Giovanni Terzulli: The most famous waiter in New York’s Little Italy

My favorite place to go in the whole world is still New’s York’s Little Italy and my favorite restaurant when I get there is Florio’s Cigar Bar & Grille. Florio’s is located just off the corner of Grand and Mulberry Street, just across from Ferrara’s.

The owner, Lawrence Amoruso (or son of the owner) is an awesome host along with the other manager’s Frank and Tony. When you arrive at Florio’s you are instantly welcomed in and you realize this is home. I have been going to Florio’s for years and have never had a bad meal…ever! The food always tastes fresh and yummy.

Besides the food being awesome and the cigars to die for, Florio’s has a treasure very rarely seen. That treasure comes in the form of a human being named Giovanni Terzulli: The most famous waiter in Little Italy.

I had the balls to ask Giovanni to sit down and do a brief interview with me while the restaurant was hopping. He obliged. Take a gander for yourself.

Bruce Springsteen and Driving Down the Jersey Shore

I have been a huge “Boss” fan since I was in eighth grade.  While everyone was listening to Aerosmith and Styx, I was listening to “Mary Queen of Arkansas” wondering what the hell he was talking about:

Mary Queen of Arkansas, it’s not too early for dreamin’
The sky is grown with cloud seed sown and a bastard’s love can be redeeming
Mary, my queen, your soft hulk is reviving
No, you’re not too late to desecrate, the servants are just rising
Well I’m just a lonely acrobat, the live wire is my trade
I’ve been a shine boy for your acid brat and a wharf rat of your state
Mary, my queen, your blows for freedom are missing
You’re not man enough for me to hate or woman enough for kissing

When I finally figured it out I was 25.

I have seen him in concert more times that I can remember.  Two of my favorite concert tours were his “Born in the USA” and 1999 Tour…I got to see him with my girlfriend at the time Cindy Ketchum (probably the sweetest girl I have ever known) down in Greenboro, NC and I couldn’t believe someone else besides Mick Jagger could have that much energy and stamina.  Four hours later I was exhausted and couldn’t wait to find out where else he was going to be.  I saw him 3 other times that year.  The 1999 Tour really wasn’t a tour to promote a CD it was just him bringing the old E-Street Band and merging it with the New …it couldn’t have sounded any better if it were a dream.

It was a great 18 months I saw him in Chicago (bought a cool sweatshirt…I’m wearing it as I write this.  How friggin’ gay!), Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Louisville, East Rutherford, NJ and Madison Square Garden, NYC and every concert rocked better then the next.

My favorite memories of “Bruce” are of the Saturday mornings in the Summers of my youth loading up the car to go “down the shore” and cranking “Born to Run” “Hungry Heart” “The River” “Thunder Road” and singing so loud and out of tune in the graveliest voice I could muster.  By the time we got down the shore we had lost our voice and our hearing for most of the day.

After cruising the Boardwalk for “chicks” we’d kiss the ones we picked up, said good bye and “blasted” Bruce all the way back home.  Ahhh…the Summer’s at the Jersey Shore.

One of my favorite stories of “Bruce” was when I went to see Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes at the Stone Pony.  I was under age but was bigger than most of the bouncers that worked there so they didn’t really question me.  If you’ve ever been to the Stone Pony you would know that it is the most intimate place to see a band.  Southside was rockin’ the house and all of a sudden who walks in the door, with a gutar slung over his shoulder…I don’t think you needed a hint…but “The Boss”.  He waved at Southside and the band as he stepped up to the bar, stood there talking small talk with the bartender.

“Southside” decides to take a break, walks to the bar shakes Bruce’s hand as “The Boss” whispers in his ear, they both shake their heads in acknowledgment and Springsteen walks up on stage and literally apologizes for the inconvenience but he wanted to “try out” a couple of songs for us…to kinda get “our” opinion.  I was thinking to myself…are you fuckin’ kidding me?…no get off the stage you freeloader… everyone was looking around in the same “awestruck” way that I felt I was looking…we let him play…it was the least we could do.  After he played “My Hometown” and a version of “Downbound Train”, he thanked us, went to the bar welcomed us to give some feedback.  Of course I did.

Ever since… I have been a huge fan of his graciousness and humanity.

If you have a favorite “Bruce” song or favorite story, please feel free to leave it as a comment.

Let’s just basque in the celebration of history

Literally 20 years ago when Jesse Jackson ran for the presidential nomination I was told that I would never see a Black President in my lifetime…that America wasn’t ready to give the reigns over to a Black man.

Twenty years later I still don’t understand that statement.  America is always ready to be a leader no matter who is leading the country.  How is it that South Africa a nation that had tried to crush the will of the black man since before Ghandi could elect Nelson Mandela before we would even think about electing an African-American.  We are the leaders of freedom and democracy and we should be the one’s leading by example.

I am not a democrat but I want each and everyone of us to bask in the glow of history being made this very day…Tuesday, January 20th, 2009.  Nine years after the turn of the century… history has been made that the American public elected freely an African-American man to the highest office in the free world.

It is a cause for celebration that we have evolved into a real democracy that allows everyone no matter who they are to chase their dreams if they have the determination, patience and intelligence to know what they want…and can keep their eye on the prize.  Barack Obama is a symbol for what Americans can accomplish no matter what the odds.

I have always been proud to be an American and today I am especially proud.  I have put a side my political differences to honor history and to basque in it’s celebratory glow.   God Bless America!

Lest we Remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

I grew up in probably the most racist town and around some of the most racist people as a young boy where the word “nigger” was used as a disgusting punchline.  There weren’t black people in my school until I was in eighth grade…and even then the family had to sue the school to allow them to attend.  I was very young and didn’t understand the “politics” behind the stupidity…that was for grown ups to worry about.

Many of the smaller towns and villages (it seems kinda strange to write villages) like Ridgefield, NJ didn’t allow blacks to live or even pass through their municipality.  On more than one occasion you would see a policeman with a car pulled over on Broad Ave or my street Shaler Blvd and it usually had a black man or men inside.

I once asked an acquaintance of mine who happened to be a patrolman why the majority of cars pulled over were blacks and his statement shocked me, ” one, we don’t want these people here, they bring property values down…and 9 out of 10 times blacks have “marijuana” in there possession”, all I could think of was Holy Shit.  This was 1980.  I was still in High School being taught about American history and how Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves and Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated because he believed that we should all live together in peace… but this bigotry still had fuel…in 1980.

In my youth I boxed for a club out of Union City, NJ that had guys from everywhere, Blacks, Latinos, Whites and I never knew a better family environment than in some of my boxing friends homes.  I was often jealous to see how their parents really cared about them and supported their endeavors.  A far cry from where I came from.

On this day that we celebrate the great Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday please look into your own heart and remember that everyone has a dream and the color of his/her skin should never suffocate that dream…

Here is Dr. King’s famous “I have a Dream” Speech.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

There aren’t many movies that intrigue me anymore but “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” did on this occasion…and not because I think Cate Blanchett looks incredible in the trailer. It was intriguing to me to see how Director David Fincher would adapt and tell one of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short stories on film.

Most of the time directors and writers take a little too much “license” and totally screw it up. I had read the short story as an assignment for a college class I was taking way back in the olden days when college professors still made F. Scott Fitzgerald required reading. It was a rather odd story and a little on the unbelievable side but it was interesting and wildly amusing to say the least.

The film adaptation is very different from the short story but is still quite fun and engaging. If you are looking for a pure film adaptation, you won’t find it here but if you are looking for a great date movie. You would be curious not to go see this one. It is well deserving of the Golden Globe nominations and a funny thing is I think this is one of Brad Pitt’s best performances to date. Do yourself a favor and go see this movie.

Other Reviews: Boston Globe, Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times)

Benjamin Button Brad Pitt
Daisy Cate Blanchett
Caroline Julia Ormond
Elizabeth Abbott Tilda Swinton
Queenie Taraji P. Henson

Paramount Pictures presents a film directed by David Fincher. Written by Eric Roth, based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Running time: 167 minutes. Rated PG-13 (for brief war violence, sexual content, language and smoking).

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