The above picture was taken in 1957 in front of the building Flo managed and
that I rented an apartment--this was about 3 PM before I was going into
work.)

I googled and bingo'd trying to find pictures of Piccolo's but didn't find any. It was a big
restaurant. Inside was the main room with about 30 tables. On the east side was
an enclosed veranda with about 12 tables while in the rear was another room with
about 6-7 tables on each side and out back was the patio with approximately
another 30 tables as best as I can remember.

Sam Piccolo was an older, taller version of an
Italian Pillsbury dough boy. He was in charge of the kitchen involving all the
cooks and cooking including the recipes. His wife, Dorothy, was in charge of the
front of the house, mainly the money, the scheduling of the servers, cashiers,
host staff, bus boys, bartenders, etc. with the help of their son Vincent. Don
the older son was a little mentally challenged and a sweet man who helped where
he could when he could.

An aside--this was a time
when waiters were called waiters and waitresses were called waitresses--the term
servers was not in use just as it was busboys not bus personal--in fact I don't
remember there ever being a busgirl!

I distinctly remember 5
co-workers though I don't remember all there names. There was Esther and another
waitress who worked the stations near the kitchen--it was a time when women were
still given a break for being a woman!
:O) Esther went out of her way to be nice to me while the other definitely
didn't! There was Louie, the Greek, a waiter who was liked by all--from the
owners to the cooks to the other waiters--a rarity in the business. On the other
hand there was Joe (?) who was despised by all including the bosses who rode him
all the time. Last, but not least, there was the pizza and garlic roll maker--I
really wish I could remember his name--who was an alcoholic who, when drunk, was
a better baker than when sober!! In all the years I have eaten in Italian
restaurants since 1956 I have NEVER tasted better pizzas (not even those I
made!LOL) and garlic rolls than he
made.

One of the first things I learned was to ask for a
station out on the patio because when it rained we were sent home or, if it
didn't rain, we were the first stations closed. Yes, it would get crazy if it
started to rain while people were eating,which happened often, and it was a
favorite of tourists to want to eat out there so when it was busy it was busy
and the money was good.

I had just turned 20,
Miami Beach was wild, yes, even wilder than when it became 'South Beach', it was
the 1950s, 1960s and unlike most cities gay life was out there with bars, baths,
beach cruising and tourists saving 50 weeks a year to come here and act like
millionaires and doing whatever they wanted without fear of their neighbors
seeing. Gambling was all over, prostitution was a given, the greatest and best
of the entertainment world was appearing in the local hotels and nightclub. As a
waiter I worker from 4 PM to, maybe, 9 PM, the latest 10 and then I was out at
the Pixie bar, or the Charles or Alley or Mayflower bar or having sex behind the
Seagull hotel but, again, that is another blog! :O)

In part 3 I will talk about eating, cooking and
learning about Italian food, falling in love with salta em bocca, serving 7
course dinners for $5.95 and my most embarrassing moment in over 38 years of
being a waiter.