My first job in the restaurant business was in 1956 and I started at Piccolo's in Miami Beach on Collins Avenue. I have written a couple of blogs about this place and how lucky I was to get my start there as Sam Piccolo insisted that I work in every department and it was from that experience that I made the decision to become a professional waiter.
Forty six years later, May 2002, I retired from the restaurant business, after working 2-3 years at Big Louie's restaurant in Fort Lauderdale and it was one of the easiest, and financially rewarding, jobs I ever had. I've worked in coffee shops, delis, 5 star restaurants, Mexican restaurants, joints, seafood houses and the whole spectrum of restaurants but the two Italian restaurants were the best jobs.
Big Louie's is one of the very few restaurants that I have gone back to eat after I had left the job. It is a spot that I always take out of town visitors to plus will dine there 6-8 times a year. It had been a few months since I had been there when John and I went to eat there after the movies last week.
A couple of events happened a few years ago that caused Big Louie's to close. There was hurricane Katrina and then a short time after that a car had crashed through the front of the restaurant. It took awhile but a complete remodeling job was done and when I had gone there to eat I was very disappointed. It had now become a modern place with very high prices. This was no longer the neighborhood pizza Italian joint, with the word joint being a compliment. It had been a place to relax, get large portions of food at reasonable prices, plus good old fashioned pizza. It still had the large portions, good pizza but the atmosphere was gone and the prices way too high.
My first surprise, when we walked in, was to see Sheila waiting tables. She is/was the manager when I worked there and is/was a hard worker who knows how to do her job. The second surprise was seeing Sergio. He was the man behind the original menu at Big Louie's when it first opened. He had gone on to buy two of the stores and now had bought this location. We talked for awhile and he said he had been shocked when he saw the prices and that was the first thing he was working on, by lowering them.
With Sheila working the floor, and Sergio working the kitchen, though there may not be much he can do about the remodeled place, except making it more the 'Italian Pizzeria', I am willing to bet that Big Louie's will again be the best neighborhood Italian restaurant to go to for comfort food, accompanied by big salads, great garlic rolls, pizzas like they should be made and tastes like a pizza should taste.
John and I had a large 5 topping pizza and a family salad. I felt like I was at 'home' again and next time will get my 'usuals'--either linguine with clam sauce or sausage and peppers with rigatoni, a salad with blue cheese dressing and a half a dozen garlic rolls---okay, maybe not for $8 and change like in the 'old days', but still at a reasonable price!
I must admit I now and then miss being a waiter but I don't miss having to work!
Martin D. Goodkin, formerly of Manhattan, is retired in Fort Lauderdale where he pursuing his writing, reading, going to the theatre, movies, beach and dining out. He can be reached at GreatMartin2003@yahoo.com
Cheers
Theater
Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 9.0.115!
Corine Cohen interviews Cheyenne Jackson on the Red carpet.
Video shot by Bob Johnson.
Video edited by: Corine Cohen.
Museums
MATISSE: MOMA
By Miriam Silverberg
MOMA
At the Museum of Modern Art the magnificent show, Matisse: Radical Invention, examines a little-studied period in his life
from 1913 to 1917. These works, very demanding, experimental and ambitious, are culled from the collections of both
MOMA and the Art Institute of Chicago. So this gives New Yorkers a chance to see works of Matisse that would usually
require airfare to Chicago.
Many of the works have as their subject nudes and bathers. One painting of particular interest was by Cezanne, shown alongside
Matisse's works, and from whom he drew moral support.
What was of particular interest in addition to the beauty of the paintings,was Matisse's willingness to draw attention to the
methods he used to paint. He was very willing to show the means of constructing these works, scraping and incising layers
of paint, drawing heavy black geometric lines across the canvas.
Miriam Silverberg is a freelance journalist and the owner of Miriam Silverberg Associates, a boutique publicity firm in Manhattan.
Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 9.0.115!
you hear time and time again but with this movie they won't say that anymore as this is the way they use to make movies. "Mao's Last Dancer" touches you, teaches you, takes you behind the scenes of politics in countries, the world of ballet and shows you love and family.
This is a true story based on the book by Li Cunxin who was brought to America from China as one of the first exchange students between the two countries to join the Houston Ballet.
I understand his defection made international headlines but I must admit I never heard the story nor, did it seem, did the rest of the audience I saw it with. Okay, shame faced, I will admit I never heard of Li. He is played as an 11 year old in a backwards Chinese town by Huang Wenbin, then as a teenager in Beijing by GuoChengwu, who is a graduate of the Beijing ballet academy and, finally, as the young man who comes to Houston played by Chi Cao, who, in real life, is a principal dancer with England's Birmingham Royal Ballet and all do a good job in their multiple rolls of acting dancing and showing the athleticism it takes to be a dancer.
As in the 'good old days' there are some obvious 'Hollywood' touches in the screenplay but its those touches that brings the tears flowing when they should.
There is certainly a lot more to the story than the defection of a ballet dancer and besides the outstanding acting by Bruce Greenward as the artistic director of the Houston ballet and Kyle MacLachlan along with the rest of the cast, the dancing sequences, the soundtrack, the production values recreating the 80s there isn't a false move in front of or behind the cameras.
This has been the best movie I have seen this year and though it is having a limited release take the time to search for it and see it.
Martin D. Goodkin, formerly of Manhattan, is retired in Fort Lauderdale where he pursuing his writing, reading, going to the theatre, movies, beach and dining out. He can be reached at GreatMartin2003@yahoo.com
Hotels & Concierge
The Travel Inn
The Convenient Choice Among Midtown Manhattan Hotels
The Travel Inn is a boutique hotel in Midtown Manhattan located three blocks away from the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City, home to dozens of trade shows and conventions. The hospitable staff at The Travel Inn gives the hotel a small-town feel, while the contemporary décor presents a sophisticated vibe.
A friend recently admired the way I draped a scarf. She bemoaned the fact that she herself lacked all style and fashion sense. She asked whether I knew of any course she could take to learn style, and I said I didn’t. But that got me thinking.
I don’t think style or good taste are subjects like Spanish that you can learn. I think you’re either born with style and taste or you’re not. In my case, fortunately, it’s part of my DNA. Both my parents were very stylish and interested in clothes.
But what if you’re not? Are you condemned to a life of wearing frou-frou—ruffles and ribbons and bows (all at once)? Or wearing neon clashing colors and wondering why people put on their sunglasses before speaking to you?
Not necessarily. There are things you can do to acquire some style or refine the style you do have.
Many actresses have no style at all. Before the era of stylists, it was very obvious. Some, who were clever, befriended designers, wore only their clothes, and avoided the most egregious faux pas.
One actress, with her modeling background and style sense, wore primarily Halston, but even she made a mistake. Due to appear at the Oscars, she asked Halston to make a dress for her. Having her measurements in New York, he did and shipped it to her. He watched her on television, and the next morning called her angrily and told her she had worn the dress back to front!
Since that happened to me once, I know it’s very easy to do. Another actress who wore Halston clothes had him post a list on her closet door: Wear this dress with these shoes, this blouse and skirt with this purse, and so on.
What can we who don’t have access to fashion designer friends do? Study fashion magazines. Don’t just idly turn the pages and dream, but actually study them. You may not instinctively understand why navy blue and brown don’t go together, but you can remember not to mix them. And you can remember that navy and black go beautifully because you saw examples in the fashion pages.
Look for my next column, which will be Part 2 of Learning Style.
