Category: You Are What You Eat

Name: Mauro Refosco

Occupation: Percussionist

Borough: Manhattan

Relationship status: in a relationship

What did you eat today?

Coffee with 2 toast with peanut butter and nutella. For dinner we went to Café Mogador on St. Marks Pl. and I had Lamb Tagine and a Mix Mediterranean Plate as appetizer.

What do you never eat?

I eat anything, but since the beginning ot this year I am cutting a lot of red meat. I guess tonight was an exception. But I heard that lamb is one of the best red meat proteins one can get. It is still free of hormones and all those things they feed to cows.

Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you can always find:

Lots of uneaten leftovers. I always get a dog bag, but most of the times it stays there for days, sometimes months until I decide to clean up. Also you can find some carrot juice.

What is your favorite kitchen item?

My coffee maker, one of those French types that makes my engines start working in the morning. The size is perfect. I get exactly two cups of coffee with that thing and is all I need.

Where do you eat out most frequently?

It varies from time to time. Recently I have been going to this place called Hummus Place on St. Marks Pl, they make their own hummus in there. Really fresh and good. Also I go to Takahachi, this Japanese place on 6th St and Av A. Close to where I live there is a good Mexican called Taqueria California, I love the food in there and the jukebox is full of Mexican surprises.

World ends tomorrow. What would you like for your last meal?

A very fat “churrasco” of picanha. Picanha is this tender part of the cow that you only get in Brazil. You know that in Brazil the cuts of meat are different than United States? So we get these different parts.
Then I would eat feijoada, the Brazilian national dish, that has lots of pig meat, all the bad parts of the pig. Nose, knees, ears, toes and etc. It s the best.
I would also eat every possible dessert, like milk pudding, ice cream and anything really heavy. Drink a lot of caipirinhas of cachaca, for when the moment that the earth is ending, the only thing you can do is smile.

Every time I see Mauro, doesn't matter if he just got off a 17 hour flight or if he's just finished playing an exhausting 4 hour gig -- he's always off to Nublu to play a late night gig with his band, Forro in the Dark. I've never been able to stay up late enough to watch them, but the F.I.T. Dark dance parties at Nublu are legendary. You can also watch him play his magical zabumba and various percussion with Miho Hatori, David Byrne, Bebel Gilberto, and any number of musicians smart enough to hire him. He also makes kick ass moqueca.

Name: Jon Fasman

Occupation: Writer

Borough: Brooklyn

Relationship status: I’m all hitched up

What did you eat today?
Breakfast: Special K, no milk (I know, I know: I just don’t like the taste of milk, or the idea of putting juice on my cereal).
Lunch: Focaccia with eggplant, crushed tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella from the Italian grocery on DeGraw and Court, washed down with lime seltzer, followed by 3 Ricolas and a Granny Smith apple. We were home for dinner, so I made a yellow-bean shrimp curry with bean sprouts and brown rice. Dessert was some salty licorice a friend brought me from Holland, and, once again, a Granny Smith apple.

What do you never eat?

Eggs and bananas make me retch. So does the idea of drinking a glass of milk. I don’t think I’d cry if I never ate liver or blue cheese again. On a more restrained level of loathing, I guess I’m also not a big fan of raisins. Or fruit-meat combinations. Keep your cranberries and orange peel away from my animal protein. [What is it with you fruit and meat haters? You’ll eat salty licorice before you'd eat duck a l’orange? --Ed.]

Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you can always find:

White miso, Gala or Granny Smith apples, lime seltzer, and, if you look far back enough, new life forms.

What is your favorite kitchen item?

It was my immersion blender, until I absent-mindedly chucked it into a sink full of water, plug and all. Assuming its position atop the heap is a wonderful Santoku knife my brother and sister got me, which I love so much I’m a little reluctant to use it.

Where do you eat out most frequently?

Zaytoons, Grand Sichuan, Kum Gang San, the taqueria (I think that’s what it’s called: on 5th, right near the Commonwealth Bar), and now Nicky’s on Smith Street.

World ends tomorrow. What would you like for your last meal?

Oh, boy. Just one last meal? I suppose start with three pieces of nigiri – sea urchin, eel, ikura – and three oysters on the half-shell. I’m not picky about the type, but they have to come from the northeast Atlantic. Then the bacon appetizer from Peter Luger’s (that’s the real reason to go: a steak is always just a steak, but treat a pig right and you get poetry). The main dish would of course be my mother’s roast chicken with lemons, garlic and thyme, with her roast potatoes and the sautéed hollow vegetables from Nha Trang on the side. Just for nibbling on the side I’d want a pork chop banh mi from Nicky’s, and a few cha xiu bao from the Roastie Shop With Neither Name Nor Equal in Kowloon. For dessert I’d like a Del’s Frozen Lemonade, along with a nice fat warm brownie sprinkled heavily with cinnamon, cocoa powder, one of the finer incarnations of lorazepam, and pot. Do not go gentle into that zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…

Name: Restaurant Girl

Occupation: Food-obsessed Writer

Borough: Manhattan

Relationship status: Single

What did you eat today?

I drink an absurdly excessive amount of decaffeinated coffee and water throughout the day, so I usually start with that. Today, I had roasted chicken, mozzarella and tomato and some mixed greens. I snacked on manchego cheese, an apple with cinnamon and an unspeakable amount of peanut butter, which I tend to consume throughout the day. For dinner, I had white wine, a crab salad and a rib eye steak, medium rare. I ordered a side of parmesan asparagus and fries. For dessert, I had a pumpkin soufflé. Pumpkin’s in season right now, so I’m pretty preoccupied with all things pumpkin; ice cream, pasta, pancakes, you name it.

What do you never eat?

I pretty much eat everything, but I’m not a fan of packaged foods. I prefer anything that’s fresh baked and homemade - bread, cookies, tomato sauce. Why eat a cookie from a box when you can get a fresh-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookie from City Bakery?

Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you can always find:

Cheese, usually some type of goat’s milk cheese and feta cheese; apples & fresh berries, whatever’s in season; doggie bags are big in my fridge. I hate to leave good food behind, especially steak. Steak and tomato sauce always taste even better the next day and I think it’s a travesty not to take it home for a late-night snack.

What is your favorite kitchen item?
Skippy super chunk peanut butter. Does that qualify as a kitchen item? In my house, it does. I think I’d go into severe withdrawal without my daily fix. I also love my cheese slicer.

Where do you eat out most frequently?

I spend so much time trying new restaurants that I don’t get to eat at any one spot too often. Right now, there are so many new restaurants popping up on the Lower East Side and in Chelsea. I do love to dine in the West Village whenever I get the chance. Some of my favorites include Lupa, Sparks and Bar Pitti.

World ends tomorrow. What would you like for your last meal?

I love this game. It’s a tough one that I often think about. I’d have to do some major restaurant hopping, but I would start off at the sushi counter at Sushi Yasuda. Yasuda’s a genius and he gets most of his fish from Tokyo, so I’d let him feed me whatever he pleased. Then, I’d head to Lupa for the roasted duck; it’s ridiculous. I’d make my third course a pasta course and shoot up to Roberto’s in the Bronx. Hopefully, my last meal would occur in late summer/early fall, so I could get something with pesto sauce. I’d end my gluttonous evening at Daniel over a chocolate soufflé and a bottle of Riesling. After all that running around and eating, I’d probably be ready to take a nice, long rest anyway.

How Danyelle manages to stay so petite with such a voracious appetite is a mystery for the ages. Read her incredibly detailed reviews over on her website, where you can also subscribe to her newsletter.

Special On the Road edition of You Are What You Eat again!

Names: Deb Talan and Steve Tannen

Occupation: Musicians/songwriters

Tour city: Cincinnati Airport and Washington Dulles, en route to JFK

Relationship status: Together

What did you eat today?

Deb: Croissant and coffee
Steve: Cheez-Its, a blueberry muffin and three small shots of Knob Creek. I’d say really it was 3 1/2 shots. The first one was a good pull, but the last two, my heart wasn’t in it.

What do you never eat?

Deb: I never eat, like, a big cooked ham. But besides that I eat almost anything.
Steve: I never eat the meat or fish special on Mondays or Tuesdays.

Complete this sentence: In our refrigerator, you can always find:

Deb: Organic half and half. It’s like the one constant in our house – that we have coffee and organic half and half.
Steve: Something, but it may not be what you’re looking for.

What is your favorite kitchen item?

Deb: Probably my blender. It’s one of those vintage Osterizer blenders. It’s a thing of beauty, red chrome, just a couple of settings. It really pleases me.
Steve: I’m gonna go with the coffee maker. It’s a French press.

Where do you eat out most frequently?

Deb: Abuelita’s.
Steve: Abuelita’s, which is the only restaurant open in Topanga at the moment.

World ends tomorrow. What would you like for your last meal?

Deb: I might make my meal breakfast. I would have a really good breakfast. Some good bread made into toast, eggs and really good greens in a simple salad and maybe some excellent chicken sausage. Maybe some fresh fruit – fresh blueberries. A meal at a really good steak joint would be a close second.
Steve: A spaceship.

The Weepies are one of my new favorite bands. They're amazing live, and they are as sweet and generous and lovely as you would imagine they are from their music. I wish I could listen to them sing every night.

Special On The Road edition of You Are What You Eat!

Name: Matthew Costa

Occupation: Troubadour

Tour stop: Motor City

Relationship status: Yes

What did you eat today?

Cracker Barrel, home cookin’!

What do you never eat?

Escargots

Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you can always find:

Something old

What is your favorite kitchen item?

Peeler

Where do you eat out most frequently?

Curry

World ends tomorrow. What would you like for your last meal?

Mocha milk shake, FIESTA GRILL taco plate, gummi snacks, tuna sashimi, mattar paneer, large pizza, turkey sandwich, broccoli and cheddar cheese soup (to keep me warm in my cabin), Jameson’s whiskey (lots), A fishin pole to catch some CATFISH!, catfish, fried okra, lo mein, I feel guilty so I would like a salad, granola and yogurt, cheesecake, more gummi snacks, baklava, fried ice cream!

Matt and his band totally charmed us. It's too bad Detroit was their last stop with the Hotel Cafe tour. We were totally ready to adopt him and his red flannel shirt and his harmonica holder. I guess we'll have to settle for myspace friendship. We got a copy of his new record, but it doesn't have that darned "Na na na na" song on it. How are we going to get it out of our heads now?!

Name: Jeff Gramm

Borough: Brooklyn

Relationship status: Single, but I eat couple-sized portions!

What did you eat today?

Breakfast: plain yogurt, lemon guava and mango. Lunch: Leftover bulgoki on bread. Dinner: I don’t know what I’ll get, but we’re going to Rainbow Drive-In, best plate-lunch on Oahu. [You're in Hawaii? --Ed.]

What do you never eat?

I’m not all that into organ meat, although there are some exceptions. I like most types of liver, for example. I don’t drink soda. I never go out of my way to eat potatoes or brown rice, I guess.

Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you can always find:

My housemate’s tofu-dogs. What’s the half-life of those fucking things?

What is your favorite kitchen item?

Fred Kovey, obviously. Sadly, my kitchen houses neither Fred nor more traditional kitchen items. Right now it has Annie Hayden’s keyboard, a tent and a huge stack of my unopened mail. Maybe I can trade in that keyboard for one of those combination hot dog maker / bun-toaster devices?

Where do you eat out most frequently?

I would like to say I eat out most frequently at my favorite restaurants, but surely my most common destinations are local: Pakistani food on Coney Island Ave, Veggie Castle, the Avenue U corridor, DiFara’s, Cinco de Mayo on Cortelyou.

World ends tomorrow. What would you like for your last meal?

Hmmm, I’ve never really been too picky about food combinations. . . I’m in the subset of people that gets both the chicken and the tacos (and meximelts!) at those KFC/Taco Bells (I guess that also puts me in the slightly larger subset of people who would actually enter a KFC/Taco Bell). So I would opt for a huge selection of my favorite foods rather than my favorite meal. Perhaps I will do you a favor and restrict my list to ten.

1) Maryland Blue Crabs 1 steamed hardshell, 1 fried softshell and half a crab-cake.
2) One small piece of spam musubi
3) Papaji’s hawaiian style-kalbi with kimchi and with a taste of kalbi jim on the side
4) One-half Ben’s Chili Bowl chili-cheeseburger with mayonnaise
5) One quarter-dark Peruvian chicken from El Pollo Rico in Arlington
6) One spicy-tuna handroll and maybe a few ounces of toro
7) One bite of fatty brisket (Cooper’s maybe?) and a forkload of Vietnamese porkchop with fried egg over crushed rice.
8) One Sichuan wonton in red oil chased by Jerusalem style lamb-fat kabob.
9) One small plate of roasties from Canton: duck and goose only.
10) 6 shots of Rye followed by one jalapeno slider, some Katz's pastrami, one fresh sausage and cheese kolache, one roti canai, one-half Chicago pork-chop sandwich and whatever other drunk food I can only think of when I’m drunk.

Hmm, banh mi, dipped sandwiches, burgers and tortas did not make the list. No curries, chilidogs or pizza either. I also really love a good BLT with a lot of mayo. Shit, and no dumplings or veggies of any kind. Maybe I can get a few days of advance warning for this whole world ending thing?

Name: Yvo S.

Occupation: Legal secretary by day, Feisty Foodie non-stop

Borough: Manhattan

Relationship status: Lovingly committed

What did you eat today?

Breakfast: a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios with skim milk; Lunch: Beef chow mein with red vinegar; Dinner: (Homemade) Pork chops and risotto

What do you never eat?

I was going to mention my aversion to hot fruit, but looks like someone beat me to the general fruit-with-savory disgust. [Man, you guys are weird. I love fruit with savory. Latkes and applesauce? Lamb tagine with apricots? Pineapple fried rice? Chicken with red goji berries? Turkey and cranberry sauce, for the love of God? How can you say no? --Ed.] I avoid ham and many pork products on a regular basis (bar bacon, which doesn’t count) after an unfortunate food poisoning experience a few years ago. The pinkness of ham really makes my stomach churn (I was sick for a week straight, lost 8 lbs., it was horrible, I was hungry and couldn’t eat a darn thing), and the smell just sends me straight to the bathroom now.

Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you can always find:

Loads of fresh veggies. And hummus to dip them in, of course.

What is your favorite kitchen item?

My silicone basting brush: withstands heats up to 500 degrees; resilient enough for the heartiest of BBQ sauces, but soft enough to brush butter on the most delicate of pastries.

Where do you eat out most frequently?

Honestly, I’m always on the hunt for new places to eat, so I don’t go back to a lot of places that I like. I have, however, gone to both Ony and Adrienne’s numerous times because they are both fantastically delicious.

World ends tomorrow. What would you like for your last meal?

Dad’s special egg drop soup with cubed ham & corn niblets, his shrimp with lobster sauce, razor clams with special sauce, lobster salad served in whole lobster… basically anything cooked by Dad. He passed away in October 2000.

Looks like the Feisty Foodie is on vacation in Mexico, but you should totally rifle through her archives while she's not looking.

Name: Karyn Pascoe

Occupation: Art Director/ Wanna be Actor

Borough: Brooklyn

Relationship status: Married

What did you eat today?

So far a half a piece of toast with peanut butter, some bear naked cinnamon apple cereal with soy milk, and a double shot Americano:).

What do you never eat?

Mayonnaise, lamb....most white food grosses me out.

Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you can always find:

Cheese, soy milk, balsamic vinegar, expired items of all sorts, lemons, thyme, rosemary, butter, peanut
butter, soy sauce, curry paste, blackberry jam, kallas caviar, olive paste.

What is your favorite kitchen item?

The reamer cause of the name. also, I love our Le Creuset French/ Dutch ovens. Also, our espresso machine- it rules (we have an expobar).

Where do you eat out most frequently?

Lately, Chipotle -- thank you Kimba.

World ends tomorrow. What would you like for your last meal?

Chicken pot pie with a nice glass of wine (perhaps a nice sauvignon blanc )- followed by grandma style chocolate cake with a good black tea-ceylon or darjeeling.

Name: John Lindaman

Occupation: Musician/ Librarian

Borough: Brooklyn

Relationship status: Married

What did you eat today?

Dinner: Cabbage, squash and beet greens with rice, peaches with ice cream in white wine. Lunch: Pork chop, broccoli and rice from the staff cafeteria at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Breakfast: a hardboiled egg.

What do you never eat?

I am conceptually averse to savory things that include sweet fruit, such as salads with raisins or pear, or pizza with figs. That crosses the line. Also not a big celery fan. Go figure.

Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you can always find:

At least two dozen eggs, due to the unwise purchasing of a weekly share of a dozen eggs from the Prospect Heights CSA, even though one person can only eat so many eggs. Cool Hand Luke notwithstanding.

What is your favorite kitchen item?

I have a large, old, very thick pot for making soup. It’s completely undistinguished, and is probably giving me cancer every time I heat food up in it, but it’s the best.

Where do you eat out most frequently?

Han Bat, on 35th Street. I know it’s not Mr. Right, but it is often Mr. Right Now. I wish I were able to eat more often at Dok Suni and DoSirak. [Not a fan of DoSirak myself, but Mr. Right Now is open 24 hours and you can't beat that with a stick. -Ed.] Why are there no Korean restaurants in Prospect Heights or Park Slope?

World ends tomorrow. What would you like for your last meal?

An entire Korean restaurant, with extra soju.

When not libraritizing, John plays with True Love Always, Annie Hayden and Latin Hustle.

Name: Josh Friedland

Occupation: Director of Communications/writer/blogger

Relationship status: Married

Borough: Queens

What did you eat today?

Two slices of cinnamon/raisin swirl bread with natural peanut butter, two cups Peet’s Coffee (Maduro Blend), Liberte yogurt (awesome French Canadian brand), cup of Genmai Cha (brown rice) tea, fried pork dumplings, Peking duck, e-fu noodles with mushrooms, two Tsingtao beers.

What do you never eat?

Snails.

Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you can always find:

Baking soda, eggs, mayonnaise, Sriracha, fish sauce, soy sauce, anchovies, capers, half-consumed and rapidly wilting container of pre-washed salad greens, beer, unsalted butter, sparkling mineral water, dijon mustard, horseradish mustard, ketchup, preserves, partially-consumed container of organic baby food, organic milk.

What is your favorite kitchen item?

Toss up: French Press coffee maker/tongs

Where do you eat out most frequently?

Nick’s Pizza, which happens to be nearby and makes one of the best pizzas in New York City. Plus, they’re fast (pizzas are always ready in five minutes).

World ends tomorrow. What would you like for your last meal?

That should give me enough time to fly to Liguria and have a slice of focaccia col formaggio, a plate of insalata di mare, a bowl of trofie al pesto, and then move on to alternating cones of nocciola and stracciatella gelato until armageddon comes. Arrivederci!

Josh Friedland runs The Food Section, one of the best places on the internets for food news and views.