Food is a huge part of The Sopranos, representing everything from family togetherness and traditions to the business of crime, from the all important aspect of sex to comfort. Much of the action in The Sopranos takes place while characters are eating, which can make for a very hungry viewer. Here are some key Soprano moments that take place around food in the mob universe.
In the very first episode, Tony suffers the panic attack at a family barbeque that will connect him with psychiatrist, Dr. Jennifer Melfi. He passes out while cooking; and when his doctors are unable to find any reason for his collapse, they look to the possibility of panic attacks. What becomes evident is that Tony has a history of such attacks.
Even the storyline for that first episode has to do with a restaurant. Uncle Junior wants to stage a hit in one of the mobster’s favorite restaurant’s, Vesuvio, owned by Artie Buccio, a life-long friend of Tony’s. Concerned that a killing at Vesuvio will damage Artie’s business, Tony has the restaurant burned down instead, hoping the insurance money will allow Artie to rebuild.
Artie gets his restaurant rebuilt, and the first season ends with the Soprano family having dinner at the new Vesuvio. In what can be called one of the nicer moments of the series, Tony proposes a toast to his family. As with many other Soprano family dinners, this one is special. The major holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas are shown on the show, but this small moment demonstrates that the familial bonds of mother, father, daughter, and son stand united against the outside world.
Two murders have connections to food because they occur in the kitchen—one over dinner and the other breakfast. The first incident deals with Janice Soprano and her fiancé, Richie Aprile, and takes place during the second season. After Janice brings up his son, a sore subject with Richie, he punches Janice in the mouth during dinner. Not about to put up with abuse, Janice responds by shooting him dead. The only problem Janice has in killing Richie is how to dispose of the body, for which she relies on help from her brother.
In season four, Ralph Cifaretto is cooking eggs for breakfast, when Tony confronts him over the death of a racehorse in a fire that both men owned. When Ralph justifies his actions by saying it was just a horse, Tony flies into a furious rage. Tony punches Ralph, who defends himself with pots, pans, and a knife. The two men grapple on the kitchen floor until Tony strangles Ralph.
The kitchen remains a very dangerous place in the world of the Sopranos. In season six, Uncle Junior shoots Tony in the kitchen, where Tony has prepared dinner for them. The contrast between the series and real life is that the kitchen is usually a place of warmth and community in our homes, but often not so in The Sopranos. While the kitchen is still a place of gathering for the Soprano clan, it can often be one of violence as well.
There are numerous meals shown among Tony and his crew, but one in particular stands out. In “Two Tonys” during season five, Christopher complains bitterly about always having to pay for dinner for the crew and on one occasion, forces Paulie to pay. A feud erupts between Christopher and Paulie, and Tony orders Christopher to continue paying for dinners, explaining that it’s respectful and also tradition. He reminds Christopher that one day his dinners will be paid for.
The crew visits Atlantic City, where Paulie tells everyone to order what they want, so Christopher winds up with an even larger bill. The tab comes to $1,184, and Christopher pays $1,200 leaving a tip of only $16. The two men are still bickering in the parking lot over the price of the meal when the waiter confronts them about the poor tip. He calls them “fucking assholes”; and as he turns to leave, Christopher hits him in the back of the head with a brick. The waiter starts convulsing, and Paulie shoots him, but not before taking the money Christopher paid out for dinner. The following day, both men agree to “bury the hatchet” and split the tab.
Another key incident involves a ruined meal and one of Tony’s girlfriend’s, Gloria Trillo. Tony was supposed to come to Gloria’s for dinner (she was preparing brisket), but is delayed by family obligations. By the time he shows up, dinner is brunt to a crisp, and Gloria is furious. An argument ensues, and Gloria hurls the meat at Tony’s head. This leads to a physical altercation, during which Tony realizes that Gloria is mentally unhinged and actually wants him to kill her. It is at this point that Tony ends their relationship.
Numerous Sunday dinners are shown at the Soprano household throughout the series. In one episode, Tony explains to his sister Janice how important such dinners are in terms of family time and tradition. This is also probably because Janice is not the wonderful cook that Carmela is; and when it comes time for Janice to make Sunday dinner, she gets the meal catered from Vesuvio.
Food represents many things on The Sopranos—one being grief. When Uncle Junior’s aide, Bobby Baccalieri’s wife dies in an automobile accident, he is devastated. When he begins dating Janice Soprano, Bobby has a difficult parting with the last pan of ziti his wife made. Janice is practical—they need something to eat for dinner—but Bobby has an emotional attachment to the food representing the memory of his late wife. Bobby would hold onto the ziti forever or at least until a special occasion. Janice, however, prepares the ziti for dinner, forcing Bobby to confront the death of his wife.
The Sopranos also uses food as a stand-in for sex. During the first season, Carmela has an increasingly close relationship with her parish priest, Father Phil. On one occasion when Carmela is recovering from the flu, Father Phil stops by unannounced and later admits he had a hankering for Carmela’s delicious ziti. When Carmela observes Father Phil accepting ziti from a newly widowed parishioner, she reacts as a jealous lover would. Carmela takes the ziti she had brought for Father and tosses it in the trash. Shortly after that, Carmela tells Father Phil that she’s tired of him taking advantage of her free food and hospitality (much the way some men take advantage of sex) and effectively ends their relationship. She tells him that it’s “the whiff of sexuality that never goes anywhere” that excites him, and she ends their relationship.
At the beginning of season six, in the opening episode, Tony and Carmela discover a new sushi restaurant. They start to eat their frequently; and at one point, Carmela even mentions fantasizing about the restaurant’s wonderful sushi. Then Tony eats at the restaurant by himself, and this revelation hurts Carmela, who tells him, “I thought that was our place.” The discovery of the sushi restaurant comes prior to Tony being shot by Uncle Junior, so Tony and Carmela’s marriage is still on shaky ground at this point. They both treat the restaurant the same as they would sex – Carmela fantasizing about sushi, and Tony sneaking into the restaurant by himself.
The first part of season six ends with Christmas dinner. Everyone sits around the Christmas tree at the Soprano household, while “Silent Night” plays in the background. Tony and Phil Leotardo of the Lupertazzi crime family have come to a truce. Meadow calls home to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, while Carmela and Janice put the finishing touches on dinner. Much like in the ending of season one at Vesuvio, Tony toasts his family and tells everyone how blessed he is.
During the second part of the sixth and final season, A.J. spirals into depression and his parents are at a loss as to how to help him. Carmela copes by making A.J. his favorite foods such as “Lincoln log sandwiches” and ziti, but the usual, sure-fire cure doesn’t work. When A.J. attempts to drown himself in the family pool, Tony rescues him, and the family is faced with just how ill A.J. is. When Tony comes to the hospital to visit A.J., he brings pizza, one of A.J.’s favorite foods. Through the pizza, Tony is trying to offer A.J. comfort in a stressful situation; but in many ways, Tony is consoling himself in attempting to share a meal with his son.
In a sense, the food aspect of The Sopranos demonstrates what may be in store for the family at the end of the series. The series ends not in Vesuvio, but at an ordinary diner, where Tony, Carmela, and A.J. have ordered onion rings while they await the arrival of Meadow.
Since the final episode of the series is titled, “Made in America”, the ordering of onion rings by the Soprano family may signify that they are getting an American delicacy. According to Yahoo and Wikipedia, breaded, fried onions were developed by Sam Quigley in 1955 at his Nebraska restaurant. Considered an appetizer, the family takes pleasure in this good food as the wait for their final member.
Gang wars have erupted between the DiMeo and Lupertazzi families, and both have experienced heavy losses. Forced to hide out in a safe house for several weeks, Tony and his family have had to take a major step down from their usual lavish lifestyles. The diner and the simple order of onion rings may represent how far the mighty crime boss has fallen or how far he is about to. The end to The Sopranos is, of course, the screen fading to black and perhaps, Tony Soprano’s last meal.
Throughout The Sopranos, meals and food play an important role. On the bad side, meals are often at the center of violence where people frequently get killed. On the good side, food also represents a variety of things, such as family togetherness, comfort, sex, and even the aspect of grief. Either way, watching The Sopranos, one can definitely work up an appetite.
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