Takeaway Q&A: Food chats with Ali Liebegott
Turn left at the ghost of 1,000 Dunkin's. ☕️
Ali Liebegott is a writer and painter who has been working for more than thirty years. She is the author of four books: The Beautifully Worthless (2006), The IHOP Papers (2007), Cha-Ching! (2013), and The Summer of Dead Birds (2019). Her most recent painting show, Rooms and Other Feelings was at Ochi Gallery in Los Angeles. She currently lives in Los Angeles, CA and is working on her next novel. You can learn more on her website, www.aliliebegott.com.
I know you're a big Mets fan. What do you eat when you go to a Mets game?
I mean, this could go on for 40 minutes..
We can talk about baseball food the whole time if you want to!
The food options used to be a lot different when they were at Shea. Now that they are at Citi Field, there are so many more incredible food offerings!
Totally! I was there two years ago!
Who did you see play?
The Mets! And I don’t remember who else. I grew up as a Red Sox fan and was less invested in the game then I would be normally. Please forgive me. But yeah, when I was there I was astounded at the amount of amazing food.
Tons of options! I always love a dog. I also really like Nathan's cheese fries. Nathan’s is known for their hot dogs obviously. If you go to Coney Island, and get the fries, they put cheese over them and they give you a little red fork that looks like a Devil’s pitchfork.
What they do have at Citi Field that I get really excited about is Zeppole! Zeppole are fried dough that's tossed with powdered sugar. Back in the day in New York, when you went to a pizza shop, you could get four for a dollar with a slice. Now it's actually quite hard to find Zeppole in New York pizza places. I imagine because you have to have a deep fryer, and I would think that's just not worth it.
But Zeppole are one of my favorite things, and now that they are more scarce, it's just a delight to find them. So I love the fact that you can actually get them at Citi Field. Although they're really not that good at Citi Field.
I've definitely heard of Zeppole - I pictured them right away. But I have no idea if I’ve had them before!
You can make them at home, which I have, but then you have to eat thirty fried donuts alone.
That's a bummer though that they're not as good in the place you probably want them the most.
I think there's still something about the fact that they have them, even though they're not good. I make the mistake of getting them every time.
When you are at home, do you eat anything in particular when you watch a Mets game?
Not really, but I’ve also really gotten into watching tennis. There's a local chain of Mexican food called Sharky’s. They have nachos that come in a pizza box. So, it's really fun to get a pizza box of nachos and then just watch a match with a friend, and just eat the entire pizza box of nachos. I think that's pretty much perfect for a sporting event.
That sounds perfect. And I never really thought about nachos in a pizza box, but it is the ideal vessel! Flat. Portable. Hand-over-to-a-friend-able.
You can even get a half order! But honestly, it's like, get the full.
What are on the nachos? Can you get anything you want, or does it just kind of come as-is?
You can get your choice of steak, chicken, or you could do just plain. Plain is just the cheese. Then you have your choice of beans - black or pinto. Of course guacamole, cheese, and sour cream.
I'm going to be dead in a week. I'm not long for the world.
I mean, if I had that access to pizza box nachos, I may feel the same.
MUG BREAK! 🍵
Do you have a favorite mug and why?
Yes! I got this duck mug at a thrift store for 99 cents and really like the color palette!
This is unrelated, but now I’m thinking of things I wish I had access to on the regular that I can’t get in Seattle. The first and most important thing I can think of is Dunkin’ Donuts.
Are you thinking of the donuts or the coffee?
It’s the smell mostly! Just to go in there for the Dunkin’ perfume would be my main motivation. For a hit of the smell. It just instantly takes me back to being a kid or to going there before high school. It may be my only positive association with high school.
When I moved to Rhode Island, it was before GPS. So when people would give you driving directions, every person in Rhode Island would be like you go to where the Dunkin’ Donuts is and then go where the old school is, that's not there anymore, and then you take a left. You're just like what are you talking about? Of course I don't know where that is.
But Dunkin’ Donuts featured itself in a lot of directions from people, which is kind of stupid because they're on every corner. It's not a very good basis for giving good directions.
That's really funny because I’ve talked about this with a few people, and have seen a few people vent about it online. Rhode Islanders really do give directions from every single Dunkin’ Donuts that have ever existed. I fully believe this is a cultural phenomenon.
Yes, it's really true!
Even my parents when I'm home, are like go past the old Stop & Shop that was there in 1994, and hang a left. I moved away when I was 18! How did this happen culturally? Maybe just some sort of deep belief that Rhode Island is small enough, everyone should just know where everything is, in addition to whatever was there before?
You’ve lived in LA a long time, yeah?
I've been here since 2014.
I imagine directions are different, comparatively, to the Dunkin’ Donuts locations. How was it culturally, getting used to the food out there?
I mean, I feel lucky, because in my neighborhood you can walk to stuff, but a lot of LA really isn't walkable.
Do you feel like you have access to the things that you like to eat, or do you have to sit in the car for a long time to get your favorite things?
I eat so poorly, honestly. Which is kind of funny because a lot of people in LA really are, you know, really into being “healthy.” And so I feel like I'm always wanting to eat places that everyone else is like, "No, what? No."
Do you feel like you have to creep through the alley with your pizza box of nachos?
I think part of it was that I was a waitress for so long - so I just love to go to a diner. Or I eat a lot of burritos.
Does Seattle have a good burrito?
I mean compared to other places I’ve lived, I think the burritos are great in Seattle. But almost everyone I know who grew up or lived in California, they don’t think Seattle burritos are good.
What is Seattle known for, besides coffee?
Have you heard of the Seattle Dog? It’s a hot dog that has grilled onions and cream cheese.
Cream cheese on top?!
I mean it’s sort of nestled in adjacent to the hotdog. Kind of like a condiment might be.
I don’t understand.
I mean, it's amazing. If you ever come up for a baseball game, they're always outside Mariners Stadium. Also they are often sold late at night on street corners. It’s a 2am meal. I would say it’s one of the only things I’ve heard folks talk about that's true “Seattle food.”
What’s the origin?
I’m not 100% sure, but I think a random dude made it up? I mean, Seattle's a weird place where mostly everyone I know did not grow up here.
When I was growing up, there was a time where people were like, "We're going to put cheese in hot dogs." And there were cheddar cheese infused hot dogs, which I thought were so disgusting. It was also the same time that peanut butter and jelly were in the same jar!
I 100% remember both of those! And I remember also wanting the hot dogs to be really good. They definitely were not. Those are two standout 80s foods for sure.
Other than burritos, do you feel like there's a LA food that's maybe quintessential, that lives up to the hype?
I think the donuts in LA are very good. There's a Taiwanese chain called Din Tai Fung that’s also really good.
LA's kind of known for its grocery store fried chicken. Albertson's fried chicken is delicious! And on Monday nights you can get these little combo meals. You can get them every night also, it's just cheaper on Mondays.
I actually saw that in your last post about the phlebotomist, where you mentioned the fried chicken wedding! I love a deli fried chicken and I was jealous - I’ve never been to an Albertson’s.
It’s the same as Vons and Pavilions, it’s a chain. They all have fried chicken. And it’s all good. I don’t know what else to say really, It’s just good friend chicken.
I might need to come to LA and go to the Albertsons, and then go to the Erewhon after. Why not?
Oh god. Going to do a high / low?
Yeah I think I’ll do a high / low and and then I'll hit a middle somewhere.
If you come to LA, let me know. I'll buy you a drumstick.
I would love that! And if you come to Seattle I will buy you a Seattle Dog. Or I can even bring one on the plane on my way to LA! I’m sure that would be a great way to make friends.
Thanks so much for chatting with me Ali!
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