Godfather's Pizza

Well, not exactly. Forty years ago today, the epic film "The Godfather" opened in theaters. The movie, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, ranks #2 on the American Film Institute's list of "the 100 greatest movies ever."  Perhaps "The Godfather" deserves to be ranked by restaurant critics and food aficionados. After all, so many of the film's scenes were connected to food or dining.

Britain's Prospect magazine reminds us of the various ways in which meals played a starring role:

Food is everywhere in this gangster classic, and privy to a lot of trauma. Don Corleone (Marlon Brando) dies in the family tomato patch. The family soldier Clemenza instructs a hitman to "leave the gun, take the cannoli" after a mob execution. But perhaps its most famous food moment is the scene in which the young Michael Corleone, played by Al Pacino, shoots a clan rival and his accomplice over dinner in an Italian restaurant. Coppola builds the tension masterfully. By the time someone says, "Try the veal. It's the best in the city," you want to crawl under the table and cower.

Martin Could Be Messy at Mealtime

Saturday marks the 82nd anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birth.  A library branch in South Bend, Ind., plans to observe this holiday weekend by serving the civil rights leader’s favorite foods.  So what were they?

The Nobel Peace Prize winner enjoyed feasting on chitterlings, fried chicken, and black-eyed peas.  And when King devoured soul food, his favorite dining utensils were his hands.  He "never did learn the finer arts of eating," said one friend.  Another described a meal at a New York restaurant in which King’s companions laughed at him because, instead of "putting on the dog in terms of table manners, he brought his same old country habits of eating."

Do You Have a Reservation?

British rock star Rod Stewart turns 66 years old today.  During his relationship with actress Britt Ekland in the 1970s, Stewart did his best to keep the duo one step ahead of the press.  And one tactic he used was reserving restaurant tables under the names of Mr. and Mrs. Cockforth.

Where He Savored Seafood

The playwright Tennessee Williams loved shrimp and oysters, and they were largely what made Galatoire’s restaurant his favorite in New Orleans.  Whenever he dined there, Williams preferred a table in the front corner, from which he could survey the entire room of diners.  He was so fond of Galatoire’s that he even included a reference to the classic creole restaurant in his play, A Streetcar Named Desire.

An Appetite for Art

In 1958, abstract artist Mark Rothko received a commission to paint murals for the Four Seasons restaurant in New York City.  Yet he sought to create murals that would disturb — not soothe — the diners at the newly opened restaurant on Park Avenue.  “I hope to paint something,” said Rothko, “that will ruin the appetite of every son of a bitch who ever eats in that room.”

One night he and his wife dined at the restaurant, and the meal’s price tag enraged Rothko.  “Anybody who will eat that kind of food for those kinds of prices will never look at a painting of mine!” he snapped.  He canceled the commission before he had finished all of the murals.