Pro moves
ADAM ROBERTS • The Amateur Gourmet
WORK • Tuesday Routine
ADAM ROBERTS • writer • The Amateur Gourmet
Neighborhood you work & live in: Boerum Hill/Carroll Gardens
It’s Tuesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
My husband Craig and I live in a little carriage house behind an apartment building and both work from home, so on a typical Tuesday, he’s upstairs blasting his music and writing screenplays, and I’m downstairs blasting my music and either writing about food for my Substack newsletter or, more ambitiously, working on my next novel.
What’s on the agenda for today?
With my novel, Food Person, coming out this week, there’s lots of emailing to do! My book launch is today [5/20] at the Brooklyn Heights Public Library via Books Are Magic, with Joanna Goddard hosting, so I’m reaching out to lots of friends to make sure they’ll be there. And then tomorrow night I’m doing an event with Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen at Archestratus in Greenpoint; it’s one of my favorite cookbook stores in the country, so I’m super-psyched about that.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
For lunch I’m toying with the idea of Rucola, which is such a solid choice in the neighborhood. I love the atmosphere, I love running into friends, and most importantly, I love their tuna sandwich which comes on the most beguilingly wonderful bread. It’s soft and crunchy at the same time? I have no idea how they do it, but I wish I could do it at home.
Later this week, my friend Taylor is taking Craig to The Players in Gramercy for a drink — I have an event at my publishers, so I have to miss it. But then I’m meeting up with them at The Tavern at Gramercy Tavern. I’m always anxious about going anywhere without a reservation, so fingers crossed that we get in.
This weekend, my parents are coming to town for my dad’s birthday and my book launch. My dad’s favorite restaurant in the world is Campagnola on the Upper East Side, so we may make the trek up there. Craig and I are also celebrating our 10-year wedding anniversary soon, so we’ll probably hit up our favorite neighborhood restaurant, Bar Bête. Everything there is out-of-this-world delicious.
How about a little leisure or culture this week?
We’ve been seeing a good share of Broadway and off-Broadway shows recently. Floyd Collins at Lincoln Center was a beautiful production: shout-out to Taylor Trensch for his emotional performance as the tortured journalist. Our friend Isaac Oliver co-wrote the book for Just in Time with Jonathan Groff, and not only did we have a blast seeing the show, Steve Martin and Martin Short were in our row! My favorite play that we’ve seen recently was We Had a World by Joshua Harmon, starring Joanna Gleason as a grandmother who’s a struggling alcoholic. It reminded me a lot of my grandmother, minus the alcoholism.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
The Breville Barista Pro. It makes the best cappuccinos, cortados, and lattes, and it genuinely pays for itself.
What NYC store or service do you love to recommend?
I’m obsessed with Farm to People. They deliver a box of produce to your doorstep once a week, and you can curate what you get. So if you’re feeling springy, you can opt for asparagus instead of cucumbers. I especially love it because it forces you to cook with the ingredients that they bring, making the “what’s for dinner?” question a bit easier to answer.