Brick Oven Books LLC
“I’m Michael Monaco, a former North Jersey restaurateur turned author, sharing real stories from the kitchen, the street, and everything in between.”
Michael Monaco is a North Jersey icon — a former restaurateur turned author whose life has taken him from the kitchen heat to the firestorm of real-life drama. His memoir, Cooking for Wiseguys, peels back the curtain on a world where food, loyalty, and survival were all part of the same recipe — a journey that began with a boyhood obsession to meet Frank Sinatra and led to a lifelong friendship with Frankie Valli. Now based in Florida, Michael is turning the page with There’s a Fredo in Every Family — a raw and reflective guide to breaking free from toxic family ties and finding peace, even when the people you need to leave behind are your own.
