AUGUST 2 0 1 7 I BOROMAG.COM 51
restaurants, where he learned everything
about what it takes to run a successful
business.
“I started working for the top French
restaurants in the city where you had to
know everything: the kitchen, how to carve
a duck, fillet of sole, the service, and you
had to be impeccable,” Vicari said. “That’s
where I had my good training.”
In his late 20s, he decided to open his
own restaurant in Chelsea, a neighborhood
that still had a reputation for being unsafe.
“They said, 'Why Chelsea? There’s drug
addicts, drug dealers, prostitutes, the meat
market. There's nothing down there,'” he
added.
He opened an expensive French restaurant,
where he “made a fortune,” and
decided to open an Italian restaurant and
Cuban restaurant called Cuba Libre in the
same area in rapid succession. The neighborhood
began to change, attracting more
diners to Vicari’s restaurants. At one point,
he owned six restaurants within two blocks
of each other.
The restaurateur repeated this formula
in Gramercy, Hell’s Kitchen and the Upper
West Side. He has fond memories of those
days when actors like John Leguizamo and
Rubén Blades, also a singer, would visit
his haunts. His Cuban sandwich was also
named the best in New York by The New
York Times and New York Magazine.
Rent started to get expensive, and Vicari
decided to retire. He sold his restaurants
and stepped away, but not for long.
“I sold a lot of my restaurants,” he said.
“I thought, let me retire. I don't need this
headache. But then I got bored.”
He passed by an empty space at 30-86
51st St. at the border of Astoria and Woodside
and discovered that the rent was extremely
cheap. So on June 29, Italian restaurant
Piccolino was officially opened.
Piccolino offers classic Italian dishes
by Chef Alfonso, who has worked for Vicari
since he was 18 years old. Linguine di
mare, a pasta dish that includes shrimp,
scallops, calamari, clams and mussels in a
light marinara sauce; veal tre amici, a meat
dish that includes eggplant, tomatoes and
mozzarella in a sherry wine sauce; and
chicken Piccolino, which features pieces
of boneless chicken with sausage, a generous
portion of mushrooms, olives and
garlic in a white wine sauce are just some
of the offerings.
Vicari said he decided to keep the menu
simple but is also adding a prix-fixe brunch
menu in the coming weeks that Queens
residents are sure to enjoy. With options
Photos: Angela Matua/BORO
like grilled Norwegian salmon, farmer’s
omelet and vanilla French toast, there will
be something for everyone.
Additionally, the restaurant’s bar has extensive
wine and liquor options.
Vicari takes the design of his restaurants
very seriously. Piccolino is decked out in