Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: When Mom and Dad lived in Kansas City there was a small Italian restaurant, Poor Freddie's, in the River Quay area. We ordered this sandwich for lunch and fell in love with it. We asked the owner what was on the sandwich and he shared the recipe. The rest of the story of Poor Freddie's follows:
One of the most historic mob incidents is the famous River Quay bombings. It began with businessman Marion Trozzolo, who had a plan to transform the rundown area north of the Missouri River into the next premiere district in Kansas City. Trozzolo envisioned the works: boutiques, restaurants, grocery stores, restaurants and galleries.
Seeing the area’s potential, Fred Harvey Bonadonna, known as Freddy, was quick to stake his claim. The spot Freddy had his eye on wasn’t available immediately, but after a turn of events, Bonadonna pitched his idea to Trozzolo, who gave Bonadonna and his brother, Tony Mike, the lot on the spot.
Not everyone saw the value the River Quay offered, especially the mob, but Freddy and Tony Mike fixed up their lot and their restaurant, Poor Freddie’s, opened on Sept. 15, 1972. Freddy quickly became involved in everything with the River Quay, and the trouble that led up to the bombings revolved around who to let in and who to keep out.
During a trip to the Quay, Civella and Bonadonna struck up a conversation about how Poor Freddie’s was doing. Bonadonna embellished his earnings. Through word of mouth, this story got back to Joe Cammisano and Paul “Paulie the Pig” Scola, who had previously made it clear to Bonadonna they thought the Quay was a waste of time and money.
Bonadonna feared the kind of business Scola would bring into the River Quay, and from more than hunch felt the Civellas were behind it. Scola was permitted to open a business in the River Quay, and on Oct., 17, 1973, Delaware Daddy’s opened. A mirror image of Poor Freddie’s, Delaware Daddy’s stole away more than just business.
Things really started to heat up when Cammisano looked into getting his foot in the door. Bonadonna knew that Cammisano known for his prior businesses with exotic dancers, strippers and liquor, would try to turn the Quay into a red-light district. With every move Bonadonna made to keep Cammisano out, Cammisano grew angrier and from then on, crime escalated.
The topping on the crime-filled cake was in 1977, when an entire building with several bars inside was blown to pieces. Eventually, Bonadonna fled the area for a number of reasons, including fear, and only returned to testify against the mob and their activities. Joe Cammisano and Willie “The Rat” Cammisano were both found guilty for crimes linked to the Quay.Sadly, the restaurant owner was killed a few months after our last visit. Apparently the other mob family in the area decided it was too much competition, and someone made sure it closed permanently. Luckily we had the secret and now it's a family favorite.
|
This recipe for Poor Freddie Sandwiches is from