15 Questions with Questlove

1. Sam picked you as his dream collaborator — who would you pick as yours?

Well, naturally, I would pick Sam, because that way I can get into Golden Diner with no problem, which is very hard to get into.

I have awesome relationships with some chefs, though: Kwame [Onwuachi] and I have a “dream thread” about combining easy snacks with music and listening experiences — we talk a lot about what that would look like. Daniel Humm is another one: Before the pandemic, Daniel Humm, Rashid Johnson, and I were going to open up a speakeasy that combined art, music, and food and drink. Then, the pandemic came two weeks later and kind of washed that idea away. I’m game to collaborate with anyone, though: Dominique Ansel, April Bloomfield, David Chang … The sky’s the limit.

2. What’s a restaurant you’ve always dreamed about going to?

Right now, Golden Diner is my 2025 mission. Most people watch cat videos, I watch Golden Diner pancake videos, imagining what they taste like.

3. What restaurant dish do you still dream about?

Now that it’s gone, I maintain that no one did Wagyu justice more than EN Japanese Brasserie. I’m really going to miss their combination of Wagyu with the particular pink sea salt that they used. It’s no longer in existence and I feel like that’s a tragedy.

4. Your dream dinner party guests, dead or alive?

Having done this a lot, for me, the best guest at a dinner party is always comedy writers. If it’s one comedy writer or comedian, they’re definitely going to reach into their bag of five great stories to tell. When it’s two comedians, they’re both going to try to top each other, trying to tell the best stories. However, when it’s three comedians, it’s almost like you get to watch a personalized show. Recently this year, I went to a dinner party with a record six comedians — it was three hours and I didn’t have to open my mouth once. I just sat there and watched the show.

5. What pantry items would you bring on a desert island?

No. 1 would be the no-frills beef ravioli from Pathmark, the taste of my childhood. The Jiffy Pop stovetop popcorn would be my second choice, because you don’t have to add butter or oil to it, it comes self-contained. No. 3 would be Martinelli’s sparkling apple cider, which would also be my drink. No. 4 would be this drunken grilled cheese I had when I first moved to New York — it was the first time I had to wait an hour in Williamsburg for a food item (one of many more to come) — it had three cheeses, the best potato bread, and it was dipped in vodka and then baked. And no. 5, just so my body doesn’t explode … Oh, never mind, I need something sweet: Mrs. Fields’ white macadamia cookies.

6. What’s your favorite place to get a slice in New York?

The answer, of course, is Lucali. However, there is a hole-in-the-wall spot down the street from my apartment, and I’ve never led or steered anyone wrong with suggesting it. It’s a chain in New York called Little Italy Pizza, and there’s nothing like their grandma slice after midnight. That’s the spot.

7. Favorite cookbook?

“Mixtape Potluck,” by Questlove.

8. Your drink of choice?

My default is always a mojito.

9. Favorite food movie?

“Jiro Dreams of Sushi” changed my life.

10. What’s been the greatest restaurant experience of your life so far?

Going to Jiro in Tokyo. 10 months before, I had to negotiate five DJ gigs just for a promoter to ask his father, who owned a chain of hotels, to talk to his best friend, who owned a chain of Hilton hotels in Japan, to talk to his friend, who was a government official who was friends with Jiro, who said he would call to get me a reservation on my birthday, 10 months later. It literally took them about nine months to solidify the deal. Well worth it, though.

11. What single dish best describes your personality?

The Thanksgiving sandwich that’s consumed 24 hours after Thanksgiving, because it contains everything.

12. If you could go back in time, which restaurant would you dine at?

Hands down, one of El Bulli’s “Last Supper” dinners before they closed, which counted 49 courses.

13. Your favorite meal from childhood?

The family tradition that was my grandmother’s Sunday dinners after church. They were pretty much Thanksgiving to everyone else. My grandmother and her sisters and sister-in-law would start preparing it on a Thursday; Friday night, they would do the desserts; and Saturday, with cartoons and “Soul Train” on in the background, they’d still be preparing the meal. We’d all go to church on Sunday, and then around 4 p.m., 17 of us would cram at the family table for some of the most exemplary soul food ever. It’s something people would pay hundreds of dollars for now.

14. If you could eat through a city for a day, where would you go?

Right now, Tokyo. It feels like everything is better there: the sugar is sweeter, the fruits are way more developed … There’s nothing in Japan that isn’t stellar.

15. It’s your last meal on earth, what are you eating?

My last meal on earth also counts as the meal I consume before every summer tour, just in case a tragedy happens in the sky while traveling: I go to Dalessandro’s in Philadelphia to get a cheesesteak with extra mayo on the bread, salt, pepper, ketchup, fried onions, sweet and hot peppers, pickles, mushrooms, and extra crispy pizza fries. For dessert, a Tastykake butterscotch Krimpet, and a Tastykake jelly Krimpet. And you have to drink a Canada Dry Tahitian Treat or a Canada Dry vanilla soda.