St. Vincent’s Favorite Restaurants on Tour

This weekend you’re curating the second annual U.S. House of Peroni. Are you friends with the artists showcased in the gallery? “Yeah. For the most part, it’s people who were one degree of separation. So, we got Lauren Machen’s incredible room. There’s a chair from David Byrne out there. I love it. I tried to sit in it once and it didn’t go well but it doesn’t matter, it’s so beautiful. And Robert Montgomery in the front who I didn’t know before but I really love his work.”

Do you like drinking beer? “I do drink beer and I’m a fan of Peroni. I can personally vouch for it. Enjoy it. I was really excited to be approached by them to curate this.”

I’ve also read that you’re a big coffee drinker. “Yeah. I love it so much. I like a cortado, because it’s a little more milk than a macchiato but not so much milk as a cappuccino. I really like it. Typically, I like to have coffee in a place that knows what a cortado is. That’s sort of my litmus test.”

As you perform around the country have you found more places serving a decent cortado? “The coffee culture has gone way, way, way up, since I first started touring.”

Do you pack coffee beans, a grinder, and French press when you travel? “Yeah. I tried to do that for a minute but it was too much like manual labor and it ended up just taking space in my packed suitcase. It mostly becomes an adventure to find whatever the best cup of coffee is in any given city. And coffee culture has become such a thing now.”

When you’re touring do you have favorite restaurants in different cities? “Yeah. Like if I’m in New Orleans I’m eating at Cochon. Like if I’m in Seattle, I’m eating at Paseo the most epic Cuban sandwich shop. The sandwich is so good that you’re looking forward to it the entire tour. All that stuff really matters.”

Is there one song that you put on at parties that always gets people up and dancing? “I would say the Breeders ‘Cannonball.’”

This interview took place before the House of Peroni opened in New York.

Interview has been condensed and edited.