-Mm.
BROOKS HEADLEY: I'm
Brooks Headley.
I'm the pastry chef at Del
Posto in Manhattan.
I kind of approach cooking and
food the same way that I would
approach being in a punk band.
The way that I would figure out
drum parts to a Born Again
song, or a [INAUDIBLE] song.
For cooking it's the same way.
I'm not inventing new techniques
or anything, but I
feel like I'm taking from
different styles of food--
really, really simple stuff,
like almost stupid stuff and
that's good.
That's like a good punk song--
it should be stupid, and it
should be direct, and
it should just
be almost like duh.
I'm here with Michael Laiskonis,
a pastry chef from
Le Bernardin.
And we are headed to
Williamsburg to go to Sal's
Pizza, my favorite pizza
place in the world.
MICHAEL LAISKONIS: I actually
think I met you as a pastry
chef first, right?
BROOKS HEADLEY: Yeah.
MICHAEL LAISKONIS: And then
years later realized we had
this sort of common interest
in punk rock, underground
music scene.
And realized probably 20 years
ago that there was a good
chance we were in
the same room.
BROOKS HEADLEY: Working in a
kitchen is kind of like being
on tour, but being on tour
your whole life.
Because it's something that
completely controls everything
that you do.
When I think of pizza in New
York, I think of this place.
Can we get a grandma to go?
I lived basically around the
corner from Sal's for the
first four years that I
lived in New York, so
it became my spot.
It was comfort food and
super old school.
Real New York City pizza.
MICHAEL LAISKONIS: Last time I
was at Del Posto I actually
was sent home with a pizza.
But it was a dessert pizza, but
he sent it out in a pizza
box as we were leaving, so
that was pretty hot.
BROOKS HEADLEY: Anytime I
can get pizza in there.
But I actually went to the place
around the corner and I
was like, hey, I want to
buy one pizza box.
And the guy's like what
are you talking about?
I find a lot of inspiration
in pizza in general.
Whenever I can compare it, or
when I find that comparison in
my head and it kind of works out
on the plate at Del Posto,
it just cracks me up.
Because I'm like oh, yeah,
this is pizza, you know.
Sometimes it drives me a little
crazy that pastry chefs
or people that make desserts,
they sort of have blinders on.
And they're only thinking about
sugar or specific cakes
or cookies or something.
For me, the thing that I'd want
to do is cook a bunch of
vegetables.
So you're still thinking in
terms of different flavors,
sweet and salty and bitter
and sour, just to
highlight the product.
And that's such an Italian
thing to do.
-[INAUDIBLE]
Sicilian, regular pizza,
you got plates.
BROOKS HEADLEY: Great.
Thanks, man.
-All right?
OK, have a nice day.
BROOKS HEADLEY: Yeah.
So we got some pizza.
Now we're going over to the
Momofuku Milk Bar, bakery,
complex, airplane hangar spot.
Yeah, Christina Tosi who is
the master dessert pastry
person for all of the Momofuku
restaurants and just one of my
favorite people--
she's hilarious.
Has a commissary basically in
Williamsburg where they make
everything for all the different
restaurants and all
their mail order and stuff.
Her crack pie became world
famous, which is awesome,
hilarious, and totally cool.
CHRISTINA TOSI: Come, I'll give
you the rest of the tour.
It's my pride and joy.
I named her Beyonce and
painted her gold.
BROOKS HEADLEY: Excellent.
Did you not have a
sheeter before?
CHRISTINA TOSI: No, we were
rolling everything by hand.
We were making all these
croissants at one point, it
was like compound butter.
And it was just getting to the
point that I was just like, no
one's ever going to
roll fast enough.
You know what I mean?
-So this is our office.
BROOKS HEADLEY: Whose
dogs are these?
-These are Tosi's dogs.
BROOKS HEADLEY: Dogs in the
kitchen, is that a violation?
-We don't let the dogs
[INAUDIBLE], that's why they
only ever live [INAUDIBLE].
CHRISTINA TOSI: Are you guys
going anywhere after this?
BROOKS HEADLEY: Yeah, we're
going back to Del Posto.
MICHAEL LAISKONIS: Am
I working tonight?
BROOKS HEADLEY: No, no.
You're going to sit
down and relax.
I'm going to put on
the paper hat.
Well basically at that point
we went and got some pizza.
We got the grandma slice.
Hung out with the ladies
at Milk Bar.
And then the only responsible
thing to do at that point
would be to go back to Del Posto
and eat some vegetables.
I just wanted to invite some
people that I know, some
through food and some
through music.
Who was there?
Rick was there, Amelia
was there, Erin was
there, Tonie was there.
That I knew would appreciate
eating a bunch of vegetables.
So there's plenty to
drink out there if
anybody needs anything.
-Are there painkillers?
Because I am--
TONIE JOY: Probably
behind you.
--Seriously need a break.
MICHAEL LAISKONIS: I booked
shows at a place [INAUDIBLE]
and they ended up playing
a year after I stopped.
-I won't send you away.
MICHAEL LAISKONIS: I'm OK.
Awesome.
We geek out over both pastry
and punk rock, I guess.
BROOKS HEADLEY: So listen you
guys, I'm going to go make us
some vegetables, all right?
-All right.
-Oh, yeah.
-I hope they're good.
BROOKS HEADLEY: They better?
Yeah, really?
All right.
To me, vegetables are
totally sacred.
When I was in bands 15 years
ago, that's all we did was
talk about and think about
vegetarian food and veganism
and whatever.
So this is a butternut squash
and apple salad.
And then this is just ricotta
with salt and pepper.
Olive oil, roasted cauliflower
with olives and capers, so a
total Mark Latimer classic.
Chickpeas and leeks,
basically.
And the leeks are sweated down
so they're totally sweet.
-Are you saying we're ready?
BROOKS HEADLEY: I
think so, yeah.
-You have wine, liquor and
beer in front of you.
-Listen, I came to party.
BROOKS HEADLEY: So this is a
Anuloti with a Lambrusco
sauce.
-Oh, there's more?
BROOKS HEADLEY: Speck, it's got
meat in it, so I made you
a special one--
pasta with butter,
for the babies.
-Are we really not getting
any dessert?
BROOKS HEADLEY: No, you're going
to get some dessert,
Obviously, the pastry chef
has to make some
sort of dessert, right?
I mean, I'm sort of a contrarian
deep to the core.
So I had no desire to showboat
and make a bunch of desserts--
oh, look at me, look
at what I can do.
This is great, look at
this, this is great.
So I made, obviously, the most
simple, almost silly, Italian
dessert, which is tiramisu.
The first place I ever worked,
we made individual ones and
then we would put a
candle in that.
But it had cocoa powder on top,
so when people would blow
out the candle it would like--
I am full-on, 100% a restaurant
pastry chef.
And even more specifically
than that, Del Posto.
If you dumped me in another
kitchen in Manhattan, at
another three or four
star restaurant, I'd
probably get fired.
Because I exist specifically
to do one
specific style of food.
Complicated doesn't necessarily
equal delicious.
To a bunch of fucking
vegetables.
-Yeah.
I love it.
Thank you, Brooks.
-Thank you so much.
-Thank you very much.
CHRISTINA TOSI: We are
well-fed, thank you.
