The Man, The Myth, The Mozzarella w/ Giovanni Paolo DiFuccia | Not Today, Pal

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Not Today, Pal - "The Man, The Myth, The Mozzarella" w/ Giovanni Paolo DiFuccia

Podcast: Not Today, Pal with Jamie-Lynn Sigler & Robert Iler
Network: YMH Studios
Episode Air Date: December 25, 2025
Guest: Giovanni Paolo DiFuccia (Giovanni’s Italian Deli, White Plains, NY)

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Episode Overview

This lively episode features Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Robert Iler (former TV siblings from The Sopranos) in their signature banter—balancing Jamie’s sweet optimism against Rob’s grumpy realism. The main attraction is an extended, boisterously authentic call with Giovanni Paolo DiFuccia, famed for viral videos of his traditional Italian deli sandwiches. The trio bond over New York roots, food philosophies, and the definition of “cultural cuisine,” serving up a rich slice of Italian-American life and laughs.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Gendered Language in Friendships

[00:42–07:25]

• Topic: How men and women refer to opposite-sex friends while dating
• Rob’s View: "If I say, I'm going to dinner with a friend, that could be a man or a woman." (Rob, 01:28)
• Jamie’s View: Jamie insists that women expect specificity, and “buddy” implies a male friend, especially when in a dating context.
• Dynamic: The conversation highlights the hosts’ differing perspectives on relationship etiquette, trust, and communication.

2. The Importance of Humor and Honesty in Relationships

[06:41–07:25]

• Jamie reflects, "I do think one of the characteristics to a good relationship...is being able to [mess] around with each other. Make a joke, be loose."
• There’s a recurring emphasis on the need for honesty and being able to laugh together, even during conflicts.

3. ASMR Rabbit Hole

[08:21–14:20]

• ASMR Video Critiques:
  • Jamie and Rob dive into viral ASMR personalities—the whispering, makeup tutorials, odd character bits—and their polar reactions to the genre ("It makes me rage inside. It makes me feel like, fucking talk." – Jamie, 12:40).
  • Rob loves ASMR for sleep, while Jamie finds it deeply unsettling: "That is my nightmare." (Jamie, 12:57)
• "Men of culture" Meme:
  • Rob introduces the internet phrase "Men of culture, we meet again" relating to YouTube athletic highlights, notably in videos with attractive female athletes (16:31–17:05).

4. Enter Giovanni Paolo DiFuccia: The Sandwich Maestro

[19:18–41:41]

• Introductions & Background:
  • Giovanni is candid, high-energy, and deeply Bronx/Italian.
  • He discusses growing up in a restaurant family, learning to cook from early discipline: "You don't want to go to school, get behind the counter, make a pizza." (Giovanni, 22:03)
• Sandwich Logic & Purity:
  • DiFuccia shares deli truths: freshness, proper ingredients, no freezer on-premises, and disdain for “fugazi” (fake) delis using dry mozzarella or bologna ("I don't sell bologna. I send them down the road." – 37:09).
  • He riffs on sandwich composition, particularly Jamie’s dream chicken cutlet sandwich, editing her choices and advocating for vinegar-forward toppings or adding quality prosciutto ("She’s gotta try a good prosciutt that's tender like a steak. You'll change your mind." – 31:50).
• Freshness Above All:
  • Explains why certain foods travel poorly, the right use of polio mozzarella, and why true deli flavor comes down to the right bread, properly crushed pepper, and ingredient order.
• Chicken Cutlet Masterclass:
  • The Giovanni Method: 4C Italian breadcrumbs, grated cheese, dried parsley, flour, egg wash with milk, let cutlets sit for tenderness (34:06).
  • Explains why breadcrumbs sometimes clump—"because people are cheap...they leave all those big chunks of eggs with breadcrumbs clumped up" (35:33).
• Food Philosophy:
  • On spending more for great food: "Eat, enjoy fucking life. You can't take the money with you. You never seen a bricks truck following a hearse." (38:05)
  • "Some people will spend $500,000 on a Louis bag, and not $50 on a dish of pasta. Are you out of your mind?" (38:44)
• Viral Status & Influence:
  • Proudly claims he started the “big sandwich” trend seen across social food media, emphasizing daily freshness and Italian-sourced ingredients—no shortcuts, real deal only.

5. Notable Quotes & Moments

• On healthy eaters who avoid sandwiches:
  • Giovanni: "Yeah, yeah. Get a fucking rope and go hang yourself." (41:17)
• On culinary trends:
  • "Nobody ever did that. I started it like seven, eight years ago...now they start making open-face sandwiches. Big fucking sandwiches. Nobody ever did that." (40:00)
• On food luxury:
  • "We spend extra couple dollars for the food...you can't take the money with you." (38:05)
• On sandwich perfection:
  • When asked about his electric chair last meal: “I wouldn’t ask for a sandwich. I’d ask for a dish of pasta—linguine and white clam sauce.” (36:08)

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Important Timestamps & Segments

| Segment | Content Description | Timestamp | |-----------------------------|------------------------------------------------------|------------| | Relationship Semantics | Buddy vs. friend discussion | 00:42–07:25 | | ASMR Debate | Viral ASMR critique and "men of culture" meme | 08:21–18:52 | | Calling Giovanni | Intro and deli anecdotes | 19:18 | | Sandwich & Ingredient Chat | Deep sandwich crafting and deli life | 23:10–35:52 | | Chicken Cutlet Tutorial | Giovanni’s perfected method | 33:57–35:52 | | Philosophy of Good Eating | Joy of food, anti-cheapness, trends, viral delis | 37:02–39:32 | | Closing with Giovanni | Farewells, reflections on authenticity, wrap-up | 41:16–43:12 |

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Episode Highlights & Tone

• Original Language & Tone: Warm, teasing, unmistakably New York, irreverent, and full of affectionate profanity, especially from Giovanni.
• Memorable Dynamics: Rob’s questioning serves as a bridge from listener curiosity to Giovanni’s expert, passionate, and sometimes hilariously blunt answers. Jamie contextualizes and helps navigate the nuances, especially when pitching her ideal sandwich.
• Vibes: Equal parts nostalgia and no-nonsense food wisdom, underpinned by casual, loving roasting both among hosts and with their guest.

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In Summary

The Man, The Myth, The Mozzarella is a classic collision of cultures—old-school Italian deli wisdom meets contemporary media personalities. Jamie and Rob tap into deep food nostalgia, relationship quirks, and digital phenomena, all catalyzed by Giovanni’s larger-than-life presence. From sandwich construction and ingredient philosophy to viral trends and “men of culture,” the episode delivers belly laughs and genuine insight for anyone—New York deli diehard or not—hungry for authenticity.

Must Listen For:

• Foodies and sandwich lovers
• New Yorkers living elsewhere
• Fans of kitchen and relationship banter
• Anyone needing a reminder that fresh mozzarella belongs in a league of its own

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Notable Quote to Sum Up the Episode

"Eat, enjoy fucking life. You can't take the money with you. You never seen a bricks truck following a hearse."
– Giovanni Paolo DiFuccia (38:05)

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Transcript

[A]

Kids, they grow up so fast. One day they're taking their first steps, and the next, they don't fit into the tiny sneakers they took them in. You blink your eyes, and their princess dress is two sizes too small. And their dinosaur backpack isn't cool anymore. But don't cry because they're growing up. Smile because you can profit off of it for real. There are a bunch of parents on depop looking for the stuff your kid just grew out of. Download depop to start selling.

[B]

So you just. You just start dating somebody, and they say to you, you know, hey, I'm going to dinner with a buddy tonight. And then you end up seeing them and they're with a woman. My question is, if a guy says, I'm going to dinner with a buddy to a woman and it's a woman, is he being.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

What's the name?

[C]

A buddy means a man.

[B]

That's what I was. That was what I was getting to.

[C]

So you think otherwise, it's a friend.

[B]

You think? So buddy is exclusive to men.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Wow. Do we agree back there?

[D]

Buddy and friend is definitely the same sex. Yeah.

[B]

Whoa, whoa, whoa. That's insane.

[C]

Yeah, because if you were in with a girl, you'd say, my girlfriend, like my friend that's a girl. My friend Abby. Or my friend, whatever.

[B]

Completely disagree. If you say, I'm going to dinner with a friend, that could be a man or a woman.

[C]

No, you always. You would say my friend Jamie if you were dating someone, but then would.

[B]

I say, my friend Paul if you.

[C]

Were dating somebody and you were gonna go to dinner with me and they didn't know me yet, where you could just be like, I'm having dinner with Jamie, you'd say, I'm going to dinner with my friend Jamie. If you were just going to dinner with Rex, you'd be like, I'm going to dinner with my buddy or my friend, and you wouldn't feel the need to explain. I promise you, when you're. As a woman, you're dating on the other end, you would explain that it was a woman. I would expect you to.

[B]

No, no, no. I, I, I understand where that would be coming from. I. What I don't understand is I don't think if I say, I'm going to dinner with a friend, that exclusively means a man. I disagree. Buddy, I think buddy is wordplay.

[C]

If you're talking to a woman that you're dating, I think that's what, you.

[B]

Know, what we're talking about.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

So, yeah, you always have to explain who you're going with. Unless it's a dude.

[B]

Oh, I see. I. I completely disagree.

[D]

I'm gonna get in trouble.

[B]

But again, I'm not. I'm just saying if I'm. Okay, so what if I said I'm going to dinner with a couple of friends, but it happened to be two women?

[C]

Even worse.

[B]

We mean even worse. What if it was you and Aida and I'm going and I say to someone I'm dating, oh, I'm going to dinner with a couple of my. A few of my friends.

[C]

But you wouldn't call us that. You would say, I totally would.

[B]

J. If said to. If I was dating somebody. I said, I'm going to dinner with a few of my friends tonight. I would totally say that. What do you mean you think I wouldn't.

[C]

If even. Cutter. Cutter, My husband.

[B]

That's very different.

[C]

Why?

[B]

Because you're married to him. You, like, it could come off as sneaky or whatever. If you've been. If you've been on three dates with somebody. I don't have to name everyone who's at the dinner I'm going to.

[C]

No, but he would ask. He would probably be like, who you're going with?

[B]

That's why I'm saying you'd have. When you're married.

[C]

Okay, but you'd have a follow up.

[B]

Question if she said who? I disagree.

[C]

Friends. Oh, yeah. Who?

[B]

I think in the beginning, women, men, they all want to seem like they have a good time.

[C]

If we were just newly dating and I was on my best behavior and I wanted to show you that I'm cool and I'm red and I'm, I'm like easygoing. And you were like, I'm going to dinner with a bunch of friends. A couple of friends. In my head, I'd assume he's going out with the guys.

[B]

See, here's the thing. My point of bringing this up is I feel like if a guy says, I'm going to dinner with my buddy and it's a woman, I think that's a dick move.

[C]

Done.

[B]

Yeah, that's what I'm saying. I think it's shady. I think friend is totally legal. I'm going to dinner with a friend.

[C]

No.

[B]

No, because then, because then if they came back to me and were like, you said you were going to dinner with a friend. I'd be like, yeah, I did. I am. This is my friend.

[C]

Okay, let's say you're dating a girl.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And she's like, oh, I'm going to a dinner with a Friend tonight, you'd assume it was a female, right?

[B]

I would lean towards female. I wouldn't go, that's automatically a female.

[C]

So you go out to dinner for your little solo Robbie Friday night and she's sitting there across from a dude. You'd be a little, you got a little hair standing up on your neck being like, what the fuck? Listen, she said, a friend, that's a man.

[B]

If I, if I am, If I had been on three dates with that person. No, if I was in a relationship with that person, absolutely. If I had been on three dates with somebody and she said, oh, I.

[C]

Have and he's not and he doesn't like it.

[D]

So the, the listen, I'm a changes. Once you're, once you're like committed, I feel like it's the same thing. You're saying the same thing. You're just saying that you have the authority.

[B]

I'm saying what would bother me.

[C]

You should, I'm saying what would bother your dating profile. You should put. Make that as a little prompter question.

[B]

Yeah. If I'm wrong.

[C]

Conversation starter.

[B]

Yeah. Well this is what this is.

[C]

Set the ground rule. Don't fucking ask me what friend.

[B]

Because listen, here's, here's my whole point, right? If I, and by the way, if somebody asked me that, I'd be totally fine with it. But my, the whole point, reason I brought this up is because I think you can manipulate the situation by going like, oh, me and a couple pals are going to dinner. To me that says, guys, if you say, hey, me and my buddy are going to grab a fucking to play pickleball. That's a dude. If you say, I'm going to dinner with my friend, to, to me that could be a man or a woman.

[C]

But not to the person you're dating.

[B]

Again, to me, if I live with.

[C]

Somebody here, if you're talking to everyone here, I'm like, I'm having dinner with a friend. Sure, it could be a man or a woman, but to somebody you're dating, you have to specify, and it doesn't matter whether it was my first date with Cutter or I've been with him 12 years right now or how far, how long? 14 years.

[B]

I'm a 40 year old man. You were dating a 22 year old guy.

[C]

Okay, well now we're 44 and 36 and I would still tell Cutter who the sex of the person I'm going to dinner with is.

[B]

And when you're married for 10 years.

[C]

You should somebody business wise that I'm speaking To.

[B]

And when you're married 10 years, you should. My whole point of this, when you've gone on three dates, maybe the I love you, maybe the I love you.

[C]

Well, you're never gonna get there with that type of dishonesty.

[B]

Rob, listen, just because I don't say I love you on the second date. Jamie. No, I'm kidding. I love. Love everything about you. If I could find. If I could find a relationship that.

[C]

You know why we have a good love? Because we can teach. Tease each other. We tease each other all the time.

[B]

You know why we have a good love?

[C]

I mean it, though. I think. I do think one of the. One of the characteristics to a good relationship or something that could last is being able to. To around with each other. Make a joke, be loose. He makes fun of me all day long. Like, all day long. And I love it because it's just. I don't know, it just keeps. It also keeps things light when we fight. Even when we fight, like, a little dirty and we're like super mad, like, it always ends in some type of fit of laughter or joke just because we have that, like, rapport. But we're honest with each other.

[B]

Yeah. See, I. I find myself and. And like, you know, even like six months ago, I would more so like, lean in with you making fun of him. Where now I. I try and back off a little because I've seen him. I've seen him get upset.

[C]

We. Yeah, we sometimes go hard.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[C]

Yeah. Well, I think when tag team, he can get a little sensy.

[B]

Yeah. Or you know what it is sometimes too. It's just like. Because me and him both, like, hate to go out, but if, like, we laugh at him, how much he hates it, he'll get upset. I just. I never, you know, but back in the day, I used to just. I used to be like, ah, yeah, it's fine. Just say whatever. Now I'm like, no, I try. And you know, he's like, jack, he's a sensitive, sensitive.

[C]

I gotta sprinkle in things. Every. Like today he was walking by and he said, you're such a handsome man. And he's like, you know, you gotta like.

[B]

Very nice.

[C]

You got to give them every once in a while.

[B]

Well, speaking of surprises, what do you got? My buddy. My buddy. My. My friend. What? We have something. They told us we have something in the back. A surprise.

[E]

Sweetheart. Hey. I hope I'm not being too intrusive and nosy, but are you okay? Everything's gonna be all right.

[B]

Is this cougar yes. This is your new impression, cougar.

[E]

So somebody said that about you. So I always say I'm just like vodka. Too strong for some and just enough for others. Let's do your makeup.

[C]

Oh, no.

[E]

All right, first, a little concealer. Cause we gotta conceal those designer bags of yours. We've gotta conceal those designer bags of yours. That's right, honey.

[C]

That's how I chew gum, though.

[E]

Now for lip gloss, do you want to do red or glitter? Let's do glitter. Cause a girl can never go wrong with glitter.

[B]

Hey.

[C]

Hey.

[B]

You know, is. I mean, I have some questions that I think are gonna be too insulting to even ask. So what. What. What do we know about this person? Who is this?

[F]

Nothing.

[B]

Nothing.

[C]

She's a Jersey girl on the train doing your makeup.

[B]

Are there other. Are there other videos that we found.

[C]

At this Design a bag.

[B]

This is all we got.

[C]

I got long nails. Ish. Oh.

[G]

You.

[B]

Ben.

[E]

Okay, I was worried stick. You missed. Missed your appointment on Tuesday.

[C]

How many views does this have? A million. Ew. People whispering is rude. I hate when people whisper. I think it is terrible when somebody whispers in my ear. I want to slap them, even if it's Cutter. Ew. Yes. Don't whisper in my ear.

[B]

Your kids are whispering to you all the time.

[C]

No, they don't.

[B]

Yeah, they do. Jack, when he comes, he's like, I don't want to go to bed.

[C]

No. He screams it in my face.

[B]

What do you mean?

[C]

No?

[B]

Wait, so what do you know about the other person? Like, do they have a big following? Do they have many videos like this? What's going on?

[C]

The Jersey girl.

[B]

Is that a one off kind of thing?

[H]

So she's really big on YouTube for ASMR. And I can say.

[C]

Does she do it all in the Jersey accent?

[H]

She has different characters. So this is her Jersey lady. She has a redneck. I saw that one.

[B]

Oh, offensive.

[C]

And it's all asmr.

[H]

Yeah, that's what she's known for. Her name is like asmr. Aura.

[B]

So she's. She's code switching. She goes from being the. The Jersey girl to being the redneck.

[C]

And it's all different wigs. I'm assuming that's not the same girl.

[B]

No. Yeah, bravo.

[C]

If that's the same girl, that's not the same girl. Oh, my God. She's doing back tickles.

[B]

Oh, you might like this now, Jamie. You might. Let's see. It's like, wait. Okay, so that one has 56,000. This one has 63. What was in A lot of work.

[C]

The chick we had on pajama pants, that was.

[B]

Listen to you. The chick. What. Where did that. What did this come from? The chick we had on pajama. That is so offensive. Jamie. She was a young lady.

[C]

Because I'm wearing your hoodie and I have my legs open, I feel very manly right now. So don't.

[B]

There you go.

[C]

New personality.

[B]

I would never say something like that. Yeah.

[C]

What? She's injecting someone.

[B]

Her name is. It's Blitz. First of all, she's the best. She's incredible. ASMR Artist.

[C]

But did you say. Remember. Oh, playing with the hair. Is that what she does? That I wanted her to do so bad.

[B]

She does. Playing with the hair. She does, yeah, she does a lot of playing with the hair. But then some of them do like, like. Yeah, like the back scratch. The scratch in the back of your neck.

[C]

Like I have. When I look at that photo though, of the girl's nails on that. On that particular spot in somebody's like lower nape of their neck, upper back. I can feel the nails on my back and I love it.

[B]

Well, see, that's the feeling of asmr. Not for me, I know, not for you. But it gives other people that's. It gives other people that. That's the same exact feeling you feel.

[C]

Mask her up any.

[B]

Why did you take the headphones off? What does ASMR make you feel?

[D]

I can't.

[C]

He's like me.

[D]

It's.

[B]

It's very.

[D]

It's insanely uncomfortable.

[B]

Yeah, you guys. You guys are very withdrawn.

[D]

It bugs me that. It bugs me, but it does.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah. Like when people whisper. I.

[G]

It.

[C]

It makes me rage inside. It makes me feel like fucking talk. Like fucking talk.

[B]

Jamie, if you would cut. If you would come into my apartment any night before I go to bed, there's just a woman on a 60 inch screen TV whispering to me.

[C]

I'm horrified.

[B]

Yeah, that's just.

[C]

That is my nightmare.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[C]

That's like putting me. That's. That will put me in the loony.

[B]

Ben, she's the best. Do you want to see the one who I go to sleep to every night?

[C]

Not really.

[B]

Can you go to Reiki with Anna on Reiki?

[C]

Oh, she's performing virtual Reiki.

[B]

Virtual Reiki.

[G]

Wow.

[B]

Yeah. And then the. The video is called the Only Sleep Video.

[C]

She's got big boobies. Of course you love her.

[B]

How dare you. I'm a man of culture. Shout out to the men of culture out there.

[C]

Every videos are. Boobies are out Wait, Jamie, there's something.

[B]

I have to show you. Which is. I don't have it here, but I'll bring it to Pod next time. There's like, there's this path.

[C]

She's AI.

[B]

No, she's not. How dare you. Anna's AI. She's been in the game for years. Here, go. Go to the one that's called the only sleep video you'll ever need. She's. She's incredible. Shout out to Anna. Go up. It's like red. Like the background is a kind of red. Rob, that one right there. Yeah, she's wearing red.

[C]

Wow. She has multiple videos. The only one you need.

[B]

Yeah. Oh, Jamie, come on.

[C]

Get out of here. Anna. Go to hell. Anna.

[B]

Shout. Oh, how dare you, Jamie.

[C]

I mean, I didn't mean that, but just two stops. Just talk normal. Just say what you mean.

[B]

Can you do me another favor so I'll object? Anna, I'll explain this thing. No, because then she wouldn't put me to sleep.

[C]

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[B]

Great job, Jamie Lynn Sigler thank you so much.

[C]

Robert Eiler.

[F]

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[B]

I'll explain this thing to you that I think is incredible, but can you look for, like, short videos? There's, like, beautiful women doing, like, pole vaulting and long jumping. You could just put in, like, beautiful women, long jump.

[C]

That's a hard left.

[B]

Well, because here's the thing. When I said men of culture, there's this. There's this path that my YouTube thing will take me down sometimes where it's, like, really hot. If you look at the thumbnail, it's always, like, their butts. But, yeah, see?

[C]

Wow, what an ass.

[B]

So when you look at stuff like this, see that one has 388views. Find one that has, like, look for, like, the ones from, like, Italy doing pol. Oh, yeah.

[C]

17 million Spanish Spanish long.

[B]

Now watch. Now, here's what I'm going to say. Jamie, when we click on this and we look at the comments, something that it's going to say is, men of culture, we meet again. If you please, would you go to the comments? Comments. Men of culture, we meet again. How come on?

[C]

Literally.

[B]

Well, our love for sports unites. Yeah, what does it say? We love sports. Men of culture, we meet again. Our love of sports unites us. Yeah. And if you go down this rabbit hole of just hot.

[C]

I want to see the jump.

[B]

Hot chicks. Yeah, we could play it. If we do hot chicks doing, like, Olympic stuff, it's all men of culture.

[C]

Oh, wow, look at that jump to start. Bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing. That was not. That was so anticlimactic. I thought she was for me. I like the pole vaulting better.

[B]

Yeah, we could. So if you go to, like, the Italian. Oh, my God. There's this Italian woman who does pole vaulting. Jesus Christ.

[C]

What makes it special?

[B]

She just. She gets up there.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

She jumps over the thing. There's no.

[C]

You'll.

[B]

You'll know her when you see her. She's like. I think she's Italian, right? I don't know. She's. Maybe you could just look up, like, the most beautiful pole vaulter because she's none of these. But my point is, when you. When you go to all these videos, always the top comment says, men of culture, we reunite, we meet again. So funny. It always makes me laugh when I see it. No, go. Go down. You'll. There's going to be a girl who, like, knocks your socks off when you see it. These are not. No, just go ahead. Go down to the videos.

[C]

Is it a short?

[B]

No, no, no. Go to the full. Go to the full videos. I know there's one woman who's, like, super viral for. For doing the pole vaulting. Or maybe. Maybe she's a high jump or something. I could just scroll through these thumbnails all day. This is. This is the kind of. I should have been an athlete, you know? That one's pussy acting. I did.

[C]

Not that one.

[B]

No, she's a brown hair. Her butt's gonna be in, like, every thumbnail. Anyway, she's fantastic. Maybe she's not Italian or whatever, but. Men of culture. I see you out there. Some people say I'm not a man of culture, but then my YouTube algorithm disagrees.

[C]

Well.

[B]

Yep. And speaking of men of culture, next lifetime. Speaking of men of culture, guess what we're about to do. Jamie Lynn Sandwich. We're gonna call this sandwich.

[C]

Well, hopefully he picks up today.

[B]

You know, he just didn't have time for us a couple weeks ago.

[C]

Let's see if he even called the office.

[B]

Yeah, we called the restaurant. The guy's like, nah.

[C]

We're like, it's Robin. Jamie.

[B]

He's like, no. I was like, you know where he is? Nah.

[C]

Nah.

[G]

Hello.

[B]

Hi.

[G]

What's up? What's going on?

[B]

How you doing?

[G]

Good. I'm in the truck driving, so you might hear the fucking gps. Start talking.

[B]

Okay, perfect. I would expect nothing less.

[C]

I actually wish my GPS voice was your voice, Giovanni. How. How dope would that be? Make a fucking left.

[G]

Yeah. What are you doing, you stupid fucking bitch? I turn. Your turn.

[B]

I love it so much.

[G]

How you guys doing? All right?

[C]

We're great. We're so happy to talk to you. We're such a fan of your work.

[G]

Thank you. God bless you guys. These guys are great, too. I watch your episodes from time to time. I'm just so busy. Of course, the last three. The last three weeks I had. My uncle passed away, then my girl's father passed away. Yeah, back to back. It was a disaster.

[C]

I'm so sorry.

[B]

Sorry to hear that.

[G]

Yeah. What, are you guys in Texas?

[B]

Yeah, we're in Texas. So what? Let's. You know, obviously, we're sorry for your loss in the last couple weeks, but before that, you've been blowing up. How's life been? People coming to the shop like crazy.

[G]

Listen to me, it's just. I go to my deli maybe five, six hours a week because I just. It's too much. I got seven guys there. I just had people today from where they come from, uk, London, some shit. I got. I got like two, three hundred Videos from people out of the country, out of the states that I don't even got time to post them.

[C]

We should bring you down here to Austin one day and do a little pop up and get everybody a taste of New York sandwiches. Robin, I will Rob and I will work the food truck with you.

[G]

Well, listen to this. I'm friends with Joe Rogan and I supposed to send them a couple of packages, him and Joey Diaz. And I've been so busy with the deli because I was having some issues with my ex partner that we just took care of everything great. And I got to send Joe Rogan a package. He's there in Austin, Texas also.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're not friends with him, but we know who he is.

[G]

Yeah, yeah, he's a sweetheart. I was actually in Arizona about four years ago, five years ago, I was there for like three years trying to open up a deli next to asu.

[C]

Oh yeah, I would have crushed. Let's get you one next to ut.

[G]

Well, where you.

[C]

What's ut? University of Texas here in Austin.

[G]

Oh, I, I never went to school, so I don't know what they're called.

[C]

But you know, that's what. That's all it is, just a college here.

[G]

Yes.

[B]

I never went to college either. So we're on the same.

[C]

I went for one semester, it didn't matter.

[B]

Yeah, you're a lot fancier than we are.

[G]

I got kicked out of junior high school. I was like 11, 12 years old and my father with him. Arthur Raven. You live in Italy? In the Bronx.

[B]

Yeah.

[G]

See the movie? Yes, of course.

[C]

One of my favorites.

[G]

So my father, when he came off the boat, he. He opened up a pizzeria, outdoor cafe type of restaurant. And when I got kicked out of school, I got district expelled at 11, 12, whatever the hell it was. And he goes, you don't want to go to school, get behind the countermega beats. And I said, I don't know how to make our beats. And then, you know, the old school, heavy handed, they beat the out of me. I said, okay, I know how to make pizza now. That's how we learn how to cook.

[C]

Wow.

[B]

Well, just so you know, when you ask us if we've seen a movie or whatever, you're talking to two New Yorkers here. You're talking to the real deal. We're not some fucking Texas people. We were born and raised in New York.

[G]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, but what the fuck you guys do all the way out in fucking Texas?

[B]

Listen, there's no state tax here. You know, there's no. There's no. There's no state tax and there's no snow.

[G]

Yeah, all right. The snow I could understand because I hate the fucking cold. But the taxes, we could always work it out. Yeah, that's easy.

[C]

I love it. I love it.

[B]

So let. Let me ask you how. So is that the. You got the one deli right now in Yonkers, right? What's the name of the deli?

[G]

It's in White Plains.

[B]

Oh, White Plains, yes.

[G]

Giovanni's Italian Deli.

[B]

Giovanni's Italian Deli. All of our listeners who are listening go there. Obviously, Giovanni is the best. He makes incredible sandwiches. Go follow him. And. And everything's going great for you right now, huh?

[G]

Yes, but if you guys gotta tell me, I'll send you guys a packages. Would love that and stuff. But I don't. I don't know how to do it. I never sent, like, sandwiches. And you could.

[C]

So you send, like the. You'd send, like, the ingredients and then we could make the sandwich ourselves.

[G]

No, no, because the mozzarella is fresh. I can't send the ingredients. It has to be sent in eight. Because the problem is when you cook Brigitte, it's nice and red. As soon as you cut it and the air hits it, it starts to turn brown. The coke. You know how.

[B]

Yes. We don't have a meat slicer. But what. Let me ask you something. What do you think about people who make, like, the dry. Like, when their mutz is dry?

[G]

Come on, bro, you. You already know. I don't gotta tell you.

[C]

Yeah, no dry months.

[B]

He doesn't even give it time. He won't even. No, he won't even acknowledge it.

[G]

Listen, a lot of people are just stupid. It's. Well, you know what? I take that back. I take that back, because they're not stupid. They're just used to these places.

[C]

They don't know better.

[G]

As we said. Yes. As we say in New York, these fucking fugazi fucking places that use dry fucking moods that get it from whoever the fuck they get it from. And when. When these people see the fresh mozzarella with the milk coming out, they're like, oh, what the fuck is that? That's fresh mozzarella. You know what I mean? So you really can't blame the people because just like we all say, both of you guys there, too, your mother makes the best sauce. She makes the best meatballs, because that's what you used to, you know.

[C]

Right, right, right.

[B]

Yeah. So my. Just so you know, I grew. I'M Irish, but once we started doing Sopranos, I remember the first, like, event we went to. I got a plate of, you know, it was like, catered, so it was a giant tins at, like, Madison Square Garden. And I got a plate of, like, tortellini and red sauce. And I was like, this is great. And they all looked at me like, you know, Descartes Yard, they called me.

[G]

Yeah, but it all depends where you get it from. But, you know, a lot of people, like I said, we're used to our own home cooking, right? Drop over the years because, listen, you grew up on that, so that's what, you know, My mother makes the best chicken cutlets. Your father makes the best meatballs. Your mother's ass makes this or whatever, you know what I mean? So that's what we're used to. And a lot of people, like we say in Mirigan, they don't know any better, right? They see mozzarella right away. They start jumping for joy, thinking what the fuck they're getting. Meanwhile, they never had the real fucking mozzarella, you know, so it's.

[C]

Yeah, right.

[G]

Just like the Italians. We taught this world how to eat, how to cook, how to eat.

[F]

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[B]

Listen, when I. When I was growing up, I would eat polio mozzarella. And then I learned from being around Italians for 10 years now, I would never touch it.

[G]

Yeah, but polio is actually a good mozzarella, but it's different. See that polio mozzarella you use to cook with it to make a lasagna, big zitis or something, you know what I mean? Because once you cook with fresh mozzarella, you don't taste the freshness when you put sandwich, right?

[C]

That makes sense.

[G]

It loses a good 30, 40 of the fresh flavor, you have to. But polio has one of the best curds that I ever used to make fresh mozzarella. You know, because there's a lot of different brands that they sell curd. That's how we make mozzarella here. Because you can make the curd because you need a big, big warehouse, right? You got to ferment the milk and all the bullshit through the process. Forget about.

[C]

You don't need school for this. Can I pitch a sandwich to you?

[G]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

Can you rate her sandwich from 1 to 10?

[C]

Because I'm just going to throw shit that I like. Okay. And you're going to tell me yay or nay? You can't make this work or you can.

[G]

Okay, but it's not just about the ingredients that you put on a sandwich. It's about also the brain you're using.

[C]

Right.

[G]

And how you cut the ingredients.

[C]

Okay, well maybe you tell me how do I make my dream sandwich then? How do I make this possible? Okay, so I like. Do you. Is with bread, are you like straight up every sandwich on the same type of bread? Let me start there.

[G]

No.

[C]

Okay.

[G]

It all depends. It all depends what you're making. You use a different bread. You could use a baguette, you could use a chapata. You could use a part of the Gaza. You could use a regular seated American. You know, as long as you don't use. As long as you don't use that peanut butter jelly bread.

[C]

No, no, that's not what I'm looking for.

[B]

The wonder bread.

[C]

I want an olive oil ciabatta bread.

[G]

Okay. Olive loaf.

[C]

Yeah. I want to do a thin chicken cutlet. I want mozzarella. I want roasted red peppers.

[G]

Roasted red pepper. That's a normal standard sandwich.

[C]

I know. And then I want garlic, sun dried tomatoes. So this, there's this place in Los Angeles called Bristol Farms and they always sell like this tub of like these like garlicky sun dried tomatoes. So then I want those, I want roasted red pepper, pepperoncinis.

[G]

Wait, I spit pepper cheese. Now there's a lot of different pepper cheese. There's Italian, there's American.

[B]

No, she said pepperoncies.

[C]

Pepperonis.

[G]

Oh, pepperonjin. Okay, yeah, yeah.

[C]

And then I just want olive oil, salt, pepper and balsam. My touch I want on everything is balsamic glaze.

[G]

Okay. All that stuff, you don't need salt. It's got plenty of salt.

[C]

Okay.

[G]

You could throw on the black pepper because black pepper brings it out. But you gotta have the fresh crushed black pepper. You gotta crush it right there.

[C]

Right.

[G]

So you taste a tremendous difference.

[C]

How do you like my sandwich?

[G]

The pepperoncini?

[C]

It's based.

[G]

I don't think. Yeah, it doesn't go because you got the sun dried peppers and you got the roasted peppers. You're gonna put three different kinds of fucking peppers on.

[C]

No tomatoes. Sun dried tomatoes.

[G]

Yeah, it's the same thing. A tomato or tomato. So then.

[C]

So then. But I really like a pepperoncini because I like a vinegary taste. So then what do I need to take out?

[G]

Okay, so you can add. Forget about the sun dried tomatoes, forget about the roasted peppers. You can add cherry vinegar, sliced hot peppers, and the pepperoncini. Those two go together.

[C]

Love it. See, I knew.

[B]

You know, but if we have the cherry pepper hot, do we need the pepperoncini?

[G]

Yeah, because the pepperoncini's got a different kick of that vinegar. Okay, so it goes together because they're both vinegar peppers. They're both a little spicy. But what I would do is the chicken color. I would throw on a couple of slices of nice thin prosciutt, then the mix it up. You don't like pursuit?

[B]

He just crashed the car.

[C]

I know.

[B]

That's. That's. How dare you.

[G]

Well, why don't you like pursuit? You eat pork or you don't eat pork?

[C]

Not right. I just like. It's not. It's not like. It's not for any particular reason other than I eat a lot of meat. That's just not like. It's just not. It doesn't tickle me. It doesn't do it for me. I like. I like red.

[B]

She doesn't get tickled by prosciutt.

[G]

No, listen to me. She's gotta try a good Bridget that's tender like a steak. You'll change your mind. I don't know what kind of.

[C]

Not the good kind, apparently.

[B]

What's wrong?

[G]

You gotta eat a good. When you eat a prosciutt. Listen to me. When you eat a, like a prosciutto divatom or go One that costs 30, $40 a pound, you're gonna taste the difference. It's like getting a burger. It's like getting a burger at White Castles or going to Peter Lou's and.

[C]

Right, right.

[B]

Wow.

[C]

Do you name your sandwiches? Do they all have names? Yeah. So what would you name that? What would you name my sandwich?

[G]

What would I name the sandwich? I have a sandwich like that on there. I think it's called Mr. Galena. It's called. It's got the chicken color. Mozzarella. Roasted peppers with balsamic glaze.

[C]

Can you call it the Mrs. Galena now?

[G]

Yeah, I could put the Mrs. The thing is, I can't put it on the menu.

[C]

Of course. Don't change everything.

[G]

No, no, no. The only reason why is I have over 100 sandwiches and I could only fit 66 on the TV and on my paper menu. 66 because it's three. Three rows, so it has to be 22. 22 Gabich. But I could put that on the side. Order it all the time. The. Miss. What we'll do is text me everything you want on the sandwich.

[C]

Okay? Okay.

[G]

And then we'll make it here.

[B]

I. Listen, I gotta. I got a question for you. I actually grew up. My mom wasn't a great cook, but she did make great chicken cutlets. I know people say my mom made good chicken cuts. She actually did. She made really good chicken cutlets. But then I remember going to my friend's houses and seeing they would make chicken cutlets and they would look light, like they barely cook them. Like. What? Why do some people. What? What's wrong with some people when they do that?

[G]

Sometimes it's the breadcrumbs they use. Also the flame, how high, how low, and what kind of frying oil you use. Some people use vegetable oil, some people use. We use olive oil, some use canola oil. You know what I mean?

[C]

So can you tell us how to make a perfect chicken cutlet?

[G]

It's. It's. It's. I can't say perfect because like I said, it's what you like, what you used to.

[B]

For you. For you. Perfect.

[G]

For me. I. I like the Italian breadcrumbs. We. We use 4C. I put a little grated cheese in them. I put some dried parsley extra in there. Yep, that's what, that's what I use. My chicken cutlets dip them in flour. Then I make the egg wash, you know, the mix. And I put milk in my eggs.

[C]

Yes, I do too.

[G]

I let the chicken Cutlet sit for 10 minutes. Oh, yeah. Ah, you see, that's why they come nice and tender.

[F]

Yes.

[C]

I love it.

[G]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[G]

I can't be my secrets over here. You're recording, right?

[B]

I'm sorry. And then, you know what? How about other people, when they make the chicken cutlets and then giant clumps of the bread is falling off and some pieces don't have breadcrumbs on it. Some, I don't know. How's people? Because I guess I grew up around. We would eat it three nights A week sometimes. So, like, to me, making chicken cutlets is easier than making scrambled eggs. But, like, you see some people who just have no clue how to make.

[G]

Chicken cutlets, you know what it is? Sometimes when you see those big chunks of breadcrumbs coming off, that's because when they make the chicken cutlets with the breadcrumbs and they're done, they don't clean the breadcrumbs because you get a couple of drops of eggs that go in the breadcrumbs so they clump up. So they leave everything in there, and the next day they just fucking, boom. Stick the next chicken cutlets in there. You understand? You gotta, you gotta. You gotta get the screen or. What do you call that thing? You know, where the breadcrumbs.

[B]

Oh, yeah, like a sister or whatever.

[G]

Yeah, yeah, whatever the hell you call that thing. But that's the. That's why you see these chunks coming off, because people are cheap. They don't want to clean their breadcrumbs after they're done using them, and they leave all those big chunks of eggs with breadcrumbs clumped. Up. No. Yeah. All right, let me, Let me listen.

[B]

Let me ask you something. If, if. If you were going to the electric chair and they said you could have one sandwich before you go. What. What are you asking for?

[G]

I wouldn't ask for a sandwich. I asked for a dish of pasta.

[B]

What's the pasta?

[G]

Linguine and white clam sauce from Don Pep.

[B]

You go to Don Pep?

[H]

No, no, no.

[G]

I'll make it.

[B]

Oh, okay. Do you like Don Pep? Are you a fan?

[G]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, they're all good. But I'm a cook. We all cook. I got six brothers and sisters. We're all cooks.

[B]

So if it was a sandwich, what do you think is the best sandwich?

[G]

Brachio. The mozzarella, cherry vinegar, peppers. That's it.

[B]

And what's the best selling sandwich on a ciabatta? What's the best selling sandwich in your shop?

[G]

I have a bunch of them. Because my meatballs is like my number two there. My number one is my mozzarella. My number two is the meatballs. But then with the number two, you got. I got the chicken collar, said they all go. I can't tell you, you know, Right.

[B]

Is there a. Is there a sandwich that people ask for that you refuse to make? Like, you go, I won't do that.

[G]

I don't sell bologna. I don't. I don't have baloney.

[C]

I feel like nobody does that around.

[G]

In a long Time I send them, there's a deli down the road. I say, go to the deli down the road.

[B]

I love that. That is so perfect. All right, here's another question I wanted to ask you. You know how people, like these days, the thing that's getting popular is like a 50 pizza pie in New York City, and they say, this is the best pizza in New York, blah, blah, blah. And I know people go from two schools. They either say, I'm willing to pay whatever it is for the best pizza, or some people go, I would never fucking pay $50 for a pizza. How do you feel about that?

[G]

Well, me, I. I know food like you guys know food. So you would pay that extra 10, $20 for a good dish of pasta, a good slice of pizza? Because we appreciate it. A lot of people don't appreciate good food, so they just want to eat a slice of pizza to fill them up for $2. You know what I mean?

[B]

Totally. Yeah.

[G]

So, like, we'll go to a restaurant and spend a hundred dollars on a dish of pasta because that's what we enjoy. But a lot of people, you know, they won't, because to them, food is just whatever. You know what I mean? We are about food. So we appreciate good food. We spend. We spend the extra couple dollars for the food. And just like I tell everybody all the time, spend the extra couple dollars. Eat good. You can't take the money with you. You never seen a bricks truck following a hearse. So eat, enjoy fucking life. You know, People are cheap. Yeah. They want to spend 500,000 on a Louis bag and not spend 50 on a dish of pasta. You got to be out of your mind.

[B]

I feel the same when I. When I see people who won't spend 50 bu. Plate of pasta, but they'll spend 18 on a vodka Red Bull. I. I don't understand.

[G]

Not even. Not even. They buy one of those things at those coffee shops, Those fancy coffees. $13. Or a. A vegetable shake. What do you call those shakes? Those green juice, health shake.

[B]

A smoothie.

[G]

Yeah, whatever. Yeah, yeah. $15, right? Knowledge in those smoothies. Those fucking smoothies. You got to break them in four because you don't need all those vitamins. You just need a little bit, you know? The rest is all a waste. You're gonna piss it out or shit it out. These fucking morons. They don't know anyways.

[B]

All right. The last thing I want to. I want to ask you is everything I watched, I feel like you do it perfectly. The only discrepancy or. The only problem I have when I was watching your stuff is you leave the top of the stems on the long hots when you put them in the sandwich.

[G]

Yeah, that's just for the beauty. They stick out of the sandwich at the end. Yeah, yeah. It looks like a little tail sticking out. You understand?

[B]

Right? So then what, you're just supposed to pull them off yourself?

[G]

Yeah, yeah, you pull them off. It's the beauty. It's just for the looks, you know? Listen, I'm the one that started this trend with the big sandwiches seven, eight years ago, right? All these people that you see making big sandwiches now, you go look at their pages three, four, five, six years ago, they never did this. No, they started watching my shit. Now they start making open face sandwiches. Big fucking sandwiches. Nobody ever did that. I started it like seven, eight years ago in my brother, my sister's belly. And they used to be like, what are you doing? I'm fucking losing money. I should tell my sister. Charge them. You gotta fucking charge them. We give you good quality stuff. 90% of our stuff is. Comes from Italy, from importers. It's expensive, you know? And my deli, on my deli, I don't have a freezer. I tell all my customers, you could walk in the back, walk all over. I do not own the freezer. That's why I say. I say fresh every day. My produce guy comes every two, three days. My vegetable guy, my meat guy, my butcher. All that beautiful. The mozzarella curd every two, three days.

[B]

Love that.

[G]

Fresh every day. Yeah.

[B]

And then we're. We're gonna. We're gonna go in a second, but I just want to ask you before we go, do you have a message for people who say, oh, I'm too healthy to eat a sandwich or a chicken cutlet or something like that?

[C]

Rob?

[G]

Yeah, yeah. Get a fucking rope and go hang yourself.

[B]

That's exactly what I was looking for. Listen, Giovanni, we appreciate talking to you so much. Hopefully we get to New York and we get to see you. If you're in Austin, hit us up. We would love to see you.

[G]

Definitely. God bless you guys.

[B]

Yes. Keep doing your thing, too. It's fantastic. We love it.

[G]

Thank you.

[B]

All right, bye. I mean, perfect. He's just perfect.

[C]

Human. Sounds like everyone we've ever known.

[B]

He's. It's crazy. What a sense of calm. Speaking to somebody who's like that full.

[C]

I was yawning because I was literally like so relaxed.

[B]

Yeah, I could just. I could just listen to him like that. Maybe I Should. Instead of listening to those Reiki ASMR videos, maybe I should have somebody like that talk me to bed. You know, he's like, go to sleep.

[C]

You turn your.

[B]

Go hang yourself. He said, go hang yourself. You know what else I was thinking during this? So you know what Chinese confusion is that they would do with the prank calls? So it's like you call a Chinese place and you tell them to. Hold on.

[G]

Yeah.

[B]

And you call another Chinese place and you give them an order, and then you say, read the order back to me. And then you put them both on. So they're like, going, imagine putting him on the phone with pg and just.

[C]

He would destroy him.

[B]

Imagine. Just get. Imagine putting them both on and being like, all right, you're on the show. What's up? And then just converging the two phone calls. Oh, my God.

[C]

Being a good idea for a new podcast. The two of them.

[B]

The two of them would be so good. I. I haven't.

[C]

Ex cop in a sandwich. Yeah.

[B]

I haven't been that happy talking to somebody since pg. Wow.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

No, that was.

[C]

That was joyous. That was wonderful.

[B]

So happy.

[C]

That was wonderful.

[B]

All right, we can't top that, so we'll. We'll. How'd you guys like him back there?

[C]

He was awesome.

[D]

As good as the sandwiches look.

[C]

That's right. That's right.

[B]

The guy's perfect. All right, good. We'll see you guys next week.

[C]

Bye.

[B]

Hey, not today.

[J]

Tonight's the first date that's been weeks in the making. Hair done, nails done, every square inch of your body exfoliated. Then you see it. A pesky pimple the size of a respectable mountain. The good news, Mighty Patch. Pimple Patches can absorb gunk in just six hours, patch the problem area, and shrink the look of whiteheads faster than your makeup skills could. Anyway, shop Mighty Patch at all major retailers.