Il Ponte

He Ordered Chicken Parm. Marco Lost His Mind. Jason Won.

Three weeks ago Jason Clarke was eating sad desk salads and microwave burritos in a Queens studio apartment. Chapter 10 of Hold Fast opens with him walking into Il Ponte — Rami’s restaurant — through the back entrance, in a bespoke suit, wearing a Rolex and a titanium collar, feeling like a million dollars.

We aren’t most people tonight.

Il Ponte means The Bridge. Rami bought it after his grandfather died, because Nonno always said restaurants are a good place to do business. Walking through the kitchen, Jason starts to understand what that means.

Head chef Marco greets him with a tasting spoon before he’s even sat down. Taste this and tell me what it needs. It’s the best marinara Jason has ever tasted, which isn’t saying much given that his bar was dented cans from the grocery store — but Marco doesn’t need to know that. What Marco does need to know is that Jason grew up on a farm, that he can tell when an animal was treated with love and respect, and that he is not a fan of oysters.

Then Marco asks the question. Favorite Italian dish?

Chicken parm.

The look on Marco’s face is both frightening and frustrating. Chicken parm isn’t even Italian, he declares. It’s an American travesty. Il Ponte does not serve chicken parm.

Jason lets him finish. Then: Marco, if an Italian chef can’t make a good chicken parm, I’m not sure I want to eat in his restaurant.

Marco breaks into a goofy smile. Kid. You’re alright. I see why Rami likes you.

Meanwhile, at the bar, Paula — a total outer-borough New Yorker who has worked for the Moretti family since Rami’s grandfather — takes one look at Jason and gets to work finding him a cocktail. The Old Fashioned gets one sip and a hard no. The cosmopolitan gets him halfway to heaven. Paula grins, splits the drink into a spritzer, and shares a trick Nonno himself taught her: start with a cosmo, switch to these, walk out on your own feet at the end of the night.

This is a Moretti family secret.

The evening is long — Rami works the room like it’s his living room, because it is, introducing Jason to clients, business associates, and men with names like Slick who install floors. Jason watches it all from the corner table with the best view in the house, nursing his cosmopolitan, making friends with everyone.

And then Nico sets down a plate in front of him. A breaded chicken breast over streaks of marinara, perfect dots of melted cheese, a butter-fried basil leaf. The most beautiful chicken parm Jason has ever seen in his life.

He raises his fork toward the kitchen door where Marco is watching. A sign of respect. Marco nods.

I’m not causing mischief, Jason tells Rami. I’m making friends with your chef.

In the car on the way home, full of tasting menu and cosmopolitans and the particular warmth of a night that went exactly right, Rami drops it casually.

They’re going to the farm upstate tomorrow. And his Nonna is really looking forward to meeting Jason.

Chapter 10 is available now for subscribers at reamstories.com/romanhenrystories — get on the mailing list so you never miss a Thursday drop.