Today would have been Art Carney’s birthday. He plays a small part in the Eckhartz Press release Mob Adjacent. This excerpt comes from Chapter 7: “Airport Adjacent”…
Upstairs from the nightclub, Nick Giannotti initially ran an Italian
restaurant. Giannotti was quickly becoming a celebrity chef long before
being a Celebrity Chef became a Thing. Nick worked the room, prompting
diners to sprinkle a little Parmesan on the escarole soup, suggesting
a slice of homemade ricotta cheesecake, or explaining how a dish was
made. A little over a year after Dad bought Orlando’s Hideaway, Giannotti
started itching for a bigger canvas to paint on, so he took over a place
on Roosevelt Road in Forest Park. Naturally, in our mob adjacent world,
Giannotti’s new location turned out to be the former Armory Lounge.
The Armory had been Sam Giancana’s unofficial headquarters for
years, until the constant Fed surveillance became too burdensome, and
he found a new place. (Fun fact: The Armory was so named because it was
directly across the street from a former World War II torpedo factory.)
Giannotti’s new restaurant served as a mainstay of fine Italian cuisine for
decades. Nick eventually passed the torch to his son, Vic, who carried the
family business into the new millennium, eventually launching a line of
premium bottled marinara pasta sauces under the Giannotti brand name.
After Giannotti left, Dad brought Uncle John in to run the restaurant.
Under Dad’s careful control, the restaurant thrived and began attracting
a celebrity crowd. One night, a pair of entertainers walked over from the much larger Sahara Inn next door to have dinner at Orlando’s Hideaway.
Former TV costars, Jackie Gleason and Art Carney toured the country as
a comedy act in the 1960s. They enjoyed their meal so much that they sent
for the chef. Uncle John blushed, hemmed, and hawed under the praise
of his high-profile diners. Gleason, a dedicated gourmand, couldn’t say
enough about the veal, which Uncle John promptly re-christened Veal a’
la Gleason. “Ralph Kramden” and “Ed Norton” were staples of our childhood.
Monday through Friday, WFLD-TV Channel 32 broadcast reruns
of The Honeymooners at 10:00 PM. We never missed an episode, and Michael and I were bitterly disappointed that we didn’t get to see Jackie Gleason and Art Carney in the flesh.
