I hope you enjoyed Friday’s message about painting a portrait of you.
Now… where was I? With the money I saved working at the Autopub, I flew back to New Orleans for a few days. I let my parents know that I was going to Los Angeles to find fame and fortune.
They both rolled their eyes. My father said, “Be careful. That city will eat you up and spit you out.” On the plane, I sat next to a lady who was going to Los Angeles for her grandmother’s funeral. She was crying so badly. I went to the flight attendant to get some tissue and when I got back I sat down and held her hand.
I took a taxi to the first circular Holiday Inn on Sunset Blvd. I went to the ninth floor. I went to the glass window and looked out on the freeway and watched the cars go whizzing by. I went down to the lobby and on the front desk there was a trade publication called Variety.
I went outside …sat on the steps, and started reading. There were articles about movie stars and movies. Towards the end of the magazine there was a section called “Help Wanted.” “Looking for a waiter with a big personality.“ I thought, “That is me!”
In the want ads it gave an address and phone number. I got in another taxi and went to find this restaurant. The cab stopped at the Beverly Comstock Hotel. The street was made up of apartment buildings and a few hotels.
I went to trhe lobby and there was an elevator that led to the second floor. There was a brown carved door and I opened it. This was a small and intimate restaurant. There were two booths on either side and 12 tables. The chairs were black and comfortable looking.
When you walked in there was a bar and six stools. Out from the kitchen came the owners Judy and Derrick Thomas. Derrick was from Wales. He was very calm and soft spoken. His wife Judy was from Irish decent. She had a brown pixie haircut….and was all smiles. I also met their daughter Annie who was as cute as a button. They lived in one of the rooms at the hotel.
They asked if I had any experience in being a waiter. Of course … I shared with them my experience at the Autopub. I told them I was a big hit there. They looked at each other and said, “When can you start?” I told them I could start tonight.
So I went back to the hotel, changed my clothes, and went back over to the restaurant. Derrick used to be the head chef at Carmines… a very popular Italian restaurant.
That evening, only five people came in to eat. I treated those people like they were made of solid gold. The menu was printed on a large board that I was supposed to take to the table. I decided to memorize the menu and recite it at the tables.
At one of the tables there was a man sitting down and I sat right on his lap. “Tonight we have Baby bay shrimp stuffed in a pastry shell with a sherry cream sauce. We also have mozzarella marinara. The chef takes a square piece of mozzarella…dipped in egg …then rolled in bread crumbs and chopped hazelnuts.” It was deep fried and served with marinara sauce on top. “Maybe you will like prosciutto with melon… fresh cantaloupe and prosciutto ham…How about a Caesar salad?”
I never made a Caesar salad in my life. But the bartender showed me how to make one. The Caesar salad was made right in front of the guests. Then I served it on cold plates and topped it with Parmesan cheese…
Derrick made a lot of veal dishes like Veal piccata made with white wine and capers, and veal Florentine. It was a piece of veal with spinach and fontina cheese, He also made veal Saltimbocca…which means jump into your mouth in Italian. It was veal medallions with ham and a sage leaf and butter. We also served Fettuccine Alfredo with the cream sauce and freshly ground pepper…..to be continued
