I’m attending an Italian dinner in honor of Tony Bennett where the fellow guests include the likes of Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro. Could this be a red sauce-soaked fever dream? Did I overdo the Sambuca?
No, this was all real. Or as Mr. Bennett would sing, I’m living “The Good Life.”
The event, hosted at the Angel Orensanz Foundation on Manhattan's Lower East Side, was to support the nonprofit, Exploring the Arts, founded by the late singing legend, which partners with 55 public middle and high schools throughout the city to bolster their arts' programs.
“Tony had gone to an arts school when he was younger, and it had such an impact on his life," said Kelsey Bennett, Tony’s granddaughter and organizer of the event. Bennett even founded such a school in Queens, though he slyly named it the Frank Sinatra School for the Arts. Hence their regular fund-raising events, including the "Family Dinner" of which I attended.
“In our family, we love food and our Italian heritage,” Kelsey told me. "So, we really wanted to bring people together for a family-style Italian dinner as opposed to a sit-down typical benefit or gala setting. And if the white tablecloths are not covered in red sauce by the end of the night, we have not done our jobs."
To plan the "Family Dinner," Kelsey collaborated with Marcey Brownstein Catering.
The room twinkled in sparkling lights. The guestlist was eclectic. Among those at my table were a film director and a psychic medium. The lofted area was full of art, a prolific visual artist, created by Tony himself.
After opening music performed by frequent Tony collaborator, Trumpeter Brian Newman, it was time to enjoy our dinner.
The antipasti consisted of tomato and garlic bruschetta as well as a Caponata made with artichokes and Calabrian olives soaked in chili peppers and fennel.
The main courses, appropriately served family-style, consisted of an overflowing platter of Polpette Calabresi: pork and veal meatballs swimming in tomato sauce, Calabrian chili and parsley. As for pasta, we were served a steaming bowl of bucatini tossed with zucchini and ricotta salata. Ingeniously, there was also an eggplant involtini tied with strips of spaghetti.
As we feasted, and I tried desperately to pass these massive dishes without the contents pouring out onto my neighbor’s laps, the likes of De Niro, Rosie Perez, Marisa Tomei and Steve Buscemi recited passages from Tony’s autobiography Just Getting Started. Scorsese spoke about Bennett’s indelible legacy.
At the end of the night, dessert came in the form of an array of pastries from Manhattan staple Veniero’s.
“Tony had so many different ways to connect with people,” Kelsey told me. "There was never a time that opportunity was missed.”
Even in death, it appears.
