There will never be another Nick Mancini. Who else would be given a long standing ovation at his mass of Christian burial?

Mancini, the legendary St. Paul restaurateur who died last week at 80, was buried Tuesday after a full-bore funeral that was equal parts religious ritual, civic celebration and personal tribute to a man who knew each of the mourners who packed Assumption Catholic Church by their first name and probably gave most of them a free dinner.

"Nobody else would get a funeral like this," I whispered to a cop in the pew ahead of me. "Nobody else bought drinks for this many people," he replied.

click here for more >>