Valrico Resident Mans the Galley at the Shrimp Boat

Question: Where do you find a workaholic on his day off? Answer: Down at his restaurant changing light bulbs, at least that's where I had to run Al down for this interview.

He was born Al Paone in Philadelphia some time last century. He never gave up his age but we're close to the same age, give or take a president's term of office.

The Valrico resident has owned up to five restaurants and consulted on a sixth until he came to Florida back in 1998. He sat around and did nothing for the next six years until he opened the Shrimp Boat Bar & Grille, 716 W. Lumsden Road, in 2004, and he's never looked back.

I smiled and asked him if he lived off his wife for the six years between the time he came here and the time he opened a restaurant, and he got a good laugh off that.

I worked for Al a couple of years back and worked my butt off for the guy and that's a good thing. I could sit here and tell you some hilarious tales with attitudes involved on both sides but I wouldn't have traded the education for a Williams/ Sonoma culinary degree.

He jokingly states that he suffers from Intermittent Explosive Disorder but that only occurs when food needs to get out to a table. Other than that, he tells funny stories about the past and the characters he has been fortunate enough to know in his life.

A serious family man with many blessings he rightfully acknowledges at church and at home. I, personally, would pit him against Gordon Ramsey on tough alone. He simply smiled and said that he would gladly take him on since he's never seen Ramsey actually cook and he's not afraid of his mouth. The smart money is on Al.

There is a wealth of knowledge flowing through his proud Italian background. I told him about an Italian restaurant that I reviewed and he didn't want to say bad things about it so he changed the subject. We shared a couple of laughs about a local Italian restaurant where he went and ordered the meatballs and they came out processed at a factory and on a skewer. His eyes just about burst out of his sockets when he simply stated that if you are going to run an Italian restaurant, you better make your own meatballs and have a tasty homemade sauce, to which I can attest he does.

He was nice enough to share his sauce recipe with us. It's actually the one I've used ever since I worked for him but I wouldn't have printed it without his permission.

Not only is his sauce top of the line but everything he does in the kitchen is fresh. He has a small freezer that holds crab legs and a few ingredients but his shrimp is breaded every day.

Many hours have I stood at the counter breading almond-crusted tilapia, onion rings, shrimp, coconut shrimp and making his world-class potato pancakes. You might not think that is hard to do until you've tried them at other places and taste the difference.

He even had the nerve to get on my case once upon a time about how I was cutting the onions wrong, His sauces are homemade and his cole slaw is made fresh daily.

The Best Tomato Sauce Ever--Ingredients stay the same but vary amounts to your taste

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Onions

Garlic

Basil

Oregano

A little Port Wine

Salt/ Pepper

Dash Sugar

Dash Crushed Red Pepper

Tomato Puree

Filletto De Pomodoro--it's important to use tomatoes from Stanislaus County, Calif. (the soil makes the difference)

Saute the first five ingredients until the onions sweat (turn translucent), then hit the pan with the wine to deglaze. This process breaks all the flavorful bits from the bottom of the pan. Flavor with the next four spices then add the last two. Simmer for about an hour and you won't be sorry for trying this recipe.

Some more of Al's favorite recipes can be found on www.shrimpboatgrille.com. He has videos on his Web site showing you how to cook Tuna Au Poivre and his famous Shrimp Florentine. The latter mixture is absolutely great on any type of seafood including fish and I actually tried it as a dipping mix once upon a time and it was extraordinary. I've learned a lot from Al over the years, even though he does the worst imitation of me I've ever seen.

I asked him what his favorite food was and his wife sang out from a couple of tables over, "Ice cream."  That started a whole new direction to the interview with me telling him of chefs with varied tastes because they always cook for other people. I knew a chef who had a thing for Spam and a more excited man I've never seen once they came out with Spam Light.  I also knew a chef who had an affinity for peanut butter and jelly. He had at least 40 different types of jelly in his house so Al having a thing for ice cream is no big deal.

I could go on about prime rib and stuffed shrimp but I'm hungry just from writing this article. I'm going to the Shrimp Boat for a quick bite. It's located in the La Viva Plaza shopping center at the corner of Kings Avenue and Lumsden Road, (813) 571-7860.

I was going to give you his cell phone number as a joke, but I'm not that funny a person. Later -- Roy