Joe’s Stone Crab opens for their 106th season today, and I will never forget the first time I experienced Joe’s magic! I was just out of college, must have been ’84 or ’85, and I was a rookie. I showed up on a Saturday night, probably the busiest week of the year, between Christmas and New Year’s eve. I valet parked the car, and walked up to the steps and who was in front of me in line? None other than Super Star Rapper, “Uncle” Luther Campbell.
This was the height of his fame, and he walked up, and waltzed right into the restaurant. Big time. I was next in line, “hi, Paul Castronovo radio personality, I’d like a table for four please” I meekly asked, and was sent (happily I might add), to the bar. This is where I spent the next few hours with my friends, laughing and more buzzed by the minute. When they finally called my name, and this is the poignant moment of the evening, I think we waited about 2 hours…as I was walking to my table, Uncle Luke was walking out! He and his entourage had eaten his entire meal, paid their check and were on their way out (probably to tear up South Beach), before I had even eaten a roll.
I told this story to Uncle Luke years later during my radio show, and he reminded me that at the time, he was going there a few times a week, and was “making it rain” whenever he showed up. I have had literally hundreds of Joe’s memories over the years; next time I will tell you about the time I followed Emilio Estefan into the Men’s room…