by Virginia B. Wood
The best meal to be had in Austin on Sunday, November 10 was served in a
restaurant but was not available to the public. That night, 16 Italian
food-loving Austin cooks got together at Coyote Cafe to recreate the banquet
menu from this fall’s popular independent film, Big Night. Producers
Rysher Entertainment had inserted a copy of the menu in the press kit and I was
able to ask Deborah di Sabatino, the film’s food stylist, some questions we had
before planning the meal. A graduate of the Master’s Program at the Culinary
Center of New York, the luscious, authentic Italian food in Big Night was her first film assignment. “The menu in the film was somewhat different
from what they put in the press kit, I think,” said di Sabatino, admitting that
chicken pieces were used to represent both the Lemon-Rosemary Roasted Capon and
Rabbit on Polenta with Tomato Sauce and that the pan of saut�ed grapes
prepared by Segundo wouldn’t have been part of a traditional meal. The grapes
were a spur-of-the-moment innovation from writer/director/star Stanley Tucci.
Di Sabatino worked closely with stars Tucci and Tony Shaloub, both of whom
spent several months training in upscale Italian restaurants in New York and
California in preparation for the film. “My kitchen, complete with its own
generator, was built next door to the restaurant kitchen on the set,” she
explained. “We roasted lots of whole salmon and I probably made 30-35 of the
timpanos while they were filming those scenes.” Di Sabatino’s biggest
challenge was that all the food she prepared had to be edible and also to
“read” well on film. She said she had heard of one other Big Night Party, at a restaurant called Toscano in Wilmington, Delaware.
For the Austin Big Night party, our task was much easier. We only had
to trim the enormous banquet menu down to manageable proportions, have everyone
choose a course to prepare, and develop or locate recipes for their dish.
Because Coyote Cafe is closed on Sundays, Coyote GM Kevin Dott kindly offered
the restaurant for the party. That meant we had a venue with plenty of space,
banquet tables, china, silver and glassware, a complete commercial kitchen, a
sound system, and a bar for smoking and making espresso. What a way to
entertain! We located the soundtrack and other compatible Fifties recordings,
everyone gladly chipped in to hire a dishwasher, and all that was left to do
was cook. The banquet table was decorated with flower and herb arrangements
from Lucinda Hutson’s garden and piles of delicious rustic bread sticks and focaccia made by Lisa Fox. Each
course was served by the guest who prepared it and many guests brought
excellent Italian wines. The only things missing were Louis Prima and the
post-party dip in the Atlantic. This is what we ate:
ANTIPASTI
Caponata, Parma Ham, Focaccia, Crostini, Goat Cheese, Olives, Roasted Peppers
(Tim Albright, 34th Street Cafe; Corey Harris, Chez Zee; Michael & Hallie
Speranza, formerly of Speranza’s)
LA ZUPPA
Beef Consomm� with Scallion & Mushroom Crepes (Jean-Luc & Denise
Salles, Jean-Luc’s Bistro)
I PRIMI
Il Rissotto — Spinach, Tomato, Seafood
(James & Marie Cahill, Austin Wine Merchant)
Il Timpano
(Emmett & Lisa Fox, San Gabriel Restaurant Group, Coyote Cafe)
I SECONDI
Lemon-Rosemary Roasted Capon w/Polenta
Roasted Potatoes, Sweet & Sour Carrots, Sauteed Zuchinni, Green Beans
(Virginia Wood; Chap Ross, 34th Street Cafe; Miguel Ravago,founding chef of
Fonda San Miguel; Phillipe Mercier, Hallie & Michael Speranza,)
I DOLCI
Biscotti, Cannoli, Pomegranate Granita, Bellini Sorbet,Grappa, Lemongello,
Tequila Digestivo
(Virginia Wood; Rebecca Rather, Bread Alone; Lucinda Hutson; Hallie Speranza
A.J. Hernandez, Horizon Importing)
This article appears in January 3 • 1997 and January 3 • 1997 (Cover).