The first time I went to the Los Angeles Italian American icon Dan Tana’s was before I even moved to LA. I got to the West Hollywood restaurant late-ish and scored a bar seat next to a fellow New Jersey native, a screenwriter whose name I unfortunately can’t remember.

We chatted while I dug into a giant platter of chicken Parm smothered in melted mozzarella — and served alongside pasta anointed with a large dollop of marinara, like any self-respecting red-sauce joint — all to myself. Actor Kevin Connolly of “Entourage” fame was sitting at the other end of the bar that night as well. To this New Yorker-at-the-time, it felt like the perfect LA sighting.