See paper magazine
article and photo (a bit different)
What is one thing we won't find in your
kitchen at home?
Chicken base.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Upon reflection (Read: After
checking with his wife) Larry changed his answer to "A woman who can
cook." Says Larry: A key component to marriage is not throwing your
wife under the bus.
Good one Larry, and we agree.
When you were a kid, was there anything your
mom made for dinner that you just wouldn't eat?
No, I ate whatever I got. Some nights, dinner was pancakes. I was an
only kid raised by a single mom in Jersey City until we moved to
Ridgefield.
What is your favorite vegetable?
Spinach.
Geez, how did the spinach recall work out
for ya?
Local spinach was good. It was the stuff from California that was
bad.
Do you have any food-related theories?
Yeah. If you are what you eat, then you are what you eat eats.
Ya know, that makes sense.
Where did you train?
Philadelphia Restaurant School and the school of hard knocks.
If you were a food what would you be and why?
I would be a prosciutto di Parma. It has the greatest life in the
world (until it dies). It's treated like royalty, fed only the best,
has great living conditions.
EDITOR'S NOTE: A prosciutto di Parma is a pig
with a pedigree. They live on selected farms in approved areas of
North Central Italy. They are fed only the best maize, barley and
whey. Because of this kid glove treatment, these pigs are said to be
the fattest and the tastiest.
If a movie was made of your life, who would play you?
Robert DeNiro. …and I quote him almost daily. Delivery drivers come
into the kitchen and address me as dude, buddy, sport, ace, champ. I
look at them and say: 'You talkin to me?' “You talkin to me?”
What is your favorite word?
Right now it's 'delish.'
What do you spend the least amount of time
doing?
Sleeping.
This is the Garden state, do you like to
garden?
I do. I have garden at home.
Name three things you can't cook without.
Extra virgin olive oil, salt and extra virgin olive oil.
What is your favorite junk food to eat?
Chocolate, chocolate chip MINT. It has to be MINT. And not green.
You have to have some standards with junk food.
What food do you absolutely dislike?
I don't do organs. No tongue, no tripe, no livers …
OK, I get it. Ugh!
What kitchen task do you hate to perform the most?
I don't like cleaning up and chopping parsley.
What is your favorite sports team?
I grew up a Giants fan but married an Eagles family.
When you were a kid, did you eat all your
vegetables?
Yeah, everything but beets. I didn't have fresh beets until I was in
culinary school.
Coffee or tea?
Coffee.
How do you take it?
Double espresso, black.
Coke or Pepsi?
Pepsi.
Do your friends call you for cooking advice?
From time to time; it's like being a doctor.
What is your favorite TV show?
Thursday nights, "Grey's Anatomy."
Best advice you can give a home enthusiast?
Make it from scratch.
Did you cook growing up?
A little. At 17, I worked in a pizzeria.
If you didn't do this for a living what
would you do?
A (house) painter. It's a very aseptic environment. It's quiet and I
can think.
Finish this sentence: When I grow up I want to…
My expectations are so low. All I ever wanted was to be happily
married and have a healthy family. And I do.
Paper or plastic?
I hate both. But I'll say plastic only because it's easier to carry.
But I recycle …
If you were stranded on a deserted island,
what three things would you need to live?
My wife, my son, and bottle of Zyr vodka. I need the third to help
with the first two.
