Principal photography wrapped June 15th on the pilot episode of One and a Half Italians, a "Travel Channel meets the Food Network" show
currently in production. The show concept is simple. Antonio is a full-blooded Italian who
has lived in Italy (he played soccer there), and speaks the language fluently. Craig is half Italian on his mother's side
(hence the show's title), and loves the food, music and people, and has always wanted to learn more. In the show format,
viewers can travel the country with the two, and learn Italian and Italian-American culture right along with Craig.
Pittsburgh was chosen for the initial episode because of the historic and lively marketplace district,
a stretch of real estate between Allegheny River and Grant's Hill known as "The Strip." Famed for cafes, specialty
shops and fresh food vendors offering ethnic wares of all kinds, shapes and sizes, it is a Saturday morning tradition for
locals and visitors alike. Despite ominous clouds the day we visited, thousands of shoppers packed the sidewalks and businesses.
Shooting a segment inside La Prima Espresso Company on the Strip. That's Craig on the
left, Antonio on the right, and Dom on the camera.
The day started out at La Prima Espresso
Company, where Antonio tutored Craig in the finer points of Italian Cappacino and Espresso, and it quickly became a moveable
feast. At the sidewalk tables outside La Prima, the two held court with dozens of locals, including Tony the Sausage King
of Pittsburgh, leaders of local Italian-American associations, and the Italian Consulate-General of Pittsburgh himself. Next
came street interviews and a tour of the Pennsylvania Macaroni Company (a huge retailer of fresh cheese, olives, and an amazing array of other hard-to-find but great to eat food items) and The Enrico Biscotti Company, where owner Larry Lagattuta taught Craig how biscotti are made. For a full day, the two hosts tasted, sampled, scooped and
dipped our way to food-flavor heaven. Hint: It is not an area you'd want to start a diet.
Then
it was across the river to Steubenville, Ohio (Mr. Martin's hometown), where they took part in the 12th Annual Dean Martin Festival. They also ate great food across the Ohio River at Mario's Restaurant in Weirton, West Virginia, and learned all about
Gelato at Janet's Gelato Creamery & Eatery. Along the way, Antonio and Craig chatted (and sang) with locals and fans
alike, and hung with actor Vincent "Vinny" Pastore, formerly of The Sopranos and Celebrity Apprentice,
the Grand Marshall of this years' Dean Martin parade.
Vinny -- who looked pretty good for
having been "whacked" a few seasons ago by Tony Soprano -- gave a great interview, one which was serendipitously
interrupted (and wonderfully augmented) by Dean Martin's daughter, Deana, author of the memoir "Memories Are Made
of This" and a driving force behind the annual festival. Craig has always been a huge Dean Martin fan, so chatting with
Deana about her Dad's life, music, films and TV shows was a real treat for him. Craig's personal nerd moment: He asked
her (off camera, of course!) to sign his copy of her book. She did.
"Everybody loves a little Dino." This particular little Dino was on the counter
of The Naples Spaghetti House, where Dino dined, and where the interviews with Vinny and Deana took place.
All in all, a fruitful (and very filling) trip, and what the guys hope will be an educational, energetic and enjoyable
show. Special thanks to crew members Rachel Ramey, Rick Terry, Dom Durbin and Trez Drake from Capistrano Films for helping
make it a great weekend.
