The celebrity tradition continues at Patsy's

MIDTOWN (WABC) -- New York City is full of landmark restaurants and celebrity hot spots, and every now and then, those two are one and the same.

And in a city where the only constant has always been change, it is comforting to know Patsy's Italian restaurant is still so popular. The celebrity crowd is definitely part of its appeal, but you don't have to be famous to feel special there.

For some of the most famous names in all of show-business, the restaurant serves as a common link between the generations.

"I grew up going there with my parents," Ben Stiller said.

Stiller and Meara would perform their comedy act live on national television, and then come here to celebrate so it's only a natural for their son.

"It's a historic Italian place that I recommend, and I don't get a cut of it or anything. I don't get any profits. I just like their pasta," Stiller said.

And so do, so many others.

"Do you feel the history when you come in here? Of course, how could you not. You sit in a table where he sat," Tony Danza said.

Here, there's never any confusion about who he would be.

"Mr. Sinatra would sit in that very far corner right there," explained one restaurant visitor.

The late Pasquale 'Patsy' Scognamillo started the place that his son and grandson still run nearly three-quarters of a century later.

"And, when someone walks in here they become part of our family," chef Sal Scognamillo said.

I sure felt that way. Danza calls the chef "My pal Sal."

"Cause we're neighborhood guys. You're from New York, you're a neighborhood guy. You always have a place," Danza said.

You gotta have heart, the old song goes, which is perhaps why at Patsy's Italian Restaurant on West 56th Street in the heart of Midtown their specialty remains food for the soul.

What's truly remarkable is how long this place has stayed popular, from Sinatra to Sean Combs. The secret is not so much in the sauce; it may be in the meatballs. But seriously, the real reason Patsy's Italian Restaurant is still so hot lies in the warmth of the people who run it.

For more about the restaurant, visit www.patsys.com.