141. Searching for Stanley

I have always been a big fan of Stanley Tucci. But I must confess that over these bleak eighteen months of lockdown, he has loomed especially large in my consciousness.

It began with his CNN show Searching for Italy that was must-see TV at our house and many others. For company, I learned to make Spaghetti alla Nerano that Stanley likes to serve his guests, and on this current trip, we included some locations, like Emilia-Romagna, that Stanley visited on the show that we likely would not have included otherwise.

By lucky coincidence, Stanley’s memoir Taste: My Life through Food was released the day we left, so we downloaded the audio version. As we drive through Italy, we hear Stanley’s voice, talking about his relatives in Calabria, his mother’s and grandmother’s cooking, his own family holiday traditions, and the story behind his movie Big Night.

And adding to the fun, instead of wistfully longing for the dishes he describes, we are able to order them that very evening in whatever trattoria we stop in.

It feels like he is an old friend, traveling along with us. I even had the thought — what if he’s in Venice when we are, filming an episode for the next season?

As noted previously, I could count the number of Americans in Venice on two hands, but amazingly, two of those fingers were Bruce and Elizabeth Rubin, who live right around the corner from us in Swarthmore. When I commented how rarely we were seeing Americans, they said, “Oh, we saw one – Stanley Tucci – he’s here filming an episode. We saw him in the restaurant where we had dinner last night.”

Wait, what? He’s in Venice??? Just like I imagined? At that point, I went into high alert, staring intently at every slight, middle-aged man with a shaved head (of which there were hundreds) searching for Stanley. I even hung around the Rialto Market twice, knowing it would be a likely destination for his show. (It turns out I was right; he posted a little Instagram video of himself shopping there.)

But sadly, no luck, no Stanley for me. (Although we did spot Michael Moore, instantly recognizable by his shlumpy appearance and his booming Michigander accent.) So Bruce Rubin, not a shy guy, had to stand in for all of his when he approached Stanley and said, “Mr. Tucci, I know you’re enjoying dinner with your family and friends, but I just have to tell you how much we enjoyed your show. You got us through the pandemic.” Well done, Bruce. I couldn’t have said it better.