It’s a Carbone copy.
An old-school Little Italy restaurateur is trying to drum up a little business by piggybacking on the success of the city’s chicest hot spot.
Greenwich Village pasta joint Carbone has become known around the world for its A-list clientele and its signature dish: the spicy rigatoni.
And the Cannoli King of Mulberry Street, John “Baby John” DeLutro, figured he’d get a piece of the action for himself with the help of his own homemade legal analysis.
DeLutro has a pasta stand at Little Italy’s annual, two-week-long street festival, the Feast of San Gennaro, and he’s been advertising “KAR BONE FAMOUS SPICY RIGITONI” on a huge sign above the stall.
When we asked him about the bold move, the “Cannoli King,” who also owns the Caffe Palermo bakery and Baby John’s Pizzeria, told us he thinks he’s on firm legal ground.
“I had [a rival] use my name with cannoli and [they spelled it with] a ‘K’, and they were allowed to do it… So, I figured it was good for them to do that, I could use the letter ‘K.’ instead of [C],” he said. He’s also misspelled “rigatoni” for good measure.
“Nobody has contacted me,” he added, “I don’t think it’s a big deal, but if they wanted me to take it down, I’d probably take it down. I’m not here to hurt nobody’s feelings.”
Besides, “I had lines last year without the name ‘kar bone,’ so this year I just added a new spice to it. It’s all in good fun,” he said.
The not-so-bashful Baby John also pointed out, “I think I make a better spicy rigatoni than [Carbone]… I’m one of the best pasta guys around here!”
“I’m hoping maybe a couple of tourists do know the name, so I can get a little play from it,” he said.
The 11-day, 98-year-old festival, honors the Patron Saint of the southern Italian city, San Gennaro. It ends on Sunday.
