Archive for May 2011

0

Dinner at Tramonti, Delray Beach, May 23, 2011

I'm sitting on Tramonti's patio with Victor and my friend, Dominic, who has just arrived from Detroit. Ordinarily, we would be at the bar or a back table, but Dominic hasn't seen the sun in weeks and wants to sit street-side. It's a good choice because Atlantic Avenue is hopping, and pretty girls are parading back and forth in front of us. From the way Dominic is looking, I'm guessing the sun isn't the only thing he's missing up north.

I've got my favorite waiter, Chris, taking care of us. He knows what I like and always orders for me, bringing out plates of rollatine melanzane and carpaccio di manzo as appetizers. A bottle of Chianti is on the table, and he pours three glasses. He's talking Italian, but I'm only half listening. Chris is a charmer, and my wife adores him ... as does my girlfriend. I think he prefers my girlfriend--and who wouldn't--because he say's, "No lady tonight, Lou?"

I say no, and he smiles. He's a real pro--never gets the names confused, but then, he usually plays it safe and calls both women "Bella". Tonight, he lingers at my side, making sure I'm pleased, before waiting on other tables. One couple starts grumbling, but Chris will make more from my tip than from all his other customers combined, and I'll be back in a day or two.

0

Family drama on the Stella di Mare, May 18, 2011

[dcs_]Stella's feeing blue because her husband, Johnny, is a f___-up, and I'm furious about how he's been treating my baby, but you'll have to read Patricia Bellomo's book, Louie Morelli's Daughter, to see what I do about him. I don't tell her how I feel, though. What's the point? She knows I can't stand him.[/dcs_p]

Anyway, I'm trying to get her mind off of things, and I ask her if she wants to take a little boat ride down to Miami. Stella's thrilled about it, and I tell my wife, and suddenly it's turning out to be a family day, and Victor's planning on stone crabs for lunch, and we're all waiting at the Marina in Boca when Stella shows up with Johnny. It's a beautiful south Florida day, but it feels like the sun goes out of the sky. Stella comes aboard, and I can see she's been crying. Angie says to me, "Louie, be nice," but I'm having a tough time holding my temper, and I do all I can  to keep myself from throwing Johnny overboard.

0

Sahara: The End of an Era, May 16, 2011

I turn on the television, and I see  the the Sahara is done, and I start thinking about the old days in Vegas. I used to stay at the Sahara in the sixties and seventies--I think I first saw "The Checkmates" with Sonny Charles and my late buddy, Sweet Louie, in the lounge there, but I can't remember exactly. It might have been Caesars or the Frontier or the Sands. Names synonymous with Sinatra and the rat-pack. There was a glamor to Vegas then that doesn't exist today, and no matter what they do--how much money they spend on the hotels or the comps they give--it can't be duplicated because the class is gone and it's all a cheap imitation.

Back when the boys ruled Vegas you wore a jacket in the casino and a dinner jacket when you took your lady to a show. And your girl wore a sexy pantsuit or mini-skirt during the day and a slinky, sparkling gown at night. When you checked into the hotel, they knew who you were and where you from and what you did or didn't do for a living. They sent booze to your room and arranged for a driver or a girl or whatever it is you were looking for, and you were glad to put your money on the table.

Today you check in and they don't know who you are, and they don't care. The games are the same and the casinos are bigger, but the people are all different. I guess I was part of an era and never knew it. But I sure miss it.

0

The Derby Girls, May 9, 2011

Victor comes back from the Kentucky Derby with two chicks. They're out of work marketing analysts from Detroit, and they were in Louisville working a vendor's booth.  They're blond and cute, and the one he introduces as Amy is having culture shock because she's never met a real redneck before, and she met a lot of them in downtown Louisville.  She says she was hit on every which way--even by the women--and she can't understand how nobody in Kentucky can pronounce her name.  And then she met Victor, and I'm pretty sure she liked the way he said her name.

 Victor brings the girls over to the marina in Boca, and they're digging the Stella even before they set foot on deck. But I've got my own babe on board, and he's going to have to entertain the ladies on his own. Victor tells Amy we're going to cruise down to Miami, maybe hang around Franco's tonight. "How's that sound to you, doll?" he says.

It must sound pretty good because she's batting her big baby blues at Victor. I guess Miami's more her style.

0

Action at Bob Amante's, May 6, 2011

Hanging at the bar talking to my favorite bartender, Joey. I've got my phones with me, and I'm taking action because I've got the NBA playoffs and the NHL and this weekend's the Derby, but I've only got a few horse bettors and they won't be calling until Saturday morning. It's a nice evening--they usually are in south Florida--and the warm air is coming in through the open door, and the place is bustling. They've got the black guy playing out on the street tonight. He used to be with KC and the Sunshine Band, and he's good, gets the girls up and dancing. It's the end of the season, and the crowds in Deerfield Beach are thinning, but Bob Amante's little family place should stay busy all summer. I won't be here, though. I'm heading north next week.