She didn’t get drunk and fall out of her underwear.
She didn’t get into a hair-pulling match. She didn’t even ask if there was a smush room.
Snooki, the most famous /infamous cast member of MTV’s “Jersey Shore” stopped off for a quiet meal Friday night at Antonio’s in downtown Ansonia.
The reality star, whose real name is Nicole Polizzi, stopped by the Main Street restaurant at about 10 p.m., on her way to an appearance at the Sin City nightclub in Waterbury later that night.
Antonio’s owner Chris Setaro said the young star — who describes herself as a “hot, tan, weirdo” — was with her boyfriend, Jionni LaValle, and her father. Setaro said the group was friendly, generous to their servers, and thankful for a private room to relax by themselves.
“The best part of the whole thing was they weren’t demanding at all,” Setaro said Monday. “They were happy to have someone treat them like normal people.”
The group stayed more than an hour, and took photos with several servers, customers and Valley residents who stopped by after hearing about the celebrity sighting on Twitter that night.
How did Snooki stumble across Ansonia?
Trevor Burke, who owns Liquid City Entertainment, was the connection..
Burke books celebrities for events at Sin City and other Connecticut night clubs. He said Snooki wanted to get food before the event. Burke knows Setaro and has eaten at Antonio’s several times.
“They asked me for good food and a quiet location. Quiet and low key,” Burke said. “I said ‘I’ve got the perfect spot.’”
The night started out quiet, but word spread that Snooki was in town.
Antonio’s younger workers, such as 17-year-old Ansonia High School student Renee Plavnicky, began spreading the news about Snooki’s surprise appearance via messages on — what else — Twitter.
Within 30 minutes or so, people started calling the restaurant asking if Snooki was really there.
Plavnicky was especially excited to meet Snooki — she dressed as the MTV star for Halloween.
Snooki does what she wants and doesn’t care what others think — which makes her darn cool, Plavnicky explained.
“She was just a normal person going out to dinner. But it was so crazy to see her,” Plavnicky said.
For a complete recap of Plavnicky’s encounter with Snooki, listen to her interview in this week’s Valley Indy podcast.
As word spread online, other people showed up to see if they could get a photo. Dozens of people showed up at the restaurant, Burke and Setaro said.
“There were probably 80 people standing in the dinning room, and more outside,” Setaro said.
Snooki’s entourage was eating in a private room in the back of the bar, and Setaro stationed four people outside the doorway to prevent spectators from going in.
But Snooki allowed people to come in and get photographs with her before she left, Setaro said.
Two of those people were Setaro’s 10-and-11-year-old daughters.
“She was really nice to the kids,” Setaro said.
Burke said Snooki’s appearance brought out about 900 people to Sin City later that night. He declined to say how much she charges for an appearance.
For those unfamiliar with Snooki or her adventures on the “Jersey Shore,” catch up by reading … well, actually, God bless you for not knowing.
Here’s how local folks on Twitter reacted to the news Friday night:
View the story “Snooki In Ansonia, As Seen On Twitter” on Storify]