Rampage at Rao's

Will last night's shooting at famous East Harlem restaurant, Rao's, deter diners? Especially since part of the appeal is how hard it is to get a reservation in the first place? Last night, "old time mobster" Louis Barone allegedly shot a diner and continued to pursue his victim as he stumbled out. The police apprehended Barone and his accomplice while the victim, Albert Cicerelli, later died. A private security consultant tells the Daily News, "This was not any mob hit. If you want to whack someone you don't do it at Rao's. You take it outside." Hmm, while this is certainly a terrible tragedy, business for Rao's probably won't suffer too much, as it adds to its mobster allure (even though a fair number of its customers are celebrities...Martha Stewart and James Gandolfini...well, maybe it's not totally crime free). The Post has the skinny on the exclusivity of the restaurant.

Rao's does have fabulous sauces and its site offers recipes. Rao's is run by Frank Pellegrino, who plays FBI Agent Frank Cubitosi on the Sopranos.

Boro 6's Rob Sterling takes us to task for not pointing out that the private security consultant quoted above is Bo/Beau Dietl, former NYPD cop turned consultant, who is a gifted self promoter, probably rushing to Rao's on a tip. Sterling points out that Dietl has been portrayed by a Baldwin brother (though a lesser one: Stephen) in a movie basically about him, One Tough Cop, and more interesting, has been in the Law & Order movie, Exiled. Ah, it's good to know that moving to Richmond has soften Sterling; thanks, man.