TONIGHT: The Real Housewives of New Jersey (9pm on Bravo)

Is the reason you’re watching The Real Housewives of New Jersey not a Garden State girl at all, but a dude—and a 22-year-old one at that? Albie Manzo is the son of one of this season’s big-haired wives (no, not the phone sex one or the one who threw the table, lucky for him) and a recent Fordham University grad. Oh, and a looker. Before tonight’s reunion episode, we talked to Manzo and he helped us bridge the great New York–New Jersey divide, if just for a fleeting moment:

Time Out New York: How did your family get involved with the show?
Albie Manzo: True story: I came home one day and there were basically cameras there. I remember I was away at college—at Fordham U—and my mom had gotten involved through Jacqueline.… Next thing I know, we’re doing the show!

What are some great spots for the real broke college students of NYC?
The real broke college students—that’s definitely what we were! My favorite bar, even to this day, is Sutton Place. We loved that place and that rooftop.

Where have you had, hands down, the worst night out?
I’ve got to go with a throwback: It was a Fordham bar that was open my freshman year. There was a place called the Upper Deck, this seedy place where there was a fight, like, every half an hour. I hated it every single time I went, but you just couldn’t stop going back because that’s where everybody was. That was the grimiest spot in the world.

What’s your favorite part of New York?
I love the Meatpacking District: a lot of my favorite restaurants are there. I know that’s such a bridge-and-tunnel thing to say, but I really do love that area.

Does the hipster epidemic exist in New Jersey?
I haven’t seen it in New Jersey as much I have in New York. I’m not gonna lie, though, if I could pull off that look, I’d totally do it. Maybe just for a night to see what happens—just to get a picture or something!… I just kind of wish I could pull off one of those hats, that Frank Sinatra look.—Interviewed by Lauren Otis