Sollozzo chose Louis Restaurant in the Bronx for the meeting with Michael. This means he had to have discussed the issue with Barzini and/or Tattaglia. I think they were beating a tactical retreat to create a phony peace, so they did not expect the night to turn violent.

"Michael agrees to meet me but he wants it to be a public place...a bar or a restaurant where he'll safe. Louis is chosen, but they try to keep it a secret from the Corleones.

When they do learn the location, Tessio calls it "perfect for us." And he then goes on to describe the bathroom with the box and the chain thing.

My question is in whose territory was this place? IF it was Tatt or Sol, wouldn't that have made the Corleone's nervious? If it was Cuneo or Stracci wouldn't that make them suspects?

As far as described in the novel and film, the Bronx was the territory of the Corleones (Peter Clemenza) and the Cuneos. It seems obvious that Louis restaurant wasn't connected to the Corleone family, but it would likely be a familiar place to them based on their presence in the Bronx.

So Louis wasn't paying anyone protection money?

Not the Corleones it seems.

I always wondered why Tessio was the one to speak up. Afterall, the Bronx was Clemenza's fife.

And Clemenza seemed to enjoy dining more than Tessio also. Surprised Clemenza dodn't tell Michael they had the best veal in the city.

Exactly! And how would Sollozzo know?

It's pure nonsense just to let stupid McCluskey focus on the food. I guess there are about 200 Italian restaurants who are supposed to be have "the best" pizza/veal/spaghetti/whatever in New York .

Territory was immaterial. "The negotiator" (presumably one of the Bocchiccio family) was being held hostage by Clemenza's people to guarantee Michael's safety. Sol wanted the location secret because, as he said, he was "the hunted one." Even with Mac by his side, he couldn't be sure that hot-headed Sonny wouldn't try to have him whacked, if he knew where they were meeting.

Louis was perfect for the reasons Tess said: small, quiet place, everyone minds their business, the pull-chain thing for planting a gun.

Good prices and great veal too!

We could sure use great veal in this part of AZ. If we had the equivalent of Louis here, I'd eat there twice a week--even if there were shootings twice a week.

It's 106 here TB. How about AZ?

public like Sollozzo's car?

The Bocchicchios make it sound like it wouldn't matter where Michael met the Sollozzo.

It's a bit hotter than that in the Phoenix area. Here, about 100 miles north of Phoenix and at 5,300 feet, the high today was about 87. We're in the "monsoon" season, so it's fairly humid, for us.

Right. The novel says that, if Michael had been killed by Sol, the Corleones would kill the Bocchicchio hostage. Then the Bo's would take vengeance on Sol. "They would let nothing stop them...a Bocchicchio hostage was gilt-edged insurance."

Exactly! And how would Sollozzo know?[/quote]

It's pure nonsense just to let stupid McCluskey focus on the food. I guess there are about 200 Italian restaurants who are supposed to be have "the best" pizza/veal/spaghetti/whatever in New York . [/quote]

Sol was a gourmet, obviously. Its not like coffee where everyplace in New York claims it has the best in the world,
this praise is coming from a customer who knew the place. As for McCluskey, of course he was interested in the food. He didn't want to listen to two mob guys speak in half Italian and half English.

A little OT, but when Michael exits the restaurant I noticed a poster of Palisades Amusement Park to the far left of the entrance. Willie Moretti was murdered in a similar restaurant (Joe's Restaurant) directly across the street from Palisades Amusement Park. A few seconds after this scene, an actual crime photo of Moretti is shown.

FFC must have had it in mind when staging this scene.

The poster for Palisades Amusement Park was a nice realistic touch that FFC is famous for. The park was in its hey-day during the '40s and '50s, and the fact that it was only about 15 minutes from the restaurant would have made it a likely place for them to advertise.

"Skip the trouble and skip the fuss, take the public service bus. Public service sure is great, it takes you right up to the gate...of Palisades."

...and let's not forget Paul Anka singing his famous hymn to the short-lived Freedomland in the Bronx (attention: PB).

Freedomland is now the Bay Plaza Shopping Center, TB.

My Bally Fitness is there, so I'm there at least three times a week. Bay Plaza is also home to the Bronx's one surviving chain bookstore (a pretty decent Barnes and Noble).

There's a popular misconception that Co-Op City now occupies the Freedomland property, but I believe that Co-Op City was actually built on what was once the Freedomland parking lot.

I remember when Co-Op City first went up, people flocked there like it was the Promised Land. So there's no pun intended when I mention that in its early years, Co-Op City had a huge Jewish population. But I'm quite sure that you already knew that, TB .

Freedomland was awful.

BTW where can you get the best veal in the city these days?

Great nostalgia. I remember seeing adverts for Pallisades Park (complete with coupons for 15 or 25 cents off certain rides) in the Superman comic books of the 1960s. (Growing up in Chicago, I could only wonder what it was like.)