JUSTIN SCURTI

Justin Scurti techs for Interpol, owns Saint Vitus, and plays guitar in I Hate Our Freedom.

What was the food highlight of your year?

In 2014 I got to go to Noma! Thanks to a good friend they made some room for myself and a couple of the other Interpol crew while on a day off.  Everything from being greeted by the entire staff upon walking in the door to every course and wine pairing was nothing short of amazing.  We also got a full tour of the restaurant and as an added bonus Pastry chef Rosio Sanchez and a few of the other staff arranged for a boat, filled with champaign, to take us through the canals of Copenhagen and over to friends restaurant Amass where we got to visit the restaurant, farm and meet chef/owner Matt Orlando.  As the day turned into night I was invited to spend the rest of the evening with the staff at Mikkeller Bar where i tried very hard to taste everyone of the namesakes beers.

What was the music highlight of your year?

So much happened in 2014.  Interpol released their 5th album and I have been lucky enough to be a part of it from the very start.  We've been on tour for most of 2014.  But for Christmas last my girlfriend Elena bought me a plane ticket to San Francisco to see Rocket From The Crypt play The independent in March 2014 for one of their first US reunion shows.  I stayed with my good friend and chef Bill Corbett.  We ate too may burritos and sang every word.  I also got to see a few other reunions in 2014 including The Strokes as well as Slowdive and Soul Side twice each.  But of course there was the epic Nirvana "reunion" that happened at Saint Vitus.  Seeing Dave, Krist and Pat Smear play those songs on that stage along with Joan Jett, J. Mascis, St. Vincent, Joahn McCauley and lastly Kim Gordon was absolutely mind blowing.  The year ended with Quicksand playing through midnight on New Years Eve at Saint Vitus and it was the perfect cap to a great year.

Was there a moment when food and music came together in a memorable way?

I tour with a great group of people that are also into food.  I can almost always count on a text or email from, guitarist, Daniel Kessler with a couple of vegetarian suggestions in almost every city we hit.  And anytime I get to see Scott Winegard it always involves food and music.  Especially when I stopped at his restaurant M.A.K.E. and he treated me to a 20 course tasting menu that you would have never known was vegan and raw. He and I also did the tasting menu at Alma in LA while I was holed up at the Ace Hotel across the street. But one of the best memories of 2014 was when Elena and I went out for a "family" dinner with some of our best friends to Lil Frankies in NYC before I left for 3 months and they played nothing but Jawbreaker, Fugazi and Quicksand on the radio for us.

@squish108

SCOTT WINEGARD

Scott Winegard is chef at M.A.K.E. and plays bass in Texas Is The Reason.

What was the food highlight of your year?

As far as eating food, I had some really stellar meals and I was all over this year so I made it a plan to eat (almost) everywhere! Most memorable for many and different reasons are Le Chateaubriand in Paris, Flour + Water in San Francisco, and Luksus in Brooklyn. I also have been mostly in Venice and Santa Monica, California these days so I am finding a whole new bunch of places to eat. Working with food highlights definitely have to be either the LA Times review for M.A.K.E. or our feature in Edible Westside Magazine in LA.

What was the music highlight of your year?

Finishing the tour with Texas Is The Reason. The European tour was really special and it was super great to spend that time with those guys. We got to see a bunch of old  friends and meet new ones. The band meant so much to us and finding out it is still special for so many was really shocking and humbling. I feel very lucky that I got to be a part of all we got to do and see with the band. Every show was really amazing on it’s own and even up to the end in London. It was a perfect end. There are a bunch of photos from that night and you can see how intense it was for us knowing that it was it for us.

Was there a moment when food and music came together in a memorable way?

In January at our show in Chicago we were invited by Chef Graham Elliot to eat at his Bistro. We had an amazing meal and time. TITR went out to a lot of meals as a band but I think that was our most epic and fun for sure. Turns out he was and is a fan of TITR and other bands we hung with back in the day. It was great to meet him. As a chef, I definitely admire his work and it’s great to say I now know him. Another funny thing that I first thought of was when we were in Barcelona the bass player of the opening band introduced himself to me and said, ” You are a chef, no?” I said, “Yes I am.” So he then says that tomorrow we are going to where my brother works, Cellar Con Roca (#1 restaurant in the world). He saw that we had a day off and got reservations. Unfortunately I had to fly into Rainy Glasgow only to have a whole other kind of fun with some old friends from there. Definitely no Michelin Star grub though.

@scottwinegard

JUSTIN SCURTI

Justin Scurti is a bar owner (Saint Vitus, Brooklyn), tour manager (Spritiualized, Texas Is The Reason), guitarist (I Hate Our Freedom), and rock photographer.

What was the food highlight of your year?

Touring all year made this tough but I’d have to say Mission Chinese Food in San Fransisco.  Scott Winegard and I ordered every vegan dish on the menu and it was only lunch time. It’s also a tie with having the tasting menu paired with wine at Chateaubriand in Paris when Scott, John Hiltz, and I took a road trip from Groezrock Festival in Belgium to Paris just to eat and drink.  

They had a dessert made with an egg yolk poached in simple syrup on top of malt cookies. But then there’s also every time i get home from tour and my girlfriend Elena makes me the best brunches and dinners.  She’s a chef so i pretty much eat amazing every day of the year!

What was the music highlight of your year?

I think seeing one of Rocket From The Crypt’s first shows back from the dead in Europe. They played a secret show at a community center in a little town about an hour away from Brussels. Then getting to see them the very next day at Groezrock along with Turbonegro and Texas Is The Reason.  There was also the very last Texas Is The Reason show at the Electric Ballroom in London.  After a year of touring it was pretty spectacular to see them do it all one last time in front of 1200 people who were just as grateful as i was to see it for the last time ever.

Was there a moment when food and music came together in a memorable way?

Food and Music are always together for me.  The last year of touring with Texas Is The Reason we were very fortunate to be in some great places with some of the best restaurants. When we were in Chicago back in January, Graham Elliot invited us all out to Graham Elliot Bistro for a dinner at the chef’s table.  Instead of us ordering off the menu, he said he was gonna just send out food till we said we were full.  We never said we were full.  I think we had close to 20 courses!!!  Every cocktail on the list and lots of wine all finished with a full bottle of Fernet brought right to the table.  Graham is a huge 90’s indie/emo music fan and loves giving back to the bands he’s listened to over the years.  

@squish108