Emeril Lagasse Still Shops for His Own Groceries, OK?
Photo credit: Steven Freeman
Thursday morning, Emeril Lagasse led 300 superfans in a massive pancake-making party in Times Square. While chatting up the hosts of “Good Morning America,” he also supervised a (triumphant!) Guinness World Record bid for tallest pancake stack. At his side was Ty Pennington, co-host of the new "On the Menu" competition show on TNT, which airs Friday at 8 p.m. EST.
The longtime television chef is Massachusetts-born and a renowned champion of New Orleans cuisine, but despite spending about half the year in the Big Easy, he calls New York City home. Lagasse has lived in Manhattan for about a decade, and remains devoted to his local Midtown East food purveyors, many of which are more than half a century old. And when he’s in town—he also spends about a week at a time at his restaurant properties across the country—he grabs a bag and does a grocery run. And yet, Lagasse assured us, he still has to time to shop for his own groceries.
"I’ve been going to Leonard’s for almost 12 years, maybe a little bit longer,” Lagasse said, citing the landmark butcher shop that’s been slinging meat since 1910. “It’s one of those old-time New York butcher shops—[the meat] is really all hand-cut.”
He’s also a fan of Pisacane Midtown Seafood, a 50-year-old-plus fish market at which he can snag in-season specialties such as stone crab claws and Nantucket Bay scallops. “They do a little bit of wholesale, but they really cater to just the locals.”
Then there’s his favorite place for curds, Ideal Cheese Shop, which celebrated its 60th anniversary this year. There, Lagasse might pick through more then 250 varieties from 17 countries.
Yeah, there’s a Whole Foods Market around the corner. About that…
"Unfortunately, places like Whole Foods and specialty clubs have put a damper on those old-school butchers, and unfortunately even bakeries and cheese shops," Lagasse lamented. He’s doing his part to support them, though, patronizing favorite local joints between TV gigs, Guinness World Record attempts, and zigzagging flights across the country.
And sure, the chef eats out at local restaurants for time to time. But that’s doesn’t help him recharge.
"When you’re in a restaurant all the time, it’s always good to have a home-cooked meal."
