I want to start with you , because I feel like you're going to be very opinionated on this one . Which is the best Godfather movie ? The first , second or third ?

It's the first one for me , just because the third one shouldn't even be in the . It shouldn't even be a trilogy to start there . The second one bounces back and forth too much for me , and I enjoy the whole aspect of Brando and Pacino together .

Okay , all right , andrea . What about you ?

Okay , I don't like , I do not sit down and watch TV or movies . So I had it's not an excuse but I haven't seen them . And they're on the list , but I haven't seen them .

All right , you just lost a couple of you should see their faces . You just lost the time . No , I'm with you .

I'm with you . I can make it through the first one and that's it . I'm done after that .

That's just that's too much , I feel like I want to watch it because of the heritage and like I've seen parts of it when it's been on TV , but I just don't sit down and watch TV . So , carlo , now that I'm saying this , I feel like you were like wow , I wish I knew that in college , because you would have maybe sit down and watch them .

I know you know I wouldn't have made you watch the third one . It's four and a half hours of something we could have done in 10 minutes in and out , but still you definitely need to get to see .

And we'll do that .

I don't think Francis Ford Coppola's daughter should have been Michael's daughter . Let's leave it at that .

We can have a whole show just on this right here . Zach , let's get your takes , since Brittany kind of already told us it's the first one for you .

I feel like I'm going to get myself in trouble here too . I've actually only ever seen the first one , and it's been within the last probably seven years , pretty recently . So I keep being told I have to see the second one .

You really don't . Like Carlo said , it's four and a half hours of nonsense , that basically in 10 minutes you get the whole thing .

It could have been an after school special half hour , in and out , with a couple commercial breaks . It's way to big .

You're really selling it now . I can't wait to watch that .

I'm going to go pop it in right after the show . Well , that's the problem .

Someone says something's bad . I almost want to watch it , just as much as if they say it was so good .

That's fair . All right , Zach , let's stay with you . I really want to hear the answers to this question . Do you claim the cast of the Jersey Shore as real Italian people , Zach go .

I mean , I think you have to . I've never thought about that , though I feel like I'm on the spot . I mean , I think Vinny for sure . I think Vinny's a good Italian boy , the rest of them Not so much . But we can claim Vinny and we'll leave the situation at the short house .

Picking and choosing . I like it . I like it . Brittany , you look like a Jersey short fit .

I was the best show . That was just . That was a shit show . Yes , they are , but like do we have to claim Jersey as Italian at all ? It's just , it's so obnoxious 100% but but it , it . I mean that's what it is , it's that's . Yeah , I mean they got their things . They could you know , gravy , come on .

Italian . It's just , I don't know if I accept them . I don't , I don't .

Know , I mean that's , that's the side of the family that's over there .

There's there's always that table over there .

That's I put with the kids fan , the kids table at the . Yeah you go , you go sit with the kids and you shut your mouth .

I don't know . I've had good fist pump , though that's . That was my jam . That was just sheer entertainment . I .

Get it . I can't really . What about you ?

I agree . I think Vinnie made the show as authentic as an Italian as it could be , like when they would bring family in do the Sunday dinners , things like that authentic . I have never seen Anybody on my dad's side of the family tan like GTL . The only part in there that's accurate is laundry and that's for the women , no thanks , like the women didn't longer .

Carlo , they can sit over there . They can come to the , they can be at the family function , but they don't really want to . We don't need to have them at the same side of the building . They sit on that side we . Maybe we'll come over and say hello after a couple drinks .

Yeah , you can loosen up for me . No , yeah , I Knew when Fitty wrote that question because he wrote that question that that was gonna be probably my favorite question to ask . I almost moved it to the end just just because I knew it was gonna go off the rails and it they get worse .

I got two people here that I consider some of my favorite Italians . I don't like people , so it's hard for me to say that like I like Godfather's , because just because you're Italian doesn't mean that I'm necessarily gonna hit it off with you . But there are two Italians that I know from Bethany that I happen three .

I'm just about to make a career talking about how much I hate people on stage to a room full of people . You know I like that .

I would listen to that for hours I'm working on that working on it , andrea .

What about you ?

You know and that's a hard one I feel like I don't really have one , like there's some Breeze in our area that I would say would be my favorite , but I don't know , michael Angelo , that's not gonna go with famous Italian . Okay .

I can get on board with that . Brittany , you look annoyed with this question and I can't wait to hear your answer , just the no .

I'm thinking You're up , listen , I have . I have a whole Italian club , 500 , some odd people . They are my favorites . I'm gonna suck up right now . They are my favorite . They're not all Italian but they , if they're not Italian , they want to be there . They appreciate it , they want to , they want to botch you with us .

I got a couple hundred of them . Okay , it's all right , zach , what about you ?

Yeah , I guess I should probably say my membership as well . But specifically I guess we can go way back to Pietro Perron , who in 1895 was the first president of the club . So we'll I won't play favorites , We'll go with the guy who started it all down here .

Oh , you can't be mad at that , for sure . I'm kind of with Carlo , though , like I don't like people .

In general , though , Like I , Not enough to answer that question no .

My favorite Pizons are right here . We're talking right now , so we'll go with that . For me , I'll answer that one , and we kind of talked about this one and this one's going to go off the rails . I know it is , but , zach , what's your favorite kind of sauce and it is sauce for those of you out there , it's not gravy , it's sauce .

It is . It is sauce . If we're going to go , if we're going to get pretty specific here , it's got to be I mean , it's obviously the red sauce . Yeah , it's got to be . Giannis Catering in Lowville . My mother worked there for forever with Brian Yemma , who's fantastic , and I think you know for me it's tough between them .

Homemade with the neck bones . Good meat sauce , even just like a simple red , like just fresh tomatoes . Okay , it's got to be homemade though . Yeah , and I've said all the people making me sauces . I'm a little dicey , huh .

Yeah , it's funny , unless I know .

Unless I know that that's a tried and true , it's , I don't trust it . Some of them are too sweet , some are too saucy . Is that a thing ? Yeah , that is a thing .

That is a thing too saucy Too sick , I don't know .

It's too something . It's got to be . Too much of this , too much of that , too much of that . There's a place by me that does too much oregano .

Yeah , as somebody who married somebody who's not Italian at all , like every Sunday when we were having Sunday sauce , she's always like , all right , I need my my daygo in here to make sure the sauce is fine . I was like I don't know why you don't just let me do the sauce . Like just let me handle it .

She's got to learn , she's got to learn .

I just heard her from downstairs . She goes , what she ? Just I'm your honey , what Nothing , Andrea , go ahead .

So I mean , my favorite would be vodka sauce , but I can't make it well , so I eat red sauce more . But when I get vodka and it's a good vodka I'm excited .

Okay , tarlo , oh , I'm a step . I'm going to agree with Brittany it's got to be homemade , it's got to be my . For me it's got to be my grams . But you know , five wake up at five o'clock in the morning . She cooks it all day long .

So yeah , yeah that's . That's tough and I know they don't listen to the show , but my parents and my grandparents , like I've been begging for that recipe for years and they're still they won't come off it no .

Because there's no recipe . Good sauce doesn't have a recipe .

It's not a recipe it's just you just do it . Yeah , I just need to know what she does , then Just tell me , I'll write it down . I don't care , but I've been asking for years . On her deathbed she'll probably be like , just whisper it , like with the last breath and that's all I'm going to get . And it's like , no , I need , I can't write that fast .

And a pinch of .

Yep , there's always going to be , and that last little bit , ah yeah , it's just out of a patch , it's just .

Then you can't pick out which one's more tragic . Yeah , that's really tough stuff , but I work for hospice , so oh no .

This show always goes off the rails . All right , carlo . Coffee , espresso or cappuccino what's your go-to ?

Time out . What did you say ? What did you say ?

Coffee .

What did you call it ? Yeah ?

Express or cappuccino .

No , get rid of that act . Espresso , come on now .

You know what . It's been a long day .

I'm like seven millers deep right now , Like that's not that I can't let you ask that question . I can't let you ask that question .

You asked the question , that's pretty good .

Ask the fucking question , keep going .

Coffee . It's craffing for me and I'm going to try . I'm going to get Bono coffee here now . That's my new thing .

so yeah , everybody needs to get some . Bono's , bro , the newest sponsor and the newest brand to the like Bono comedy brand , bono's brew coffee . Gotta get you some . That's my answer , andrea . Go ahead Coffee , espresso or cappuccino .

I like espresso but like in my coffee , my dad's out of the family . We eat , you know , do our thing . They come out with the little cups of straight espresso . Not like that , it's got to be espresso in the coffee .

All right , Brittany . I'm not even asking you the question . Just answer the question .

All of it . Any way , you give me a coffee bean , I will have it , ok , yeah .

All right , zach , I'm probably going to espresso . I don't do a ton of coffee when I do , I just want a little bit of coffee , so espresso is perfect for me .

OK . Ok , zach , we're going to stay with you . And the Godfather question didn't go over that Well , I'm sure this one's going to go over even better . What does the movie Goodfellows ? Where does the movie Goodfellows rank on your all-time favorite movie list ?

All-time favorite movie list . I mean it's gotta be top five . I mean it's by .

Absolutely Brittany . What about you ?

There's two movies I turn on when I don't know what else to watch . One this good fellows , the other ones my cousin Vinnie . So it's it's in top five . It just depends on the mood . Sometimes I feel like I'm coming , you know , I'm a girl so it happens , and other times it's . It's Not dogfather , I .

Andrea , with how the the godfather question have you even seen good fellas yet , or is it on the list of a ?

List of movies right over here that I'm writing of what I need to see .

All right , I don't know you , but I know you're gonna like good fellas , I know , I know this yeah . I know , report back oh .

I'm checking in , don't worry , it's way up there .

I don't have a number for it , but it's way up there when it's on , you watch it .

Yeah but it's not on you find it Absolutely , absolutely , all right , call it . What are your thoughts on cannolis ?

I've been in the mood . I'm more of a Scott guys , but that's just me . What was that ? I'm more of a biscotti guy . That's me . Okay , but I'm like an Elise . I just have to be in the mood for one . You're allowed up .

The wife is coming in this . She doesn't come to the show often , but we were talking about sauce and how you always tell me to come and check the sauce when we had when it's pasta night . And as soon as I said that , I heard you go what that's ?

because I've just figured out . For 36 years I've been using tinfoil wrong .

All right , all right , this is getting off the rails , but I gotta know this story real quick . Guys , we're gonna take a pause right now .

Okay , so I have always put the tinfoil on the pan . Put it shiny side up , right ? If you're putting something on top of it , okay , yeah , perfect . Something possessed me to look at the directions . Yes , I'm that person that it has to look at the directions . For tinfoil , you have to put the doll side up . That's the side that you cook on .

I didn't know that either . Bonus question anybody know that fucking question ? Did anybody hear it ? The shiny side reflects the heat .

That's when you're making something , when you want to keep it warm for the shiny side down .

You were supposed to cook on .

We're getting a culinary lesson . We're getting tinfoil lesson . We're doing worse .

We're all about learning here at the ride home . Rance podcast , carlo , if you didn't know that , what I was reacting about .

If you must know , I'm not proud of it .

It was , it was literally the second , after I was talking about you Having me come and taste the sauce to make sure it's alright , because I made the joke that I you should just let me cook the sauce . Let the day go , cook the sauce .

What are their thoughts on breaking the pasta ?

Okay , bonus question for all my pies .

Oh , you're gonna a bunch dirty .

And please help me win this war for the past eight years that I've been having with her . Do you break the pasta before you put it in the bowl ? Collectively answer this as a whole .

Immediately straight to jail .

Certainly .

Mother why you cook the pasta . I'll cook my potatoes . Don't fuck with how I cook mine . I won't fuck with .

I don't fuck with how you cook your potatoes . We're back to our regularly scheduled questionnaire with my pie zons , after the Welcome to the Bono house , where we're crazy here and we're very loud and I don't know how my neighbors haven't called the cops on us yet . But anyways , carl , your biscotti guy , yeah , over cannoli , andrea . Love you , son Andrea .

I just had the best cappuccino cannoli from Jimmy's in Liberty . So if you're ever in this area , that's where you got to go for some pastries . So Absolutely a cannoli .

Okay , brittany I .

Can do a cannoli . Just no cherries Now . No cherries in that don't know up a pink in that filling . I Can do a cannoli , All right .

Zach Think a good cannoli is really good , but you don't get it . You know , I think every now and again you get a good one , but it's tough sometimes . There , you know , a lot of times are soggy or you know , just Too sweet or not sweet enough , but you're in the feelings gritty .

Yeah , it's tough to be a really good one it really is .

I'll have to check out Jimmy's next time I'm up in Liberty .

Yes , very good , you all , you won't regret it but when that cannoli is on point , though that that's . But I will agree with Carlo . I do enjoy a biscotti every now and again . Get some coffee , do you know ? Mm-hmm .

So now , are you a doctor or do you eat it separately ? Yes , I will do both , I've done .

Anyway , yes , I've done it both at that at family functions . You have to dunk it . I'll tell you that that they will watch you . The older Italians in my family will watch you to make sure you're dunking it in the coffee . But yeah , for sure , absolutely .

When you come down for the low bill festival , you'll have to go to Jimmy's too , because they have like 24 different flavors in their case . Uh , but Scotty , at any point , I don't know what you're talking about .

I'm driving there right now for .

Oh , that sounds amazing .

All right , zach , we're going to end this with you , and once again , uh , since we'll share this plug for him here . Since , uh , the wonderful manager of the podcast , is getting married in uh a month basically from now , I'm pretty sure this question is for him . Should an Italian wedding play mostly Italian music ? What are your thoughts , go , zach ?

So I don't think . So I mean , I think you obviously got to sprinkle in a couple here and there . You're probably towards the end of the night , You're , you're probably doing some more classical stuff , but I like to party at weddings . I think you got to .

Brittany .

Same same answer . A little sprinkle here and there , but no , you got it's other people . You got other people there , but I'd appreciate it . It might think it's a little , a little too much .

Okay , I get it Andrea .

Um , I think the dinner music I've heard a lot of really like Italian dinner music when you know everybody's greeting each other and whatnot , but then , yeah , when the party starts can't be fist bump and uh , you know some authentic Italian music , a Italian poker .

Yeah , can't fist bump to that some more day . It uh again . It doesn't really come off . The fist right , carlo , I'm in the same boat .

I don't think it has to . At the end of the night , when you're starting to get people to tell out , you know , maybe throw up your Dean and if you want to throw your extra music on your penny , Ben it and such , but I don't think you have to have it throughout the entire wedding . This isn't the opening scene of the Godfather , Okay , Okay .

I can appreciate that , and I'm sure Fitty will appreciate that too as well , as he is trying to put the final touches on his wedding and so and we're back to the tin foil talk , as she just came back in the life at the end of the show here .

Um , why are there even two sides ? Why can't we put it on both sides ? We have the technology .

That pisses me off , you have to do a tin foil . You do you . Tell her , you do you . Now everyone's seeing why .

Mike Botto does not need to write any comedy materials , because I get it in waves at my house .

You do a whole podcast with a cooking show for her . But like it happens .

It's like you learn by accident and they would shave money by not having to print instructions on which side needs to be up or down . I am , I am emailing you , get . You get your poison . Pan out , sweetheart , and you go to you , you go , all right , you're 14 .

That's this combat town like . So be rich .

Oh , there's my cat . I'm throwing down the stairs .

Now everyone sees why I'm such a bundle of joy all the time and I got the persona , the angry white . There he is . This is the . He loves me . The 14 year old that is bigger than me . All right , get out of here . This is never going to go on by 12 .

You're going to have to edit . So much there's . I'm leaving it as is the hell it does no way .

This is , this is authenticity .

I like this is there's .

There might be some volume changes , but after that the hell with it . They were just Reynolds raps getting to shout out in the right .

I'm not a not a sponsor , but we're willing to listen , you know , if it's just any opportunities .

but that is going to do it for the Italian round table episode of the ride home rance podcast . I want to thank all of my guests Carlo , andrea , zach and Brittany . This was a lot of fun getting to sit down with my pizons and talk about all things Italian and learn a little bit more about them too as well .