Homeland Gives A Nod to Cafe Milano in Thriller

Internationally famous Cafe Milano got a cameo mention on the Emmy decorated Showtime’s Homeland during its TV season premiere this week. But if you weren’t paying sharp attention, you’d have missed it. Stay alert during the reruns.

In a nutshell, here’s how the story line of Sunday night’s opening season 2 went as pertaining to the Georgetown restaurant:

Middle East journalist and shady operative Roya Hammad sets up a diversionary interview with CIA counterterrorism director David Estes to draw him away from his office during an intelligence briefing with Congressman Sgt. Nicholas Brody. Brody, a clandestine Muslin and a potential candidate for vice president of the United States, is left alone in the CIA office.

Roya’s scheme is to give Brody time to break into Estes’ safe to steal a list of bombing targets.

When Estes has had enough of the probing interview with Roya in the CIA building's press room, the beautiful “journalist” delays him by inviting him to Cafe Milano for a Saturday night wine and dine date. Estes accepts, albeit with some hesitation. Thanks to the little delay, Brody manages to swipe the information from Estes’s safe just in the nick of time as the CIA director returns from the pseudo-interview.

Stay tuned Homeland/Cafe Milano fans. Will that R.S.V.P. be lost on the cutting room floor or will there be inclusion in a later episode? If it’s the latter, does Roya or Estes (a federal employee) pick up the tab?

Plots do thicken like a good pasta sauce – especially in an election year.