Where 11 Musicians Dine In New York City
On May 1st, Live Nation celebrated the launch of the summer concert season with National Concert Day, presented by State Farm.
To commemorate this event, Live Nation held a media event at New York City's Irving Plaza. Many headlining acts were present for a Q&A, and I had a chance to ask a few of them where they like to dine out. (Cue my paparazzi instincts.)
"I have two favorite places: Tataki and Papaya Dog." — Rick Nielsen, Cheap Trick
"Babbo, Mario [Batali]'s been good to me. I really dig his food." — Kelly Hansen, Foreigner
"Tomoe, a Japanese restaurant at Thompson and Sullivan." — Mick Jones, Foreigner
"My favorite restaurant in New York is, if I'm really hungry, Carbone. If I want to get an endorsement (laughs), I love Hunt & Fish Club in the Theater District, for steaks and seafood. Last but not least, for sushi, Sushi of Gari." — Ryan Tedder, OneRepublic
"I'm biased, because I started my career playing at Robert Restaurant in Columbus Circle. I used to do mash-ups on the piano. I have very fond memories of that place. I always make it a point to visit every time I'm in town." — Scott Bradlee, Scott Bradlee's Post-Modern Jukebox
"I lived here for six or seven years, and there's a place we went the night I got engaged to my wife. Gato, there on the Lower East Side, I love it. We go back there every time I'm in town." — Steve Morgan, Straight No Chaser
"Man, there's so much good food here. I did my first two albums here, so I ate at a lot of places. There's this place, I'm not sure if it's open anymore, a Chinese spot called Grand Sichuan that was really good. I just love food; I'm a foodie. Music and food on the road, that's my favorite combo." — Phillip Phillips
"The one I'm going to eat at tonight. (laughs) A long time ago, a friend took me to John's Pizzeria. The coal-fired pizza — that was excellent. That may be where I go to tonight." — Gary Pihl, Boston [Note: Pihl probably won't be ordering pepperoni though. He's a lifelong vegetarian.]
"Cut is one of them, and STK. I love steakhouses." — Chris Daughtry, Daughtry
"I can't name one really good one, except I've been eating the hell out of Whole Foods' salads the last couple of days. (laughs) That's all I'm good for." — José Pasillas, Incubus
"I'm not quite enough to be an expert on New York City dining. I have the L.A. ones down to a science — I love Gracias Madre. They're always changing though. A restaurant will do well and then they'll close." — Adam Lambert, Queen + Adam Lambert
"You know, it really does change. Every time I come back to the city there is something else to see. There are a lot of restaurants when you're touring, so whenever you can get a home-cooked meal and someone invites you over and you cook with them, that's good." — Brandon Boyd, Incubus