Name: Adam Levy
Occupation: musician
Borough: Manhattan
Relationship status: happily dating a truthmonger from Poughkeepsie
What did you eat today?
Breakfast was iced coffee, black (made from last night’s leftover pot) and an onion bagel with egg salad (sold separately) from Kossar’s. Lunch was mi xao chay (mixed vegetables with tofu, over soft noodles) from Pho Grand. It’s early evening now, and I haven’t had dinner yet, but did have a slice of banana-walnut-date bread with a cup of peppermint tea. I have a gig tonight, and don’t like to eat a large meal before I sing. Afterwards — who knows?
What do you never eat?
Sweetbreads, never! And I recently stopped eating any kind of blue cheese, because it has penicillium bacteria and I’ve discovered that I’m allergic to penicillin. Maybe I’m just paranoid about this – no doctor has advised me to stop eating blue cheese. I think that’s about it. I don’t understand how people can have a long list of foods they hate. Wait, one more thing: necks! At Thanksgiving in my house, there was always a fight over who would get the turkey neck. My stepfather also considered the other end a delicacy.
Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you can always find:
Sriracha hot sauce (“rooster sauce”), unsalted butter, at least one container of Guss’ pickles, assorted cheeses, butter lettuce, a can of ground Illy coffee (even though I think it says not to refrigerate it).
What is your favorite kitchen item?
OXO hand-held grater, which I sometimes use for cheese – but more often use to mince garlic.
Where do you eat out most frequently?
Dumpling House on Eldridge Street. Their simple, cheap menu never fails to satisfy. Have you tried their kimchi? It’s got some tart apples and dried shrimp in the mix. Not a lot. Just enough to make your mouth ask, “What the fuck!?”
World ends tomorrow. What would you like for your last meal?
My Aunt Susan’s duck – glazed with fresh orange juice, reduced red wine, and raspberry preserves, served over braised sauerkraut. If the world was ending, I’d eat the whole duck! That, along with a simple salad, and mashed turnips. I’d wash it all down with a hearty Italian red. Bananas foster for dessert. Repeat as desired, until everything dissolves to black.
Adam Levy's Nice Place to Visit (not a place but a music thing) is in residency at Pete's Candy Store (not a candy store but a bar/venue) for the month of August. If you can't make it to PCS, there are plenty of gigs listed here. Posted early because I'm leaving for New Orleans tomorrow.
Mr Levy or his stepfather might care to know that (in Ireland, at least), 'the other end' of a turkey or chicken is known colloquially as 'the Pope's neck'. So that's a neck at each end! (For neither of which, presumably, he [Adam] cares much.)