[00:00] Speaker 1: (instrumental music plays) Welcome to Hollywood and Horsepower, the show about the story behind the story. Today we are gonna do a little bit different format. We've done this before. We have a very special guest, guy that's like family to me, been a regular on the show, Anthony Big A Stabile. There's nobody that I enjoy talking to more than you, and I just can't thank you enough for joining us today.

[00:58] Speaker 1: So those-

[00:58] Speaker 2: My pleasure, Mark.

[00:58] Speaker 1: ... that don't know, he's a legend in horse racing, handicapper, broadcaster, has hosted more shows than I could list in the time of my show, and, you know, we're just honored to have you, have you with us today.

[01:12] Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm a legend in my own mind. Thank you for, uh-

[01:15] Speaker 1: Mine too. (laughs)

[01:15] Speaker 2: (laughs) Thanks for having me. Yeah.

[01:19] Speaker 1: Not just yours, mine too.

[01:22] Speaker 2: It's funny, we always do... We always manage to get one of these in right around Kentucky Derby time. Kentucky Derby's-

[01:29] Speaker 1: Exactly.

[01:30] Speaker 2: ... four weeks away. Uh, I'm changing my-

[01:33] Speaker 1: Let's go.

[01:33] Speaker 2: I'm changing, changing tack this year. I'll be at Saratoga National Golf Club up in Saratoga Springs.

[01:40] Speaker 1: Oh, wow, that's very cool.

[01:41] Speaker 2: Yeah, they have a huge party every year, uh, and my gal, Devon Mann's up there. Devon helps run the show. Devon's always wanted me up there, but I had prior engagements. Well, I was... I've been thinking about this. Had prior engagements if you take out the COVID year for the last 15 years. So, um, finally able to get up there, looking forward to it. As you know, Saratoga is a... It's this horse... It's probably the biggest horse town outside of the state of Kentucky.

[02:09] Speaker 2: They love their horse racing in Saratoga Springs, and I'm looking forward-

[02:13] Speaker 1: Absolutely.

[02:14] Speaker 2: ... to, uh, spending Kentucky Derby, uh, 152 up there in, uh, at Saratoga National, uh, Golf Club.

[02:21] Speaker 1: How's that? Is that right in town? Is it close to where Saratoga Track is?

[02:26] Speaker 2: It is, it's less than three miles from the track. It's on, uh, it's on Union Avenue. I know Union Avenue changes names. Like when I head s- when I head north up the Northway, uh, you get off exit 14, and then you hang a right to go to Saratoga. All you do-

[02:46] Speaker 1: Yeah.

[02:46] Speaker 2: ... is hang a left to go to Saratoga National, and it's about a mile on the l- it's about a mile down on the right-hand side. So it's literally, it's less than three miles. I would say it's probably two and a half miles.

[02:56] Speaker 1: So I'm surprised they don't do anything at the track for Kentucky Derby. It's just kind of quiet, huh?

[03:02] Speaker 2: Saratoga doesn't open the, the, the harness track, which is no affiliation. The harness track is open for simulcasting year round, and they have people there for derby. Uh, but my guess is, and not to brag too much, but I would imagine the 1,500 to 2,000 is going to go up, because especially around derby time, um, I have a pretty good seminar following. Um, we'll probably have more people... I shouldn't say probably.

[03:28] Speaker 2: We'll have more people at Saratoga National than they'll have at Saratoga Harness for-

[03:33] Speaker 1: Ah, crazy.

[03:34] Speaker 2: ... derby day.

[03:36] Speaker 1: Are, are you doing two days? You doing old Sand Derby?

[03:40] Speaker 2: No, they just have a, they just have a giant derby party every year.

[03:42] Speaker 1: Okay.

[03:42] Speaker 2: You know what's funny? Kentucky Oaks Day, at some of the casinos I've worked at, Oaks Day is a bigger deal because you have the more hardcore horse player there. These parties-

[03:54] Speaker 1: Yeah.

[03:54] Speaker 2: And it's funny because I have a prior relationship with Saratoga National Golf Club. In 2000 to 2020 during COVID, they had these day at the rAs. And if you're not, if you're not familiar with the restaurant, which is always changing names and, and cuisine, um, they're undergoing a menu change, I believe, as we speak, uh, with a launch coming this week. There's a, there's a, a gigantic ballroom upstairs. I've helped, uh, Rerun, uh, which is, uh, an adoption program for retired rAhorses in New York. Lisa Malloy does a great job.

[04:31] Speaker 2: I've helped-

[04:32] Speaker 1: Oh, yeah.

[04:32] Speaker 2: ... Rerun do their event there before COVID. Um, so they have a giant ballroom upstairs. They have three dining rooms, a great bar area. Uh, it's a beautiful, beautiful venue. It's probably the most beautiful venue in Saratoga Springs. Um, I hosted... I think I was there like ten dates during COVID or eight dates during COVID. And, you know, everybody was still kind of, uh, afraid to come out. We sold out every day. (laughs) And I just so happened to have, um, not so coincidentally, I don't think, I was kind of locked in during that meet. If you remember, we, we had plenty of winners in 2020 at Saratoga. They were very, very... The, the fans, the, uh, the folks that run the plA, uh, were very, very happy with the turnout and the, the results. Bottom line, we all made money, uh, whether it be as a venue or just being a horse player and gambling. So they put on... A great job. Um, th- they do a great job. The food is second to none, uh, in the area.

[05:37] Speaker 2: They make one of my favorite appetizers of all time. They make a tempura roll of... They take filet mignon and roll it around the shrimp and lobster and crab meat.

[05:52] Speaker 1: Oh my God. (laughs)

[05:53] Speaker 2: And then they fry it, and they treat it like a sushi roll.

[05:56] Speaker 1: Totally.

[05:56] Speaker 2: Yeah, it's just... it's unbelie- unbelievable. So-

[06:00] Speaker 1: (laughs)

[06:00] Speaker 2: ... I'm looking forward to being there, uh, Kentucky Derby day. There'll be more details. I'll let you know the details. You can let the... You can let your listeners know.

[06:08] Speaker 1: Absolutely.

[06:10] Speaker 2: Yeah, the details, the tickets are $1,000.

[06:12] Speaker 1: But that's not the kind of party that I, I, I wouldn't mind showing up at.

[06:15] Speaker 2: Come on up. You know-

[06:16] Speaker 1: I, uh, you know, I come from Upstate New York. I gotta tell you. You know me. I mean, I'm probably, in all transparency, I'm probably more of a Del Mar guy. It's like you're either East Coast or a West Coast guy. I kind of started out going Santa Anita and that's... I love Del Mar, I love Santa Anita. But I have to tell you, I, uh, unlike most people who are one or the other, I have always loved Saratoga. It's just such... You know what's cool about Saratoga, and Del Mar has a little bit of this, but not like Saratoga. I love the stories. I love the fact that no matter who you run into, they've been going there since they were a kid with their granddad or their uncle or their dad, and it's a, it's such a tradition. I mean, I think, and you might disagree probably, but in a lot of cases I think the, the racing is almost secondary to the trip. It's like a tradition that they've been doing. I've never been anywhere where people make such an annual event of going.

[07:22] Speaker 2: It's a pilgrimage. It's a sojourn.

[07:24] Speaker 1: It really is.

[07:24] Speaker 2: Whatever word you want to use.

[07:25] Speaker 1: Yeah.

[07:25] Speaker 2: 100%, and I don't take offense to the ra- the racing's the best racing in the country.

[07:31] Speaker 1: It is, and I'm not taking anything away from it.

[07:34] Speaker 2: Uh, for those eight weeks. I, Yeah, and, and I have no affiliations. I-

[07:36] Speaker 1: But there's nothing better than like everything else going on at the same time. The picnicking, the everybody getting together. It's like families come together like a family reunion, guys that went to college together, guys that grew up together, and in all different walks of life. That's the other thing that really hit me. You know, a guy could be a president of a bank sitting next to a mailman sitting next to a guy that works in a factory. And they, they, you know, they grew up together going to Saratoga.

[08:03] Speaker 2: Yeah, it's, uh, it's a different kind of plA. It's, it's really a different... And listen, I am not an over-the-moon Saratoga guy. But it is certainly, you know, having spent-

[08:13] Speaker 1: But you can't help but like it. I mean, you can't-

[08:15] Speaker 2: No.

[08:15] Speaker 1: ... help but kind of be amazed with it. And the other thing that's cool is like, you know, which both you and I share, is the food. You know, between the restaurants in town, the food at the track, it's, it's really... And then, quite frankly, walking around watching people cook and do things on their own, that's... You know, you could do a Food Network show on that picnic area. I mean, I see some guys (overlapping)

[08:43] Speaker 2: The picnic area, uh, the, the, they have done such a good job. And I have no affiliation with NYRA anymore, though the fact that I have some really good friends that work there.

[08:52] Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't either.

[08:54] Speaker 2: Um, they've done a really good job at selecting and culling through the best food truck little camp in the backyard. Um-

[09:08] Speaker 1: I would agree.

[09:09] Speaker 2: Yeah. Uh, everything, they do a great job. There are a lot of local restaurants that, um, do take part in the food trucks. So, um, but yeah, they do, uh, they do... And there's, and there's really everything from hot dogs to poutine to lobster rolls.

[09:33] Speaker 1: To lobster rolls.

[09:33] Speaker 2: So it's like whatever you want.

[09:35] Speaker 1: You know what's funny? The lobster roll is my first stop when I get there. (overlapping)

[09:40] Speaker 2: Other than the mac and cheese.

[09:41] Speaker 1: Like-

[09:41] Speaker 2: The pulled pork. The pulled pork or the brisket mac and cheese-

[09:45] Speaker 1: I, I-

[09:46] Speaker 2: ... is my go-to.

[09:47] Speaker 1: Yeah. But see, that's... 'Cause you can get a lobster roll really good anytime, anytime. But being from like the, you know, middle part of the country, you, you know, between Michigan and Florida, there's no good lobster rolls. You know, so it's like, you know, it... When you get out there, it's like the lobster roll, that little shack there at Saratoga is, is one of the best. I, I don't know. I shouldn't say that. You know how it is. Sometimes I think the atmosphere makes what you're having even better. And it's su-... I mean, you know, I started going out there when my kids were little and, you know, I've been going out there ever since. And my kids and I have made annual trips out of it. And, you know, it's just kind of one of those fun plAs that I love hearing the stories. That's... I think that excites... And they, you're absolutely correct. It's some of the best racing in the country. Some of the biggest named horses, you'll see things there you won't see anywhere else.

[10:43] Speaker 1: And as amazing as that is, it's still kind of captivating watching the crowd and listening to people's stories.

[10:54] Speaker 2: And you're also in one of the most American history rich-

[11:02] Speaker 1: Yeah.

[11:02] Speaker 2: ... areas of the, of the country. Like-

[11:06] Speaker 1: No question.

[11:07] Speaker 2: So many... The Battle of Saratoga was a turning point in the Revolutionary War. Um, Lake George, which is 25 minutes, 25 miles north of Saratoga, very popular tourist destination. There were battles in the Revolutionary War, uh, fought on Lake George. Um, Fort Ticonderoga is less than two hours away. I went there when I was a kid, uh, with a bloodstock agent, the late Bob Fox. My sister and I went with Bob, and, um... Yeah, there's just so much other stuff to do, um.

[11:44] Speaker 1: There is.

[11:45] Speaker 2: And-

[11:45] Speaker 1: From 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., watching tin on the porch, which is another favorite thing of mine to do. Because it seems like a lot of the old retired jockeys and trainers kind of show up there. It's like a tradition. They sit on the porch at night, have a drink, and swap stories. And it is, it... From that to the restaurants downtown. And I'll tell you another one that my kids and I stumbled on. You talk about the history.

[12:12] Speaker 2: ... going to some of the antique shops, and I'm not an antique guy, I'm not one of these people that goes antiquing, but walking through some of those shops up in that area, in like Balch Springs and that, it's like going through a museum. I mean, you see things that are like, you've never seen anywhere else in like, all these old programs from horse racing and pitchers from the track, and pitchers from farms and it's really pretty amazing. Yeah. It's a wonderful area. You know, and like you said earlier, it's a destination. Nobody's making that trip to Aqueduct or the Meadowlands or... I, you know, it's unfour- it's unfortunate, um, but- Not even the inaudible ) stuff doesn't have stuff like that. You know what's funny? Um, when I was with my, with the radio station where you and I met, I went to, uh, quite a few smaller tracks and did broadcasts from there. Yep, yep.

[13:08] Speaker 2: And they, it seems to be a, a- and the biggest problem in New York City with Aqueduct, which is going to be closing in a couple of months, and the new Belmont Park is, you're fighting for the entertainment dollar. You're fighting for the dining dollar, you're fighting for the entertainment dollar. Like, when you go to Saratoga, you have all of the best things about the best racing in the world, combined with that small town, now it's not that small of a town anymore, but that small town feel. So, for example, the Penn Mile is run at Penn National RA Course in Grantville, Pennsylvania every year. Going to Penn National, I think I went five years in a row to cover the Penn Mile, from '15 to '19. And it's, it's 10, 12 miles north of Hershey, Pennsylvania. Yep. Which is the third sweetest plA on earth. Um, and you know- (laughs) ... there'd be 7,000 people there on Penn Mile night.

[14:07] Speaker 2: 8,000 people that, the line to meet us at Radio, take pictures with folks, like, was, you know, 50 yards long. Yeah. I remember that. And- But it was kind of like, Charlestown Classic was kind of like that. Yeah. People come from all over just for that rA. Yep. And now Rich Dimly does a great job with Charlestown and Penn National and, but when you... I remember when I first started really doing a lot of the, my first real major gig in IRA was co-hosting Talking Horses with my man Andy Sterling. And I wasn't needed in Saratoga full-time until 2018. And then in 2018, I did probably 75% or 80% of the Talking Horses with Andy. Um, and then, and then all of them going forward, until I left, uh, before the meet started in 2023. You would get that... So now I have these years of experience with the radio station under our, under my belt, and I know what it was like, you know what I mean?

[15:13] Speaker 2: But now you get to Saratoga, and it's the same thing, but there's 35,000 there on a Saturday, as opposed to 8,000. It's really like- And, and it's every ham. And I'm a big ham. And it's every, I'm a big ham. I love attention. One of my favorite parts of the job is meeting people and talking to new people. Like, it was a trip for me. And- Oh, yeah. I'm like- It's so much fun. ... if, if you go to the refrigerator tonight and the light hits you, you'll talk for 10 minutes. No kidding. You're not kidding (laughs) . I've been craving some attention. Actually, it's funny. I'm starting a new, I'm trying to get my old YouTube show rolling, had some problem with management, but I kind of ironed all that out. I got some new, uh, new money, new folks, the Big Time with the Big A will be back soon. And I'm actually launching a new one, we're gonna record next week. It's called, That's Life. And I found this gal, Tara, on Insta, on Instagram.

[16:11] Speaker 2: Um, I got, I, I caught a bug here, right around Thanksgiving, and, uh, I was just spending a lot of time just trying to recuperate and I was poking around the internet a lot and found her on Instagram. She's got a real positive message and the name of the podcast is going to be That's Life. And we are basically just going to talk about life, um, 'cause I don't think there's enough of that. So I'm going to branch out a little bit and do some different things. But, um, and yeah, she's from your, she's, she's from your neck of the woods. She's a Michigan gal. So, um, you know, just kind of branching out and doing some different things. And I was joking with her as we're getting ready to, to film the pilot next week. She's like, uh, "You're ready." I was like, "Are you, are you ready?" I felt like in, uh, like in Rudy. Remember in Rudy when, uh, he dresses for the final game and he says, "I've been waiting for this my whole life." Yeah.

[17:02] Speaker 2: Well, I've been waiting for this, for this my whole life, but it's been about six months, so I need to let... I'm like Billy the Kid. Billy the Kid was never able to go to any small towns because there wasn't, there wasn't enough attention for him. He needed to go shoot a saloon off or something. So I'm finally gonna have - And then I asked him, my daughter, which you know how quick was, she goes, made a comment one time 'cause I was li- I have to have noise at night, like the fan or the rain thing. Me too. Me too. Yeah. You know what she said? She goes, "It kind of sounds like applause." She goes, "I think you need like applause all night long." (laughs) Yeah. Or boos. I mean, I get plenty of boos as well. Don't get me wrong. Um, you know, I, I work in a business where if you, if you're right 20% of the time, they put you in the hall of fame eventually. So, um- My dad always said, "Even a broken clock's right twice a day." (laughs) Yeah.

[17:49] Speaker 2: I mean, I could test that theory in some of my slumps. We've had some of those slumps, but yes. Uh, I'm looking forward to getting back in front of the camera, getting, looking forward to getting to my man, uh, to Florid Media. I got a great little studio here. My friend Jay Belski does a great job. Um, it's 20 minutes from the house. Um- So you guys are gonna record right there in New York. She's gonna come out there. Yeah. She's coming, she's coming in for a few days. We're gonna get some stuff done. Um, and like us, like us...She is a big-time foodie.

[18:23] Speaker 2: So-

[18:24] Speaker 1: Oh, wow.

[18:24] Speaker 2: ... as you know, it, it, listen, you and I have talked about this ad nauseum. Food's very important to us. We're Italian. Food is... She's not Italian. Uh, but food is very important to her as well. And-

[18:34] Speaker 1: Well, I think, that's a Detroit thing, I really do. There, Detroit is a restaurant town if there ever was one. Kinda like New York.

[18:42] Speaker 2: Yeah. And, and where the studio's located, uh, is, is a little town in Long Island called Rockville Centre. I could, we could sit here for five, I know we, we, we say about an hour on Hollywood and Horsepower. We literally could sit here for five hours and talk about how many amazing plAs there are in Rockville Centre. And she said to me, like, you know, we talked about after, um, after shooting we're going to go grab lunch or something.

[19:12] Speaker 2: And, ooh, I think we're, we're filming on Monday, um, and a lot of plAs do close on Monday-

[19:19] Speaker 1: Yeah.

[19:19] Speaker 2: ... because they have the, the busy weekend and stuff, so... But if that's the only time, like, I could go through six plAs that are closed on Monday and still have eight plAs to go for lunch or dinner and be almost as happy with some of the plAs that are closed. Um, it's important, especially, like, I don't have to tell you, and I know your show... My show's a little bit more, I have a lot of guests in the studio. When I'm doing The Big Time with The Big A, you know, part of the reason it's been a little quiet besides the difficulty with the old management and the old producers is the fact that there's not a lot of, there aren't a lot of horsemen and -women here right now.

[19:56] Speaker 1: No.

[19:56] Speaker 2: Everyone's in Florida and, and, and, and, and Louisiana and going to Kentucky.

[20:00] Speaker 1: And Gretzky.

[20:02] Speaker 2: So the show-

[20:02] Speaker 1: That's true. Yeah.

[20:03] Speaker 2: The show gets a little quieter. The show and the, and the game and the business and the racing gets a little quiet in the winter. So, you know, it's a little more difficult to, to do a show like that. Um, but that said, when you have people in the studio, when you have guests that come into the studio, you'd like to have some options around you. And let me tell you, uh, I have the greatest cafe of all time, it's called Caffe On Park. It's on Park Avenue in Rockville Centre. They're open from 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM every day except Monday. And you literally can go in there and you can... And I've tried everything. You can have anything from an omelet for breakfast to penne alla vodka and chicken for dinner. And there's everything in between. There's s- in between. There's deli sandwiches, there's Italian heroes, there's hot food, there's cold food. You, th- they make the best gelato. It's more of an ice cream. They call it gelato, I feel like it's more of an ice cream texture.

[21:07] Speaker 2: It's the best ice cream/gelato I have ever eaten in my entire life. My f- the, the gal Lara that runs the plA, her dad had a plA that was famous called International Cafe in Rockville Centre for a million years. He retired, she opened a few years later, she moved locations to a little bit smaller plA. Mark, when you come in, we're going to see Lara and the gang at Caffe On Park. And I got a pizza plA, uh, called Camilla's which is next to the greatest bakery of all time, Front Street Bakery on Front Street in Rockville Centre right by the train station.

[21:42] Speaker 2: Because I do, do feel-

[21:43] Speaker 1: You know-

[21:43] Speaker 2: ... like, it's important-

[21:44] Speaker 1: It's-

[21:44] Speaker 2: ... not... It's important not only for me but for my guests-

[21:47] Speaker 1: Absolutely.

[21:47] Speaker 2: ... to get a full experience. A full experience. If they're going to take time out of their day to come down... And, you know, you're dealing with, with, with, with trainers and owners and jockeys that their day starts at five o'clock and if they have horses in the last rA it might not end until seven o'clock. And now I'm asking them to trek into Rockville Centre to come spend another hour with me. They're not getting to bed till nine o'clock. That alarm is going to ring at 4:00 the next morning.

[22:09] Speaker 2: The least I can do-

[22:10] Speaker 1: Oh.

[22:10] Speaker 2: ... is bring some food in, take them for something to eat. So it was important to me to be in an area with a great producer like Jay, a great director, I should say, like Jay, and a studio that has a ton of great food and bars and grills and, and you name it. You can get a slice of pizza at 4:00 in the morning, like, it's a, it's a wonderful area to be in, uh, and that's where we, we... That's the home studio for now.

[22:34] Speaker 1: That's awesome. There's a plA there, I'm, I'm almost positive it's the same old town. You can correct me if I'm wrong. Do you remember a plA called Frank's Steak and Seafood? It's a old, old-time Italian steakhouse, white tablecloths, velvet walls, the whole bit.

[22:51] Speaker 2: I don't remember that.

[22:52] Speaker 1: It's... So you, it was off the main drag, kind of, like, on a side street and it was not far from a, there's a Hilton Garden Inn there that Keith and I stayed at.

[23:04] Speaker 2: Oh, yeah. Yeah, it's not... It might be a different plA now. But I know-

[23:07] Speaker 1: Okay.

[23:07] Speaker 2: ... the Hilton Garden Inn for sure. Yeah. Um-

[23:09] Speaker 1: It was a ne- it's, it's from that old-

[23:11] Speaker 2: It was a... I mean, it's, it's a great area.

[23:12] Speaker 1: And there was, like, an old, old time... There's a, you know, there's a million great plAs but it is funny that, like, the plAs stick in your mind. You know what I mean? It's like, I mean, there's plAs out there that, y- you know, King Umberto's and the really famous plAs but there's also plAs that, you know, like Pizza-

[23:29] Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.

[23:29] Speaker 1: ... down by Union Station that that's all the building says is pizza. And they have the best slice in that area, in that part of town.

[23:38] Speaker 2: Yeah. It's, uh, it's a great area for the, the Long Island... You know, it's funny, Dave Portnoy, uh, El Presidente, he's not a big fan of Long Island pizza. I got a, I got a few spots. Um, he's, you know, his b- uh, I think his go-to is King Umberto pizza which is, I agree with. Uh, but I got a few spots and na- namely the plA, uh, by the studio. I've, I've had, uh, a dozen people come through that studio now, um, part of the staff, guests, guests of the guests, what have you, and everybody loves the pizza at Camilla's.

[24:12] Speaker 2: So, um, they do a really good job and again, you know, it's, it's great-

[24:16] Speaker 1: If anybody disagreed with King Umberto's I'd probably be looking for him with a sock full of quarters because they-

[24:22] Speaker 2: Exactly.

[24:23] Speaker 1: That plA, yeah, that plA is the best. I mean, I just love that plA. The food's amazing, the staff's amazing, the atmosphere, everything about it.

[24:32] Speaker 2: Yup. It's p- t- ah, second to none. They do a great job.

[24:36] Speaker 1: You know, it's like you have those plAs around that are just, like, you know, just, they, they just make you feel good. It's like, you know, the Palm Miami. I mean, I don't care, and I know I mention it all the time, but it's like I, I can't say it enough how much I've never had a bad meal there. They'll make anything you want. You know, that was another New York restaurant. Started out in New York. I think Miami was number three. You know, they had Palm, and then Palm Two straight across the street.

[25:08] Speaker 2: Well, that's the funny part of it, right? We've st- th- we've talked about a handful of plAs right now, and we're not in, we're not even in the five boroughs.

[25:17] Speaker 1: No.

[25:17] Speaker 2: We've been talkin' about Long Island stuff. And you know, it's funny, uh, like I said, I, I caught something in November. I've had a really weird run of health luck. Just, like, a st- I had a stomach bug a few weeks ago-

[25:30] Speaker 1: You've had a rough run.

[25:30] Speaker 2: Yeah, it's been a rough run. Um, so I've been spending a lot of time just trying to get better and feeling better, and just, but spending it at home, and just, you know, uh, the internet's a wonderful thing, social media's a wonderful thing when you're bored and got nothing to do but just k- kind of try to get better and convalesce. Um, I find myself fighting with a lot of people over ... And I, and as a lifelong same house my entire life, uh ... I turned 49 yesterday. Um, I've been in the same house my whole life, in Queens, in Howard Beach, Queens. I get very, very, very territorial about my city. You know, it's almost like in, uh, when, in A Few Good Men, units, corps, God, country. Um, you know, for me it's like queens, Howard Beach, New York City, (laughs) uh, in that order. Like, I'm gonna defend my home turf. Um, and I will include Long Island in there a little bit.

[26:34] Speaker 2: Um, Long Island in the, Long Island and Yonkers, uh, Lower Westchester County, White Plains, Yonkers, they're kind of like cousins. Um, I will defend that till I die. And there's just so many misnomers right now. Uh, you know, like I'll see people talk about how they're coming into, coming into New York for the first time. Besides a chopped cheese, what do I need to eat?

[27:00] Speaker 1: You know, cheese.

[27:00] Speaker 2: Mark, I'm 49 and, I'm 49 and, years and one day old. And I can tell you, as a lifelong New Yorker, a chopped cheese has never touched my lips. It is really just a Harlem thing. Um-

[27:22] Speaker 1: And you know what-

[27:22] Speaker 2: ... that's funny.

[27:22] Speaker 1: ... you know how many times I've been out there, and how much I go to the ends of the earth to find a hole in the wall that has a good sandwich. I've never had one.

[27:31] Speaker 2: Yeah. Uh, uh, it's, it's ... When you come to New York, there are a, a few rules. For those of you out there traveling, the, the, the ... we're almost at summer, right? We got through this winter, and it was a miserable winter. We're almost to summer. I'm sure a lot of you listening are gonna come to New York. Here are some big A food rules. When you-

[27:51] Speaker 1: This is where you want paper and pencil, folks, I'm telling you.

[27:55] Speaker 2: If I catch any of you in Olive Garden, Applebee's, Chili's, if I catch you at Subway, Papa John's, if I catch any of you in there, we are going to have words. What does, uh, what does, uh, Leonardo DiCaprio's character in the Titanic say? "I'm gonna write a strongly worded letter to the company."

[28:17] Speaker 1: Yeah.

[28:17] Speaker 2: We're gonna have a strongly worded conversation being in New York.

[28:20] Speaker 1: With a running host.

[28:22] Speaker 2: We can't, we can't-

[28:23] Speaker 1: You know what-

[28:23] Speaker 2: I don't know what- (laughs) Yeah. Absolutely.

[28:25] Speaker 1: ... happened with people people last night. We had this exact conversation. We said, "It's an absolute rule that when you're traveling, you never go to a chain."

[28:35] Speaker 2: No.

[28:35] Speaker 1: "You go to local restaurants."

[28:39] Speaker 2: I n- I remember being in Boston with an ex-girlfriend. She's like four Xs back at this (laughs) she's like four Xs back at this point. And we were in Boston.

[28:48] Speaker 1: (laughs)

[28:48] Speaker 2: This is -

[28:49] Speaker 1: (laughs)

[28:49] Speaker 2: ... like, oh-n- '09. We were in, like, a suburb of Boston, and she was like, "Oh, let's go get Five Guys." "What?"

[29:01] Speaker 1: (laughs)

[29:01] Speaker 2: "We're traveling. We're not home at the mal- we're not at Roosevelt Field Mall, Christmas shopping, we need to eat something really quick, go to the food court and grab a burger from Johnny Rockets or Five Guys. We're in Boston, Massachusetts."

[29:14] Speaker 1: Where you can throw rocks at ******* Andy.

[29:18] Speaker 2: (laughs)

[29:18] Speaker 1: Where you can go find some seafood. We're gonna do something. Like-

[29:21] Speaker 2: So, yo- you're coming here, and you're going to th- th- the, th- the Olive Garden and Gard- in, in, in Times Square is the most profitable Olive Garden in the world. There's a problem-

[29:35] Speaker 1: But is it all basically-

[29:36] Speaker 2: There's a problem with that.

[29:36] Speaker 1: ... that people do that? You know?

[29:38] Speaker 2: There's a problem with that.

[29:39] Speaker 1: It is a crazy ... So this will, this will give you an example of a little insight into how some people travel. I used to have a guy that worked for me. I don't know if you ever met him or not. But he was, he had the personality of a Labrador retriever, just smiling and wagging his tail. One time, him and I are in Scottsdale, Arizona on a trip, and happenstance, we're staying, we're obviously staying at the same hotel. We walk into the elevator at the same time and he's carrying a little Victoria's Secrets bag. I look at him and I'm going, "Okay, I'll bite. What's in the bag?" He goes, "Well, every plA that we go, I go to Victoria's Secrets and get my girl a little pair of underwear."...

[30:28] Speaker 1: and I look at him and I go, "Rick, you do realize they're the same in every city."

[30:33] Speaker 2: Wow.

[30:35] Speaker 1: (laughs)

[30:35] Speaker 2: (laughs) Had a guy I worked with was a hard rock pin collector. That's a different story.

[30:39] Speaker 1: That at- that at least has the silly iron. (laughs)

[30:42] Speaker 2: Correct. Correct. So if you're coming to New York, here's what you must, must, must have, in order. Number three, a dirty water hot dog. You have to go to somebody on the street, a street vendor. The hot dog cannot be inside of a bricks and mortar building. It has to-

[31:08] Speaker 1: No.

[31:08] Speaker 2: ... come a la carte, with an umbrella on top, preferably a blue and yellow one that says Sabrett's, even though the chances that they're Sabrett's hot dogs are about one in 75.

[31:18] Speaker 1: (laughs) That's true.

[31:19] Speaker 2: You need a dirty water dog. However you want to have it, you can have it. I'm not one of these people, one of my best friends, Phil, who you've met, will... Does not... If you're at his house, he does not allow ketchup on hot dogs. He will-

[31:31] Speaker 1: Yeah.

[31:31] Speaker 2: ... ask you to leave. I don't care how you prepare it. You need to have a dirty water dog. That's number three. Number two, and this is like 2 and 2B, you have to have a bacon, egg, and cheese with salt, pepper sh- pepper, ketchup. Do not tell them you would like, uh, bacon with eggs and some cheese, and, "Can you please add salt, pepper and ketchup?" The deli guy will look at you and he will want to crucify you. You tell him-

[32:00] Speaker 1: (laughs)

[32:00] Speaker 2: ... you want a BEC with SPK. That's it. He'll know what you're talking about. If you can get it on a bagel, that is preferred. Again, it's American cheese, you don't change the cheese. You can have your bacon however you want it. I prefer my bacon well done. You can have your-

[32:20] Speaker 1: That's good.

[32:20] Speaker 2: ... eggs however you want it. They're going to give you a fried egg if you don't prefA.

[32:24] Speaker 1: Yeah, it's the Carl Reiner bacon, like he says. Wh- when you think it's too done, leave it another couple of minutes and you're there.

[32:32] Speaker 2: Correct. That's me. Right? I prefer scrambled eggs and ba- however you want it, but BCSPK. Now, if you don't want the salt, pepper, ketchup, that's fine. You can leave it off. But if you do, you say, "BECSPK." That's it. If you just say, "BEC," they're going to ask you about the SPK, you can just tell them, "NO." That's it. No problem. Go find yourself a good bagel. If you're in Queens, go to All-American Bagel Barista. That's about a mile from me. Best bagels on the planet. If you're in Northern Queens, you can go to Utopia Bagel. There's a bunch of very good spots in Brooklyn. Um, I'm not really a Manhattan bagel guy. Uh, yeah. And you really have no reason to go to the Bronx or Staten Island. So, if you're there, I mean, I always stay out of the Manhattan too. I would go to Brooklyn and Queens. Everything you need to do is in Brooklyn and Queens. Um, we produce the best bagels, the best pizza, and the best wrappers, and it's not even close.

[33:32] Speaker 2: Um, so the bagel with the bacon, egg, and cheese, if you're going to do them separately, you do them separately, but you got to have a bagel here and you got to have a bacon, egg, and cheese here. And then, of course, the number one is you got to have a slice of pizza.

[33:46] Speaker 1: Yeah.

[33:47] Speaker 2: Um, you got to have a slice of pizza. I prefer a slice shop, like, right, you can hear Dave Portnoy tell you to go to John's of Bleecker. John's of Bleecker is going to charge you $40 for a pie that's half the size of a regular pie and you're going to wait for three hours. Go to a slice shop. Um, and there are a million good slice pops- slice shops. Stay away.

[34:06] Speaker 1: There is something-

[34:06] Speaker 2: Stay away from-

[34:08] Speaker 1: ... about those slice shops .

[34:09] Speaker 2: The three, the three biggest hype jobs are Amore Pizza in Whitestone Cr- Queens, Newport Pizza in Howard Peach Queens, and Alan D Spumoni Garden in Gravesend Brook... Stay away from these plAs. If you can get to Bensonhurst slash Gravesend, Brooklyn, you go to Da Vinci's and you get yourself one regular slice and one Sicilian slice. And when you're done eating two of them, you're probably going to want three more Sicilian slices. It's the best Sicilian pizza on the planet. The regular is great, the Sicilian is, uh, it's on a different, different level. Um, but there is a great pizza all over the city. Avoid those three hype jobs. Those are the three plAs I would not go. Amore, Newport, L&D. Stay away.

[35:04] Speaker 2: Um-

[35:04] Speaker 1: What about our Instagram buddy, Peppino's, over in Bensonhurst? You ever go there?

[35:10] Speaker 2: Never been, I never been over there. So I, I don't ha- I mean, I'm not with her right now, but I never call on my ex because she's my person. Nicole took me on... Gravesend girl, her wife, she's... Like me, she's lived within, like, three miles of where she was born in Brooklyn.

[35:26] Speaker 1: (laughs)

[35:26] Speaker 2: Um, she took me on, uh, a bunch of food tours in Brooklyn, but again, you're coming into, like, South Brooklyn, right? This isn't-

[35:36] Speaker 1: Yeah.

[35:36] Speaker 2: ... Williamsburg and listen, if you go to Williamsburg, you're going to get robbed. Th- there's just, the, the, the prices they charge you for things, they, there's a plA there, Fattoria, I'll tell you, it's the best cheesesteak in, in, in the city. It's $27. It's... I can make a better cheesesteak blindfolded in my kitchen. Horrifying. Um, if you're coming to Brooklyn, you want to go to Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Gravesend, Cupset Bay. That's where you want to go. You want to, you want to ride the Bell Parkway part of Brooklyn. You don't want the other parts of Brooklyn. Trust me on that.

[36:07] Speaker 1: My ho- my hot spots are always, uh, Howard Beach. So it's funny, you know, I don't think you have to be from there, I think you have to be Italian. So if you're Italian, Howard Beach, to me, is like the motherland here outside of Italy. And I don't know what that-

[36:24] Speaker 2: Now-

[36:24] Speaker 1: I mean-

[36:25] Speaker 2: I'm telling you, I'd rather eat in Bensonhurst and Gravesend.... than eating at Howard Beach.

[36:32] Speaker 1: Yeah. No, I've always had, uh, Bensonhurst has great plAs and I've, I've been to a lot of... I love Bensonhurst, that's, uh, that is a great plA. But there is... You know, I think it's the history with Howard Beach, you know, between Gotti and, you know-

[36:45] Speaker 2: Yeah.

[36:45] Speaker 1: ... Capuano and everybody, it's like, it's just like the, it's just like the, the center, you know what I mean?

[36:51] Speaker 2: Yeah. And listen, there's some... There's good lag, you know. Uh, Bruno's is good here in Howard Beach. I get my pizza, uh, and, uh, good pizzeria food at Davino's. Uh, La Villa is in Lindenwood, which is right next to Howard Beach. They have unbelievable food, um, and you know how, how-

[37:08] Speaker 1: Tell me-

[37:08] Speaker 2: ... how Phyllis, how-

[37:08] Speaker 1: I didn't get to-

[37:08] Speaker 2: ... my mom's opinion is.

[37:09] Speaker 1: Why?

[37:09] Speaker 2: She loves their food. We take out from there at least once a month. Um, I have good plAs by me, but like, like there's a plA in Gravesend, uh, it's called Joe's of Avenue U. It is...

[37:23] Speaker 1: Oh. I've heard of that, yeah.

[37:25] Speaker 2: It is legitimate Sicilian cooking. They make-

[37:31] Speaker 1: Yeah.

[37:31] Speaker 2: ... the greatest rice ball of all time. They make the baked clams, they make the chicken parm, they make the, uh, uh... The name of it is, is escaping me now. They make the Italian spleen sandwiches with the chickpeas and the ricotta, uh, uh, they ma-... It, it is as authentic... I remember the first time, I remember the first time she took me there, I was just like, I'm in heaven. The, the rice ball's the size of a bowling ball and it was just, it was just one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten. There's a plA, uh, in Midwood called a Michael's of Avenue R. The Michael's jarred sauce that you buy around the country, that's from Michael's of Avenue R.

[38:12] Speaker 1: Yeah.

[38:12] Speaker 2: Great bakery. They, they own the bakery across the street of the same name as well. Unbelievable plA. Like, I'm spoiled. I can literally-

[38:23] Speaker 1: (laughs)

[38:23] Speaker 2: ... take the Belt Parkway. I live right off the Belt Parkway.

[38:27] Speaker 1: New York is-

[38:27] Speaker 2: I live-

[38:29] Speaker 1: Yeah.

[38:29] Speaker 2: It's... I'm so spoiled. I, I live off of 17S on the Belt Parkway. From 17S on the Belt Parkway, heading southwest down past Flatbush Avenue and Gravesend and Sheepshead Bay and, and Bensonhurst and into Bay Ridge. In, in 15 to 20 minutes, 12 to 14 miles between my house and the Verrazzano Bridge, which takes you into Staten Island, I have so much pizza within a mile of the parkway, that if I went to these plAs, I could go to a pla- a different plA once a month and have-

[39:08] Speaker 1: Yeah.

[39:08] Speaker 2: ... real good pizza, roast beef sandwiches at Roll & Roast or Brennan & Carr. John's, uh, Deli in Gravesend makes, uh, a, uh, uh, uh, mozzarella, roast beef, onion, and oil canned gravy. It's bla-... The oil is black, but it is-

[39:26] Speaker 1: Yeah.

[39:26] Speaker 2: ... the most unbelievable gravy you will ever have on a sandwich in your life, right? Like-

[39:32] Speaker 1: Is that the-

[39:32] Speaker 2: These are the plAs people need to go to.

[39:35] Speaker 1: ... plA that people go to that they keep, keep reworking the same pot and they claim it's like 50 years old or something?

[39:42] Speaker 2: Yep, yep. And you see, see, a lot of people come to New York now and see these... (laughs) I don't want to use a word, a bad word. Uh, if you gotta bleep me, bleep me. They see these jerk-offs on social media that want to denigrate and stereotype Italians, right? I'll call the plAs out by name. There's Dafonte's in Red Hook. Number one, Red Hook, you might as well book a trip to Acapulco.

[40:06] Speaker 1: (laughs)

[40:06] Speaker 2: E- it takes you four hours to get to Red Hook, Brooklyn. Um, Crispy Pizza in Bay Ridge. These guys with the smash and this and that and the motherland and just, like, taking advantage of the heritage and the culture. Like, I can't take that. Like, you don't catch that in any Gravesend plA or Bensonhurst plA. You don't catch that in Sheepshead Bay. You don't catch that really in Howard Beach. We take our culture seriously, right? As American, as American-Italians, we take it seriously. I won't patronize these busine- these businesses that make fun of or make light of our heritage.

[40:45] Speaker 1: Yeah, I agree.

[40:45] Speaker 2: Not for me.

[40:46] Speaker 1: But, but-

[40:46] Speaker 2: So these plAs-

[40:47] Speaker 1: ... yeah.

[40:47] Speaker 2: ... I'm giving you-

[40:48] Speaker 1: That, that-

[40:48] Speaker 2: These plAs I'm giving you-

[40:49] Speaker 1: ... have to have some -

[40:52] Speaker 2: ... are legit.

[40:52] Speaker 1: ... like You let the food speak for you, you know

[40:55] Speaker 2: Yeah.

[40:56] Speaker 1: You know the one... Have you been... So you know another one we have to do?We, we really should tell the story again, 'cause some of the people probably haven't listened to it, but, you know, they completely revamped Anthony's 84 in Fort Lauderdale.

[41:10] Speaker 2: I heard.

[41:12] Speaker 1: All-

[41:12] Speaker 2: I heard.

[41:13] Speaker 1: But it's still just as good. Unfortunately, we lost Vincenzo. So, do you remember the maître d with the little gray and black beard?

[41:24] Speaker 2: Yeah.

[41:24] Speaker 1: Little... (laughs)

[41:25] Speaker 2: No, I heard, I heard a lot-

[41:26] Speaker 1: But-

[41:26] Speaker 2: ... changed down there. Yeah, I haven't been down to Florida since Acacia's wedding in, uh-

[41:30] Speaker 1: Gotta go back again.

[41:32] Speaker 2: Yeah.

[41:32] Speaker 1: Because there's another plA I gotta take you called Mortorano's Café. The one Steve-

[41:38] Speaker 2: I've been to Mortorano, Steve Mortorano's plA?

[41:41] Speaker 1: Oh my God, it's amazing.

[41:42] Speaker 2: I've been to one, I've been to the one in Harris. Listen, as a 100% Queen's Italian mama's boy, uh, who still lives with his mother, we are taught at a very young age that you do not eat meatballs outside of a home. And what I mean by that is, you don't eat meatballs out. You never order a meatball. Um, there was a time, until... Uh, this is so... It sounds ridiculous. I can tell you that until (laughs) my, my ex... I was working at one of the casinos in 2013 and my on-again-off-again girlfriend, we were not together at this time, one of her bosses, she was an accountant, one of her bosses was in Mohegan Sun, where I was, and I, I got along good with the guy. Him and his wife invited me to dinner at a plA called Barlow. It's not there anymore.... and they were like, uh, "You know, dinner's on us," and I was like, "No, no, no," and they're fighting, and he's like, "But there's one thing.

[42:41] Speaker 2: The only way I'm picking up the tabs..." He said, "Christine told me you don't eat meatballs in a restaurant." I was like, "I don't." Now, this is 2013, Mark. I'm 36 years old at the time. It was the first time I ever ate a meatball outside of my mom and two of my best friends' mothers. Steve Davis's mother, Serena, Frank Riccardo's mother, Carol. The only three... And my, and, and my nana's and my grandma's, the... But that's different. They were all made in, in-house. In my house, for instance. So I had only had four or five meatballs, legit, in my entire life. And I tried this meatball and it was out of this world.

[43:29] Speaker 1: It was.

[43:29] Speaker 2: You made me try the meatball at Anthony's Runway 84 and it was fantastic.

[43:34] Speaker 1: That was amazing.

[43:34] Speaker 2: And Phil and I, my b- one of my best friends and I went to Harrah's in Atlantic City, and we, we won a ton of money one day and he's like, "Come on, let's go, let's go crazy at Manarano's." And we went into Manarano's and we had, like, a $550 dinner, and everything was out of this world, and he was like, "I know we don't do this, but we gotta try the meatball. Everybody says the meatball's out of this world." And it's the size of a cannonball.

[43:58] Speaker 1: Yep.

[43:58] Speaker 2: And it's got the sweet ragù on the side. And it is, in my opinion, outside of home-cooked meatballs, that Manarano's meatball is the best meatball I've ever eaten in a restaurant.

[44:10] Speaker 1: And, you know, I'll say this, because, uh, and we need to go to Fort Lauderdale. That's usually where Steve's at. Like, unless... So, you know he's in the Gravesend series. He's in that series.

[44:21] Speaker 2: I do not... Yeah. I don't watch that show because, again, I think-

[44:25] Speaker 1: I don't-

[44:25] Speaker 2: ... that show is kind of a, kind of, like, uh, uh, I, I think they kind of denigrate the Italians out of the, the will to get there.

[44:31] Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't agree, but he's... But what my point was-

[44:33] Speaker 2: To, to use his word, he's a complete fugazi.

[44:36] Speaker 1: I only-

[44:36] Speaker 2: They're fugazis over there.

[44:37] Speaker 1: (laughs)

[44:38] Speaker 2: There's not even Italian in that guy.

[44:40] Speaker 1: Oh, Steve? No, he's a good guy. He's Italian.

[44:44] Speaker 2: No, Steve is. No, the guy from the series. Uh, the mayor. That guy's not Italian.

[44:48] Speaker 1: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, Steve... So, one thing that's cool about Lauderdale, nine times out of ten, you go in there, Steve's cooking. He's actually in the kitchen himself. You can see him. It's an open kitchen. So Buck and I went, when Buck was in Florida, and we ordered the cheesesteak, the meatball, the sausage and peppers, and then the, um, pasta. Oh, my gosh. I mean, it was out of this world. The cheesesteak is the best cheesesteak I've ever had. And I wasn't gonna get it. It was one of the other guys who told me, he's like, "You gotta try the cheesesteak." And I was kind of skeptical, because I'm thinking, "A cheesesteak? You know, do I want to waste my..." You know, I'd rather save spA for something like, you know, chicken parm. And he's like, "No, try it." It, it was out of this world.

[45:38] Speaker 2: Maple Glen-

[45:39] Speaker 1: Yep.

[45:39] Speaker 2: ... Pennsylvania, Verona Pizza & Cheesesteaks. One of my best friends, Tom Amenta Jr., brought it up to me about four months ago. Brought it up t- to me. Two-hour-and-15-minute car ride.

[45:51] Speaker 1: (laughs)

[45:52] Speaker 2: It stayed, it stayed warm. I didn't need to heat it up. It stayed warm.

[45:57] Speaker 1: Wow.

[45:58] Speaker 2: It is by far the best cheesesteak I ever ate in my life.

[46:01] Speaker 1: That's crazy.

[46:02] Speaker 2: Verona's in Maple Glen, Pennsylvania. Out of this world. But yeah, um, just so much, so much good stuff around here.

[46:17] Speaker 1: Yeah.

[46:17] Speaker 2: And-

[46:18] Speaker 1: Another one... You know, another, um, plA, when you talk about pizza and you want to talk about an unlikely candidate, Aventura, Florida, literally a mile south of Gulfstream, there is a little kosher deli. Yep, it's kosher. Tiny little plA called Milano's. They have the best cheese pizza I think I've ever had anywhere.

[46:44] Speaker 2: And my ears are bleeding right now. I can't believe I'm-

[46:46] Speaker 1: Outside the city.

[46:47] Speaker 2: ... borrowing a flask from there.

[46:48] Speaker 1: Outside the city.

[46:48] Speaker 2: Yeah, this is... I never found a good slice of pizza outside of, in Florida.

[46:51] Speaker 1: No, no, no. It was good. It was good.

[46:53] Speaker 2: I never, I never, I never had one. I, I, I've-

[46:56] Speaker 1: We have to go there.

[46:57] Speaker 2: The water. Again, people talk one of... Listen, when the New York guys tell you it's the water, people automatically assume they're telling a lie because they want you to think they got the edge with the water.

[47:08] Speaker 1: Now, let me ask-

[47:08] Speaker 2: It's the water.

[47:09] Speaker 1: If I-

[47:09] Speaker 2: It's the water.

[47:11] Speaker 1: ... 100% believe that.

[47:13] Speaker 2: But a lot of people don't.

[47:14] Speaker 1: But, you know, I believe that that's the same reason that the candy and bourbon are in Lexington, the water.

[47:21] Speaker 2: Correct. Correct. There's a reason when you go to, I believe it's Schlesinger's in Ocean City, New Jersey. I believe that's the name of the plA. Their saltwater taffy and their fudge.

[47:37] Speaker 1: They were really good.

[47:38] Speaker 2: They were, they were, they were a, they were an answer on Jeopardy. That's how good this stuff is. Um, and I'm, I, I, I went 13 years in a row to Ocean City for at least four days every summer, uh, for 13 years straight. I'm telling you, if you try to make this fudge and this saltwater taffy with water from Jamaica Bay, which is also saltwater, you, it's just not happening. It's not happening.

[48:06] Speaker 1: Yep, not the same.

[48:09] Speaker 2: It's not the same. So the people that say it's not the water are the people that aren't in New York. And of course they're gonna say it's not the water, 'cause they have no other reason that their pizzas and woodsheds-

[48:18] Speaker 1: But I, I agree, I agree with you 1,000% because I've seen it firsthand. And it is one of those things, too, where, you know, no matter how hard you try, you can't reproduce it. I mean, even the guys that are really good, it's just like, they're just good, but it's not the same.

[48:35] Speaker 2: Yep.

[48:35] Speaker 1: And it's, it's just like what you say. I mean, you, you're never gonna get there because you don't have the water.... but no, I mean, I... there's so many things like that. I mean, I just love that area. I mean, I'm not just saying that because of you. I mean, I just, I, every time... You know, what's funny? There's few plAs, and you'll be able to relate to this. You know, there's a few plAs you go in your travels that you actually kind of feel like you're at home. You don't feel like you're on the road, or you don't feel like you're out of town. And I've always felt like that in New York. It's like, from the second I get there until I leave, you know, I may not blend in, I may not know what I'm doing, but I feel comfortable. You know, I, I just feel like, like I belong there. And it's the same thing in, like, Miami. When I'm in Miami, I just... there's something about that energy that I just, I just love it.

[49:29] Speaker 2: And not to sound pompous. I never feel like I'm home anywhere except home.

[49:38] Speaker 1: Nowhere else.

[49:39] Speaker 2: I feel like a fish out of water. I always do. I'll get comfortable in plAs, like, you know, I've spent a lot of time working at Mohegan Sun, Connecticut-

[49:50] Speaker 1: Yeah.

[49:50] Speaker 2: ... and I love being there. And it's a fun plA to be, and they treat me great. I love being down in Atlantic City, in the Hard Rock and the Borgata for the same reasons. But win, lose, draw, indifferent, when I get over the Verrazzano Bridge, and I get into Brooklyn, (laughs) even though I'm from Queens, we're right on the border. When I get into Brooklyn, I'm like, "Okay, everything's gonna..."

[50:17] Speaker 1: Mm-hmm.

[50:17] Speaker 2: And you, as you know, I've never flown. So I've made four trips to Florida, and drive. And I'm telling you, there are times where I get over that bridge, and I am absolutely, positively exhausted. And as soon as I get into Queens, Brooklyn, I'm okay, as soon as I get there. So it's really, uh, you know, you gotta go 1,270 miles-

[50:42] Speaker 1: And it's the only, the only...

[50:42] Speaker 2: ... to feel like you're home.

[50:44] Speaker 1: That's exactly how I feel, like, in Miami. I can be absolutely exhausted, and when I start down Federal or A1A, it's like, I just feel like I'm home. And it doesn't ma-... It's like I, I, you know, are just ready to go. But I also feel like that there, like, I love... You know what I love about New York, is everybody's like... You know, when you hear people talk bad about New York or LA or Miami, which never bothers me, 'cause I always tell them, you know, "Do us a favor and stay home, 'cause we got plenty of people on 95 already." Um, but the way... the thing that kills me is, to me, it doesn't feel like a big city. It feels like a bunch of small towns all pushed together. So it's like you have, like, this neighborhood, this community, and, you know, it's like, that's something that really, I think, is cool about New York, is how much there's...

[51:42] Speaker 1: Like, you know, you'd walk the sidewalks, and, you know, y- it doesn't matter if you're in Bensonhurst or Howard Beach or, you know, little shops, restaurants, and, you know, it's just family-owned still. I love that.

[51:57] Speaker 2: Yeah, it's just, it's... there's nothing like it. I was working at, uh, I was working just outside Rochester, calling the rAs upstate for a year and change. And, uh, I remember, I don't think I told you this, I remember being up there one day. It was like right after Columbus Day weekend, 'cause I had missed a few weeks being sick, and then I missed another week with kidney stones, and then I, I called like the last 11 weeks in a row, and got up there. It was, it might have been right after Columbus Day. And the, everybody was talking, uh, it was before Columbus Day, actually. Everybody was talking about what they were gonna do for the weekend. And the two deciding... the, the choice was going to the tractor pull or the lumberjack finals.

[52:48] Speaker 2: And I was just like, "Man-"

[52:49] Speaker 1: (laughs)

[52:49] Speaker 2: "... I gotta get, I gotta get the hell outta here."

[52:51] Speaker 1: (laughs) Yeah.

[52:52] Speaker 2: "I gotta get home. I need somebody to honk their horn at me. I need to be cursed out. I need to cut somebody off. Like, I gotta get outta here."

[52:58] Speaker 1: (laughs)

[52:58] Speaker 2: "I gotta go get a slice of pizza, and, uh," you know, "I, I need a bagel and a slice of pizza. I need to get cursed at a little bit, and I need to get the hell out of this plA." Um, it's funny, like, right around that time, when I, when I went up there, I thought I was gonna be there for a while. I'm not even there anymore. Thought I was gonna be there for a while, and I was, I was starting to look around, and like, you know, maybe, "Oh, maybe I can do this up here. Maybe I can come up here," and, you know, th- they were talking about offering me a year-round position, not just to call the rAs, but to do some other stuff. And I had a couple of offers to stay and make some real money, and, you know, as you would imagine, you know, there were, there were some homes. There's a town up there ni-... where, where my hotel was, named Victor, New York. I stayed in a Holiday Inn Express in Victor, New York.

[53:42] Speaker 2: And, uh, beautiful town, much like Garden City here on Long Island, and Garden City's just a very, very exclusive town.

[53:49] Speaker 1: Yeah, nice area.

[53:51] Speaker 2: And the houses were like 450 as opposed to like 2,000,000 in Garden City. And I was just like, "I mean, this might be the plA to be." And I drove... I came home, and Mom and I were going to a Mets game that night. It was a Thursday night. They were playing the Phillies on that magical 2024 season. And I had three doctors to go to. I was following up on some kidney stuff. And the three doctors happened to be at, like, the three points of Queens. So, I was like, up north, w- like, northeast in... over by Francis Lewis Boulevard. And then I had to run across town to Bayside, and then I had to go pick something up for Mom, like, in West Queens, and then I came home to get her, and we shot up to, n- like, northern Queens.... and went to a restaurant called Bellagio for dinner before going to the Mets game. And the Mets were in this pennant rA, trying to make the, make the wild card or win the division, and I got, I got my Queens wrap lasting all day. And I'm just like...

[55:02] Speaker 2: I'm in my Mets hoodie and my Mets hat, I'm like, "Where am I going? I ain't going anyw-... Where... I... Do we... I can't... Where am I going? Maybe I go to Brooklyn, maybe I go to Long Island." I was like, "I can't leave." I mean, I'm like, "I gotta be within 25 minutes of a slice of pizza and a bagel. I can't go anywhere." (laughs)

[55:19] Speaker 1: No. And it is funny 'cause ye- I, I would feel the same way, man. It's like, you know, I mean, I couldn't imagine you being that far away from the stadium.

[55:29] Speaker 2: Yeah, well, that's the other thing. Uh, it's funny, there, there was an hour rain delay today. When we picked the, we picked the time to record today, (laughs) I kind of did it around a Mets game and I'm sitting here gritting my teeth because they lost in extra innings and it's another game that they should've won, and, um, uh, as you know, horse racing and baseball... And the truth, and if I'm being completely honest, I, I think, uh, when you and I talked about this off-air a couple of weeks ago that I was doing this new podcast, uh, That's Life with Tara and Anthony coming soon, I think it surprised you a little bit. But, (sighs) you know, the, the racing game, I'm a little sour right now.

[56:07] Speaker 2: Some things-

[56:07] Speaker 1: I think

[56:08] Speaker 2: ... have happened in the last few years.

[56:09] Speaker 1: ... ******* the **** show is. I mean, this is like, you know, and, and it isn't... I mean, some of it's, you know, like, you know... I look at it like, you know, I'm not the guy, you know, you could talk for three hours about racing and it'll make sense and people would get something out of it. You know, for me, it's, you know, I mean, that's not gonna catch anybody's attention, I don't know anything. You've forgot more than I've done. I mean, it's kind of like Ray Liotta making spaghetti. I mean, it's like, you know (laughs) I mean, it's not exactly a draw, you know? So, I mean, it's like, you know, I mean, I just don't see it... So my, my show has become more and more just like what we're doing, you know, human inter-... You know, travel, tourism, restaurants and plAs to go.

[56:54] Speaker 2: Yeah.

[56:54] Speaker 1: And I think that people really enjoy it. I get a lot of positive feedback, so no, I could see it. It makes complete sense to me, because I think there's so many talking heads in sports out there that, you know... And, and you definitely know it, so that is different. But, you know, most people, they really don't. It's just some guy's opinion.

[57:16] Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, it's just like, you know, there's a lot of things like, y- you know, the, the, the big news last week was FanDuel TV shutting down, uh, ceasing-

[57:25] Speaker 1: Yep.

[57:25] Speaker 2: ... operation by the end of 2027, all of the talent... And listen, a lot of the talent sucks on that, on that network. (laughs) A lot of the talent is-

[57:35] Speaker 1: Oh, no, I definitely don't think they had the A-list, for sure.

[57:39] Speaker 2: You know I'm never a big fan of pushing tickets down people's throats and telling them what to bet. But there are some people there that absolutely love, love the game. I'm gonna mention one by name, it's my buddy Mike Joyce, uh, fellow cigar smoker.

[57:53] Speaker 1: Oh, yeah. Nope-

[57:54] Speaker 2: Um-

[57:54] Speaker 1: ... he's a really nice guy. I've met him before.

[57:56] Speaker 2: Does a ton of work with the Permanently Disabled Jockey Fund. Donates-

[58:00] Speaker 1: Mm-hmm.

[58:00] Speaker 2: ... a lot of time and money. Mike is, uh, Mike is salt of the earth, good guy, man's man, good to his family, sm- likes to smoke cigars, big Cubs fan, like, guy you can, you know... I, I remember one day, uh, uh, not to get us, not to get either of us in trouble, uh, but, uh, one of the plAs I smoke around here is the Smoke & Shields, who are a not-for-profit, uh, for active member military and first responders, and then there are associate members like myself. My buddy John Belico started it, like, 11, 12 years ago, and I'm an associate member through John. Um, Mike and I stayed in there the night before the bell until 2:30 in the morning. I dropped him at the hotel, we slept five hours, we went back to work, and the next day we were fresh as a daisy and knocked it out of the park like we do. Um, but, you know, a guy like Mike who's given his whole life to the business, because of sports betting and everything else, is going to now, you know, have to go find a gig.

[58:53] Speaker 2: And, uh, i- if the only channel dedicated to horse racing is going to cease to exist in 2027 and everything's gonna go to the ADW, the Advance Deposit Wagering platform that they run, we got some trouble. And, uh, I don't think we have the right people in plA in the, in, in the main rAtracks and, and, and the main ADWs to, to fix the problems, because they've started-

[59:18] Speaker 1: I completely agree. I

[59:19] Speaker 2: ... too much of the business-

[59:20] Speaker 1: ... agree with you 100%. Right.

[59:20] Speaker 2: ... too much of a business, not as much sport. So, um, you know, I, I'm, I'm looking to try to do something a little different. You obviously doing a great job with this program, doing something a little bit different, um, and hopefully, uh, That's Life with Tara and Anthony-

[59:35] Speaker 1: Well, it's ju-

[59:35] Speaker 2: ... uh, works out too.

[59:37] Speaker 1: ... and it isn't... You know I love the sport. I love, um, I love horse racing, I like the people that are in it. And I guess I'm looking at it a little different approach. It's like, you know, I had this conversation with one of the rAtracks, and one of the comments I made to them was, "Rather than trying to convince people to get excited about racing, why don't you promote it as a destination for part of a trip?" So, you know, people like travel, they like going d-... You know, so put together basically, like, a, a program package, or whatever you wanna call it, where they go to this hotel, there's this shopping, there's this cool restaurant, there's this cool cigar bar, there's this plA that has really good bourbon. And then you go to the track for Saturday afternoon, and then you go here for dinner. I said, "That's the kind of stuff people like." You know, if you can...

[01:00:32] Speaker 1: You still get them to the track, but trying to convince that same guy to get on an airplane and go across the country just to go to that rAtrack, it's probably not gonna happen. He's looking for-

[01:00:46] Speaker 2: Yeah.

[01:00:46] Speaker 1: ... m-He wants-

[01:00:48] Speaker 2: Wow.

[01:00:48] Speaker 1: ... all those things. He doesn't want just one thing. Now, that doesn't mean there aren't good people that do. We all know, and just like us, you know, we will do that. But what I'm getting at is, you're trying to attract new people to the sport. You've got to do it in a way that it's fun and it's like, it's part of something. And, you know, it's interesting to me, I saw this the other day, and you probably saw the same thing. Bar business ... So alcohol sales at most of the rAtracks are off by double digits. I'm not gonna give a number 'cause it'll... I'll have letters coming from everywhere telling me I'm wrong. But they're definitely off. Ironically, bar sales are up. And what's happening is, all of the bars are creating these mocktails. These, like, flavored drinks, Italian ices, slushies, all different things. And what they're starting to find is that the younger kids aren't drinking as much. Uh, health reasons or they're into, you know, fitness and all that. So it's...

[01:01:54] Speaker 1: But here's what's interesting. They will spend money on food. Like they'll go drop 400 bucks on dinner. But they're just not really into the alcohol like they used to be and it, and it's just kind of interesting to me how the travel, the tourism and everything is evolving and I kind of feel like the sport isn't keeping up with that.

[01:02:16] Speaker 2: No. And it hasn't for years. But until the advent of being able to jump on your phone and bet... I mean, one of my closest friends, I spend every weekend with him, you know, w- he was one of the biggest horse owners, um... And I shouldn't say lower level, but claiming owners. Guy had 80 horses at once at one time. He's down to 10 horses and way more interested in watching the Red Zone on Sundays in the winter than watching Aqueduct and Gulfstream.

[01:02:48] Speaker 1: Yeah.

[01:02:49] Speaker 2: And that's just how it is. And if that's us lifelong guys who, you know, blood, sweat, and tears in the game. He, he's invested millions of dollars. I'm not talking about, uh, uh, a few hundred thou— millions of dollars into the game, is more interested about the Chiefs versus the Eagles. We got problems.

[01:03:11] Speaker 1: Well, it's

[01:03:11] Speaker 3: Well, I keep thinking-

[01:03:11] Speaker 2: ... and nobody's trying to solve them 'cause they just still making the money.

[01:03:16] Speaker 1: ... in the new wagering... So I found this interesting. Um, you know me, I kind of one of the few people that straddle multiple worlds. So a lot of the other things that I'm involved in, whether it's music, Formula One, NASCAR, you know, you get... You're around different, different types of people, different fans. It's interesting to me how many people, when you get talking to them and they find out that you're close to horse racing, they're like, "Oh yeah, I've been, I've been betting a little bit on that." I'm like, "Oh, that's really cool." I'm like, "What do you like doing?" And they're like, "Yeah, I kind of do these mixed deals." So they're doing these things where they're betting on a horse rA and a football game and something else all, like, together. And it's... So they're really not... Like, they don't even know what they're betting on with the horse rA. It's just part of this package bet.

[01:04:07] Speaker 2: Yeah.

[01:04:07] Speaker 1: And it's interesting to me how you got people who are really never even... You know, they're like on the fringe of the sport and it's like, it seems like if you can create something that would be kind of fun or more tourist based to get them to take a step in, you know, they're right there, they're right on the edge, they're already kind of looking at it. If you made it fun, I think you could pull some of these people in.

[01:04:31] Speaker 2: My, my mother and father pushed me around Aqueduct in a stroller. When I was born, Angel Cordero and George Velazquez's flowers beat my father's to the hospital room. I am a lifer. When COVID hit, I told the powers to be that I work for, "Have to take advantage of this right now. There are sports that are not going to be back for three, four, five months. You have to take advantage of it right now." And instead, Korean baseball... Do you know, Mark, in 2024, there was $1.2 billion bet on a sport in the United States of America. $1.2 billion bet on a specific sport in the United States of America. Can you tell me what it was?

[01:05:39] Speaker 1: No.

[01:05:41] Speaker 2: Ping pong.

[01:05:43] Speaker 1: What is it?

[01:05:45] Speaker 2: Ping pong.

[01:05:46] Speaker 1: Oh, brother. Well, at least it's not ball. I taught you-

[01:05:49] Speaker 2: People will... People want to bet. They just didn't find a way to get and keep the customer, and the sports betting became legal right afterwards, and that was the end of it. That was it.

[01:06:05] Speaker 1: Now, you could see this coming and, and then with the advent... And I'm not even going to give these people the credit of mentioning their name, but with the advent of some of these governing bodies, these alphabet associations, you know, I just don't feel like they're... They... It's like they... They're just so consumed with creating these jobs in the club rather than growing the sport, that nothing ever changes.

[01:06:33] Speaker 2: It's an absolute joke. It's an absolute joke.

[01:06:37] Speaker 1: Right.

[01:06:37] Speaker 2: It's an absolute jo-... There was a horse the other day that... There was a horse the other day-

[01:06:41] Speaker 1: We're coming up on our hour, and I got to tell you we're, we're over actually, but I got to tell you, though, I really appreciate you doing this and I really got to hit you for... If you were going to pick your absolute favorite go-to plA-... where, what's your, what's your go-to? I think I know, but I gotta ask.

[01:06:58] Speaker 2: If I'm going... Well, I'm going to King Umberto because I can get... I can start with, uh, bed and bougie and a grandma slice. I can get the fried capellini, which they have trademarked because it is the best fried capellini in the world. I can get my shrimp monachina with the potato croquettes. If you go to King Umberto's, forget about eating pasta. You can eat pasta anywhere. Get the potato croquettes as your side dish.

[01:07:23] Speaker 2: And you're already having pasta with the fried capellini, so-

[01:07:25] Speaker 1: Or if you're like us, you get both.

[01:07:28] Speaker 2: Right, you could do that, too. That's what we did when we went with Gracie. And then, uh, finally, the peanut butter mousse. That's what I'm doing.

[01:07:34] Speaker 1: Yeah.

[01:07:34] Speaker 2: Get yourself a nice bottle of, uh, get yourself a nice bottle, I think it's called Fox Hill Wine, I like. My buddy Frank, my buddies Frank and Laura, um, two of my best friends. H- hit me on to it a few years ago. I'm not a big wine guy, but that stuff was pretty good. And have yourself a night at King Umberto.

[01:07:50] Speaker 1: You know, another one that we have to try at King Umberto's, i- it is beau-

[01:07:55] Speaker 2: Oh, and I forgot, I, I'd be remiss, Mark. I gotta, I gotta get one more plA in. If you're out in Wantagh, actually go to Wantagh, a little bit of a date plA, a little bit of a societal night, have a couple of drinks, Cibo Pasta Bar in Wantagh, Long Island. Fantastic, great vibe. They're having, like, after hours parties as well. Tell my man Anthony Brud at the Big A sent you. He's doing a great job out there. A lot of different pastas, a lot of, a lot of unique ideas. Um, uh, he's doing a caviar martini that Long Island is flipping out for right now. Head out there.

[01:08:31] Speaker 1: That's so cool. So there's a plA in Lexington we gotta plug, Frank and Dino's. Y- have, have you been there yet?

[01:08:41] Speaker 2: No, I went to the old one in, uh, in Florida.

[01:08:44] Speaker 1: Yeah. So it's Carlos Vaca Reza, he's a horse trainer. I guess his son's the trainer now. Carlos is just doing the restaurants. But what an amazing plA. I mean, the atmosphere is, uh, 11 outta 10. The food is off the charts and again, nine times outta 10, Carlos is in the kitchen cooking and floating around the restaurant. And it's just, the food is phenomenal and it's just a fun plA to go to. It's in an old bank, so it's like the atmosphere is kind of fun, too. You walk in and it reminds you of like, you know, the old bank lobbies that were like marble and every- everything.

[01:09:23] Speaker 2: Yeah, of course.

[01:09:24] Speaker 1: It's, it's like that and then you walk in, what would've been the lobby with the, with the desks and stuff and this is where the restaurant is. So it, it's just a neat plA. It's r- it's one of those fun plAs and then the other one there is, um, Tony's Steak and Seafood. Our good friend Tony, another paisan, he's a great guy. He's got seven restaurants now that stretch from Cincinnati down through Lexington all the way to Bowling Green, Kentucky. So great, great guy, great food, great people. So I gotta plug a few people. We've got Go Gappy Promotional Products, if you're looking for anything to promote whatever you're doing, Go Gappy is the plA to go, gogappy.com. No Fallen Heroes is one of the charities that we support. They don't give us a dime, we do it just because we believe in what they do. The founder was Matt "Wiz" Buckley. Matt is the original Top Gun pilot, one of the guys that kind of...

[01:10:24] Speaker 1: Uh, the original jester and he has been such an advocate for helping these veterans when nobody else would. So, you know, No Fallen Heroes, if you get a chance, take a look at them. It's worth seeing. Earnhardt Outdoors, Kerry Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s son. Kerry's got great outdoor products, he has great outdoor guides and things. And then we always plug Old Friends. So you have no friends like Old Friends and Old Friends Equine in Lexington... Georgetown, Kentucky actually. You know, number one tourist destination according to USA Today in the state of Kentucky. Did you know that?

[01:11:07] Speaker 2: I did not.

[01:11:09] Speaker 1: So USA Today did like the must-sees in every state. Old Friends got that. Now think about that. You have-

[01:11:17] Speaker 2: That's crazy.

[01:11:18] Speaker 1: ... Kentucky Derby Museum, all those bourbon things, Keeneland, the Horse Park, and Old Friends gets number one.

[01:11:31] Speaker 2: That's fantastic.

[01:11:31] Speaker 1: Pretty amazing. They've been on CBS Sunday Morning, Today Show. I mean, the list is endless. So... You know, and they really do an amazing job. I mean, the founder Michael Blooman was an entertainment writer for the Boston Globe. His wife, Diane White, was a columnist for the Boston Globe. She was syndicated and her articles went all over the world. Um, just great people and, you know, uh, you talk about like what we talk about, there's nobody that has better stories than Michael Blooman. Going to dinner with him and listening to him talk about like the golden age of Hollywood is one of my favorite things to do, because he, he was one of those guys that actually worked with and interviewed like Jimmy Stewart and Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball and, you know, I mean, actual sat with these people. He'd go to Sheldon Leonard's house for dinner.

[01:12:26] Speaker 1: (instrumental music plays)

[01:12:28] Speaker 2: Amazing. Mike's a great guy. Great guy.

[01:12:32] Speaker 1: And he's just a terrific guy. So I can't thank you enough for joining us today. This has been a lot of fun. We gotta do this more often.

[01:12:40] Speaker 2: Anytime, buddy, you let me know.

[01:12:42] Speaker 1: And hey, the best of luck on your show and, you know, once you get rolling, we'd love to have you back and talk about the show. Anything you want to promote, you let me know and I'll plug anything I can.

[01:12:52] Speaker 2: You got it. Yeah, keep an eye out for the, for That's Life with, uh, Tara and Anthony-

[01:12:56] Speaker 1: That's awesome.

[01:12:56] Speaker 2: ... coming your way soon and The Big Time with the Big A will be back shortly as well.

[01:13:00] Speaker 1: All right. I'm really excited for you.

[01:13:03] Speaker 2: Thanks, pal.

[01:13:04] Speaker 1: I appreciate this more than you know. Once again, this has been Hollywood and Horsepower with the Big A and Mark Otto. We thank you for joining us and we'll see you guys again next week.