Inside My Table #67 | Excerpt
Questions for singer Steve Tyrell
Steve Tyrell, gravelly-voiced Houston native, cousin of the Mandola culinary clan and master of the great American songbook, was in town in late April for a performance that benefited the Texas Italian American Sports Foundation Scholarship Fund at the Verizon. We caught up with Tyrell, who now lives in the Los Angeles area, the evening before the concert at a cocktail reception hosted at Damian’s Cucina Italiana. Within easy reach of the buffet, we talked about food.
What’s your best food memory?
My best food memory would have to be the many meals that I had with Grandma Costa. As she was feeding me a great Italian lunch, she would say, “If you think this is good, wait till you see what we’re having for dinner.” She would sit and watch me eat with enormous joy and say, “I just love little Stevie. He eats everything!”
Name your three favorite foods.
Pasta, pasta and pasta.
What do you eat before a concert?
I don’t really eat before a concert. The band does, but I don’t. I don’t want to belch in the middle of a love song.
For a Fourth of July picnic, what would you pack in the picnic basket?
Pizzitola’s barbecue [1703 Shepherd, 713-227-2283] with all the fixin’s.
Are you a good cook? If so, what should people ask you to bring for a potluck dinner?
Yes. Every year I make a dish called Mexican cornbread that I serve with black-eyed peas and cabbage on New Year’s. Musicians and friends from all over Southern California flock to my house for a taste and some good luck.
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?
In Russia I was offered goat testicles. I politely had one bite and passed on the rest.
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My Table magazine’s favorite Steve Tyrell CDs
A New Standard (1999)
Standard Time (2001)
This Guy’s in Love (2003)
