# Chinese food in the Godfather **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies, food-cooking\ **Created:** [July 5, 2022, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-food-in-the-godfather/967462 "2022-07-05T17:02:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-food-in-the-godfather/967462/21 "2022-07-07T15:34:00Z")
Another good source is Andrew Coe’s **Chop Suey** : > **[Chop Suey: A Cultural History of Chinese Food in the United States - Kindle...](https://www.amazon.com/Chop-Suey-Cultural-History-Chinese-ebook/dp/B003D5DK0Q)** > > Chop Suey: A Cultural History of Chinese Food in the United States - Kindle edition by Coe, Andrew. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading... ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-food-in-the-godfather/967462/22 "2022-07-07T15:58:00Z")
It might be worth noting that, while Chinese takeout was definitely available in New York City in 1946 the Corleone compound was on Long Island. But I think it’s safe to assume that if the Corleones wanted Chinese food they would have somebody like Paulie go get it (but obviously not Paulie). ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-food-in-the-godfather/967462/23 "2022-07-07T16:08:04Z")
As you know, filmmakers use takeout Chinese for simplified continuity. Footage of someone digging in a box can be edited easier than piles of food on plate that mysteriously contracts and re-expands. Also, the Corelone house was full of Italian women. What was the need to send out? When they “went to the mattresses,” cooking rather than takeout might be done for security, but not at the home. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-food-in-the-godfather/967462/24 "2022-07-07T21:42:14Z")
well in the book Connie had moved out and mama was in town staying with friends near the hospital … and it was Clemenza that was actually cooking like the “old days” ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-food-in-the-godfather/967462/25 "2022-07-07T22:04:41Z")
Another good source is the documentary _The Search for General Tso_. While it’s ostensibly about the origins of the dish “General Tso’s chicken”, it covers a lot of the general history of Chinese restaurants in the United States as well. > **[The Search for General Tso (2014) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3576038/)** > > The Search for General Tso: Directed by Ian Cheney. With Susan Carter, Ian Cheney, Philip Chiang, Andrew Coe. Who was General Tso, and why are we eating his chicken? This feature documentary explores the origins and ubiquity of Chinese-American food... ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-food-in-the-godfather/967462/26 "2022-07-07T22:24:11Z")
I always thought they were eating Italian takeout. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-food-in-the-godfather/967462/27 "2022-07-07T22:27:00Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Also, the Corelone house was full of Italian women. What was the need to send out? When they “went to the mattresses,” cooking rather than takeout might be done for security, but not at the home. Mobsters do not live by gabagool alone. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-food-in-the-godfather/967462/28 "2022-07-07T22:33:43Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > Everybody who’s seen _The Godfather_ knows the scene where everyone is sitting around eating Chinese food while waiting for info on the location of Michael’s meeting. Was bringing in Chinese food something people did in the 1940’s (as opposed to only eating it in restaurants and maybe bringing home some leftovers), or is this an anachronism? There was at least one Chinese restaurant in Little Rock in the 1930s where one could get Chinese takeout. So if we had it in Little Rock, I’m sure they had it in more cospopolitan areas of the country. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chinese-food-in-the-godfather/967462.md?page=1)