Scal’s Boston
We caught up with Celtics big man Brian Scalabrine for a highly memorable day, portions of which you’ll be able to view shortly thanks to the video documenting prowess of partners at Wondershot Productions.
In the meantime, here’s some Flip video I shot of the greatest restaurant owner ever, followed by a quick recap of the day. In the video, Pino Irano, owner of Piccolo Nido in the North End, preps to rid Celtics’ F/C Brian Scalabrine of il malocchio, while telling of his role in resurrecting the franchise by healing Coach Doc Rivers.
Pino’s North Boston Blessing from HHR on Vimeo.
April 8, 2010 – Boston, Massachusetts
Loaded up CRV ZipCar and headed to Piccolo Nido at 257 North Street on the North End with Lucas and Mitch.
Lenny (who may or may not be affiliated with the restaurant) let us in and spent the duration of the shoot smoking cigarettes, drinking coffee, and egging on the owner and “entertainment” director.
Sal the “entertainment director” and Scalabrine’s rep roll up next, followed shortly after by Pino, the owner.
Pino asks if we’d like coffee and offers us a choice of Cappuccino, Espresso or Double Espresso – as he clarifies “Italian coffee.” Cappuccino is served along with bottles of Pellegrino.
After a quick conference call, we decide to slip out for a bite to eat, only to have Pino scold us about “coming to his restaurant and then going someplace else to eat.” He tells us that he will make us sandwiches, and comes out with prosciutto, mozzarella sandwiches drizzled in olive oil.
Shooting begins with an attempt to recreate the restaurant entrance scene from Goodfellas.
After some chit chat about the neighborhood and the venue, Pino launched into his spiel about how he warded off evil spirits around the Celtics that eventually lead to their championship run in 2008. He went ahead and performed a ritualistic blessing involving sage, a pouch of unknown (allegedly religious) items, salt and a kiss.
Fresh tiramisu capped off the morning, before we headed to shopping-heavy Newbury Street , where Brian was greeted repeatedly by hoots, hollers and photo requests, all of which he took in stride and happily obliged. He has a special fondness for Newbury Street, as it was part of the route for the Championship parade, and Brian recounted his impressions of that day.
In interview-like fashion, we took the car to Cambridge and talked about his radio gig, team chemistry, post-career aspirations, and how much he enjoys living in Boston and the spirit of the fans . He also dispels the perception that this year’s Celtics team is old. Rather, he asserts, it is built to peak in the playoffs.
One of Scal’s favorite things to do is spend quality time in one of the area’s many parks with his two daughters. We cap the day off at a park in Cambridge and go for a swing on the jungle gym, before e Scal ditches us for his family.
