Brian Koppelman: recommendation

Transcript context

…Let’s say I’m in Manhattan, and I’m looking for good food. What is it you think that you might know that I do not, being a northern Virginian but ultimately from New Jersey? Well, David Chang is a Virginian, so he certainly figured it out. I think you should look at the places he recommends in Virginia. Just go to those places. I would say, yes, a lifetime of being in this city and eating in this city, I think I’ve developed relationships with chefs. I might know where chefs are eating, and that might give me some insight. Also, just knowing where some younger people who aren’t able to spend a lot of money are finding great food is a valuable thing to know in this city because someone’s always opening an amazing spot. There are people here who really want to find out what that spot is before it becomes impossible to get into. You just learn to have an instinct for that. Also, where the place that’s not hip or cool is — I’d say I really do know that. I know the place that if you want to go to a great diner, go to Joe G’s, and don’t worry about where the internet is telling you to go. If you want to get a great steak au poivre, just go to Lucien, which was really hip 20 years ago but isn’t hip now. Those kinds of things. I could take you to 25 uncool places, places that are not hip and not cool, where we could just have something perfectly prepared and delicious, and you would leave really happy, and there would be nothing about it that felt like you were part of a scene. Maybe that’s something that only someone who lives here could put together. What’s the part of town that is most ripe for further exploration in these directions? If I’m in the Upper West Side, it can be tough going, I feel. There aren’t that many good places. What’s wrong with you people? If I’m in the East Village, I’ll do better. It’s everyone feels that way now. Then I start thinking, “Well, there’s some trick here. This isn’t going to last.”…

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