I had a chuckle this evening as I was sorting through some archived photos. I came across this photo, taken in Paris, of an Italian restaurant I stumbled upon named “Soprano.” At first glance, I assumed it was your typical Parisian-style Italian restaurant bearing the title of a female singer, but upon peeking my head through the door, I was amused to see a large poster of Tony Soprano & Crew gracing the wall in all of their menacing glory.

The French, I suspect, take petit pleasure in sniffing their noses up at some of the more popular aspects of American culture, such as reality television and Big Macs, but clearly have their own guilty pleasures as well. “The Sopranos,” arguably one of the greatest and grittiest television dramas of all time, appears as though it may be one.

I can’t quite imagine a beefy Tony Soprano spitting out intimidating threats dubbed with a french accent, but who knows, perhaps some things are universal. I was tempted to squeal “Je suis de New Jersey!” (I’m from New Jersey!) when I caught the garcon’ staring back at me peering in, but you can never be certain when playing the Jersey card … it can be an asset or a liability, depending on which way the wind is blowing.