Anna Chlumsky of 'Veep' Promises She Isn't a Food Snob
By Alison Rosen
Photo: Ryan Pfluger
We talk with Veep star Anna Chlumsky about Czech soup, Sichuan peppercorns, Goldfish, and way more.
What’s your first food memory?
I was around three, and we had tripe soup Czech-style. My mom makes it. It’s warm and comforting. The potatoes break apart and thicken the soup—super satisfying for winters in Chicago.
Do you like tripe?
I do, very much. It’s ridiculous that I’ve never made it at home, but I can get it so easily elsewhere. If you go to any good dim sum house, they’ll have it at least two ways.
On the other end: what’s your death row meal?
I’d want to have pork tenderloin and dumplings.
What kind of dumplings?
Knedlick. They’re Czech bread dumplings. You basically boil a loaf of bread. My dad is a chef, so if he’s around he can make it.
Tell me about your dad’s restaurant.
It was called Philander’s. One of Chicago’s first oyster bars.
How do you take your oysters?
With lemon. To shake it up, I’ll do a dab of Tabasco, but that’s it. It feels like you’re taking part in the bounty of Poseidon when you eat shellfish.
What’s it like to have a chef for a father?
I think people might think I’m a food snob.
Are you?
No. I can dip my toe into the snob pool, but I’m just as happy with Pepperidge Farm Goldfish as I am something fancy. And I don’t think snobs eat at Gray’s Papaya [hot dog stand].
Breakfast—most important meal of the day?
I’ve been a really bad breakfast eater since having my kid, but I do believe in it wholeheartedly. I’m crazy about Japanese breakfast: It’s a bowl of steamed rice, and you’ll usually get a clear broth, an egg, boiled fish, and pickled plum. This is my heaven.
You left acting for six years. Did your food habits change?
They changed in the sense that I was in my early 20s. In your 20s you drink a lot, and then you’re hung over a lot, and then you eat a lot of mac and cheese.
Last hangover and what were you drinking?
It was a while ago, and it was Jameson.
Drink of choice?
Campari and soda is my favorite aperitif. Otherwise beer and wine. I used to love a really good bourbon, and I used to love Armagnac, but after you don’t drink for a year being pregnant, it’s so strong again.
Related: Should Alcoholic Beverages Come With Nutrition Labels?
Veep question! One episode featured a frozen yogurt named after Selina Meyer. If there were a flavor named after you, what would it be?
I’m going to say honeybush. It’s a tea and I’ve adopted it as my drag name, so why not use it as my frozen yogurt?
Favorite on-set snack?
We have a wonderful craft service woman, Kim, and she makes a lot of homemade stuff: Crab rolls, soups, banana bread. And we’re always looking for dried fruit and nuts. It’s like we’re on a hike.
Anything you can’t control yourself around?
Fried calamari. If it’s anywhere around me, I’m eating it.
Food you don’t like?
Egg salad is very rough for me.
Least favorite flavor?
Whatever flavor Mountain Dew is.
Regular haunts?
We shoot in Baltimore, and I go to Nak Won at least once a week. The waitress knows by now what I’m going to have: the kimchi hot pot. It’s a stew with tofu that comes with rice and all these goodies.
What’s in your spice cabinet?
I have a spice drawer, and there’s everything from Sichuan peppercorn to my good Hungarian paprika, to my saffron that my dad gave me when I moved out because it’s so expensive. Plus caraway seeds and cayenne, and everything you’d need for a pumpkin pie.
Related: Spiced Pumpkin Seed and Cashew Crunch
Indispensable kitchen appliance?
A good chef’s knife and a Dutch oven. My life opened up the second I got a Dutch oven.
Who will you let eat off your plate?
Pretty much anybody. The more the merrier.
Last question. If you were reincarnated as one food, what would it be?
I guess something that no one’s going to eat.
Might I suggest tripe?
Maybe haggis.
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