Tell Simmer: An Interview with Renovation Therapy
Apr 27th, 2008 by Marilyn
Tell me why you don’t like Mondays? You won’t anymore – I went and got you a tasty way to face the week, a delicious new excuse to put off anything for a good two to five minutes. Every Monday you can read Tell Simmer, a series in which I grill bloggers with a baker’s dozen questions about eating. Enjoy every bite – the next one on the table might be you.
Today we dish with literary agent, coupon genius, home decor ninja and fellow Capessa blogger Jean from Renovation Therapy.
How often do you think about eating?
Too often…and that’s been detrimental to planning a wedding. True story. I blame my hips on my love of all things chocolate and cheese.
I know people will freak, but I hate coffee. It’s true! I’ve tried it a few times in different variations and ended up being very unladylike. I’m a hardcore tea girl. Minimum 2 cups of tea a day. I prefer English Breakfast. I detest Earl Grey. I carry tea bags in my purse at all times. There’s nothing worse than being in a restaurant and being told they only have herbal or Earl Grey. My secret stash has saved me on occasion.
Upstate New York isn’t exactly known for any particular food. It’s very white-bread America. Hadn’t even heard of a bagel till my sister went away to college and brought some home. I remember it so clearly. We all sat down at the dining room table to try out this strange new bread! It was when I moved to NYC that I was exposed things like sushi, real Chinese food, calamari, Indian food, etc. That’s one of the reasons I’ll never be able to truly leave urban life — too much good food!
Oh wait! I just thought of an Upstate New York food…CIDER DONUTS. New York apples make for the very best CIDER DONUTS. Donuts, cheese, chocolate…I gotta plan a wedding.
Yes – I am spoiled rotten. My Fiance loves to dress up a tray for me. I also sleep later than him on the weekends so he may or may not use the breakfast in bed thing to wake me up. He’s pretty good at blueberry pancakes, he even heats up the syrup.
Listen, Chicago girl…give it up. It’s in NYC. I’m gonna have to go with John’s. The pizza is amazing and their bruschetta is heavenly. There are a couple of locations in NYC. The one on Bleeker Street has better food (and pitchers of beer!) than the one in Times Square.
editor’s note: You gonna trust a girl who doesn’t like coffee?
Gefilte fish. I can’t even look at it when I’m in the grocery store. OMG. Total hazard to ALL my senses.
Hmm. I was dating an Italian boy many years ago and decided to make homemade ravioli. It took hours and hours and hours. He ate it in less than 3 minutes and never remarked about it. It wasn’t that great, but I put soooooo much work into. Never again.
Cheese, chocolate…olives. I love olives.
Sushi. Hands down. Sushi. Wait, if it’s something I am making for a romantic night at home…risotto with shrimp and scallops.
Oh man, this could take a while. On the way home last week I bought a diet coke and a small bag of Doritos and proclaimed myself “16 again.” When I am stressed out to the MAX…I hit Hostess Cupcakes. Bad. Bad. Bad.
A martini? What? That’s not a dessert? OK, fine. Hmm. Boston Cream Pie.
Daniel. I went once and rang up a $700 dinner. It was WORTH $700. Lucky for me it was being expensed for work. I was wining & dining a famous piano player. The risotto was mind blowing. http://danielnyc.com/daniel/
Margarita on the rocks WITH salt and a big ole lime. Sweet and bitter…unassuming, and then knocks you on your ass.
EarlY Grey. Heh. Heh. Heh.
Yeah, yeah, I fixed it and now you just detest regular old Earl Grey. There is an Earl Gray-Green cross that we drink sometimes — give it a shot.
Ick. No. I’m stubborn. It’s too perfume-ee smelling/tasting.
I love Earl Gray and think all other teas are STUPID!!!!
I also love margaritas on the rocks with salt and think all other drinks are STUPID!!!!
Um… that is all.
NO wait… I LOVE BLUEBERRY PANCAKES! My husband has never made me breakfast in bed much less a blueberry pancake so I guess that makes him also STUPID!!!
Okay – that is all
Oh wait no – also love cider donuts but also love blueberry donuts and will eat glazed and chocolate, cinnamon and powdered too. And also long johns and strawberry. Okay now am done.
How can anyone prefer East Coast pizza to Chicago’s finest? While I enjoy a good New York slice, it doesn’t haunt my dreams the same way a deep dish Chicago pizza will. But I’m with ya on the chocolate and cheese.
ummm. Krispy Kreme glazed donuts…. only when the sign says….Hot Now….Hot Now….They just melt in your mouth, they are so light and you eat the whole hot now dozen in one breath….Then you hate your self for eating the whole dozen and ten minutes later you end up with the sugar shakes. If they are not hot out of the fryer and fresh out of the glazer, I will not touch ‘em. Always ask the person to get your box from the back straight from the glazer.
Joanne, you tell it, sister-pizza-friend! As to the Fiance making breakfast in bed – dude is making everyone look bad. Where’s my pancakes?
I don’t know what I’m ashamed of more…
1. that I bought a cupcake for “lunch dessert” today
or…
2. that I paid $4 for said cupcake…
it was carrot cake…it had cream cheese frosting…it was Dean & Deluca.
I am WEAK.
Lunch dessert is dangerous…and expensive. I think it’s time we made us some carrot cake. I need a bowl of cream cheese frosting around.
‘Sup Mup! What a great idea for an ongoing feature! fun fun fun!
I’m not a big fan of breakfast in bed, but man, I covet those blueberry pancakes with warm syrup, not to mention the freshly glazed donuts. mmmmmm…
Oh, and I’m with Jean and weighing in on the side of New York pizza… I remember John’s fondly and this was… oh… 20 years ago. (God I’m old.)
What about Lady Grey or Oolong? Those are my favs. But I’m still trying to get past the fact that you don’t do coffee. I’m going to go ponder that over my second cup.
I’m afraid that the cocktails I really like make me look like a highschool girl trying to get drunk really fast. Whiskey sour, Long Island iced tea, Rum and Coke, I know! Ridiculous. Funny thing is more than once when I’ve been out with a sophisticated friend and after she heard my drink order, she ordered the same thing! See? I’m a trend starter…..or she felt sorry for me.
That’s okay, April, I think I’m a Mai Tai – pineapples and umbrellas! And yes, I can’t believe her no-coffee thing. Shocking.
Mmm… margaritas. MMMM!
I’m with you on the coffee… but I like Earl Grey. Especially a LAVENDER Earl Grey.