Behind the Store

Newly Edited with Photos for 2014 In 1950s Cleveland, Ohio, stands the Romeo family's home, and inside this home is an ordinary table at which extraordinary memories are made. There's no shortage of provisions, thanks to Mama's magic hands. Nor is there any shortage of eaters. Through these meals, author Vincent Romeo delivers the very specific and dramatic world of first-generation Italian immigrants. Papa labors at the steel mill all day and comes home to rule his domain. Mama runs the store from dawn to dusk, then makes dinner for the family. And here the memories come to life like the sights and smells of Mama's best recipes, which Romeo provides at the end of each chapter.

Nino Pantano, from The Brooklyn Daily Eagle writes, "Each chapter of this culinary wonder deal with Mr. Romeo, now an actor in New York, and his upbringing in Cleveland, Ohio. Such delectable chapters as 'Mom and I Make Italian Sausage' or 'Pasta e Fagioli' and 'The Simple Pleasures of Life' will fascinate you."

Romeo's memoir is a search for life's meaning, for a father's love, and a celebration of the connection that binds all of us regardless of race or creed: the dinner table.