A Meal to Die For: A Culinary Novel of Crime (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Prof. Allen C. Kupfer (Author) "Benny lowered the flame under the foie gras he was searing..." (more)
Key Phrases: Pazzo Oeuf, Gourmet Express, Joey Arso (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Actor Gannascoli, best known for his role as Vito Spatafore on The Sopranos, with an assist from Kupfer (The Journal of Professor Abraham Van Helsing), serves up a solid debut filled with mouth-watering recipes. Mobbed-up Brooklyn chef Benny Lacoco prepares the dinner of a lifetime, knowing that someone stands to get whacked when the last course is served. The rat who set up the reigning capo for 10 to 20 is one of the made men at the table, but Benny realizes suspicion could fall anywhere: "I'll be cooking all night and my reward could be a piece of lead in the head." Benny ruminates on how he fell into his life of crime, acting as a food fence to move stolen stock out to select restaurants, "transfusing" inferior olive oil or wine into higher-ticket containers. The mix of haute cuisine and Mafiosi is a natural—obviously Julia Child and Tony Soprano both like to eat, right? And how often do you see a mobster getting disrespect for "revealing his limited knowledge of food and even more limited food choice experience"?
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Review

“A Meal to Die For is deliciously sinful and fattening.  Not since I read Rex Stout’s Too Many Cooks while stuck on an Amtrak train have I been so entertained and famished at the same time.  I hope Joseph Gannascoli and Allen C. Kupfer will dish up many more courses in the future.”—Loren Estleman, author of Nicotine Kiss
 
“A tasty slice of mob life.”—Steven R. Schirripa, author of A Goomba’s Guide to Life and actor on HBO’s The Sopranos (Bobby Bacala)
 
“It’s Big Night meets Goodfellas.”—James Gandolfini, Tony Soprano on HBO’s The Sopranos 

“A Meal to Die For is deliciously sinful and fattening." (Loren Estleman, author of Nicotine Kiss )

“A tasty slice of mob life.” (Steven R. Schirripa, author of A Goomba's Guide to Life )

“It’s Big Night meets Goodfellas." (James Gandolfini, actor on HBO's The Sopranos )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books (January 10, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765314444
• ISBN-13: 978-0765314444
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #335,598 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good read, January 12, 2006

By	Maria N. Favuzza - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was filled with such excitement and anticipation that I couldn't put it down. The setting is present day Brooklyn with flashbacks of Brooklyn in the "good old days". In fact, many of the places mentioned in his book brought back fond memories of my childhood. It's an adventure filled with dreams, reality and the will to overcome adversity. I can't vouch for the recipes at the beginning of every chapter though, but I will try some of them. Pretty good effort for a first-time writer and a Sopranos star. I look forward to reading a second book!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a pleasure to read, January 10, 2006

By	spats - See all my reviews

book flowed well, interesting recipes , funny story, very sopranoish in the diologue, loved it, highly recommend it, enjoy

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A BOOK TO DIE FOR, January 12, 2006

By	lara jenkins (chicago) - See all my reviews

I bought this for my husband because he is such a big Soprano fan, but I wound up reading it in two days, loved the food, and the story, I know he will too, as will other readers