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Ruthie's Table 4 - Episode Summary: Sarah Jessica Parker
Podcast Overview Podcast Title: Ruthie's Table 4 Host: Ruthie Rogers Guest: Sarah Jessica Parker Episode Theme: Exploration of food memories and cultural connections through the lens of personal experiences with food.
Episode Description In this episode, Ruthie Rogers invites actress Sarah Jessica Parker to the River Cafe, where they share memories and insights about food and its significant role in personal connections and cultural identity. The conversation revolves around the warmth of friendships, culinary experiences, and the joy of sharing meals with loved ones.
Key Highlights
Initial Connection
- First Encounter: Ruthie remembers her first phone conversation with Sarah while she was on a beach in Mexico. The instant connection was palpable despite the poor phone connection.
- Recent Visit: Sarah Jessica Parker visited the River Cafe with her family, which rekindled their friendship over a shared meal experience.
The Energy of the Kitchen
- Kitchen Dynamics: Sarah describes the River Cafe kitchen as "the inside of a pinball machine," reflecting on the energy and precision of the chefs and servers.
- Admiration for Staff: Sarah expresses admiration for the speed and efficiency of the servers at the busy restaurant.
The Importance of Food in Film and Life
- Food as a Narrative Tool: The conversation delves into how food scenes in *Sex and the City* played a crucial role in character development and storytelling.
- Family Mealtimes: Sarah reflects on her upbringing, emphasizing the importance of family dinners and how she aims to foster a healthy relationship with food for her children, in contrast to her own childhood restrictions.
Cooking and Family Life
- Daily Cooking Routine: Sarah discusses the daily cooking habits within her family and how both she and her husband, Matthew Broderick, enjoy preparing meals together.
- Comfort Foods: Sarah reveals her comfort food choices, such as lamb and pork chops, and how cooking serves as a way to bond and express love within her family.
Cultural and Local Food Experiences
- Exploring Local Cuisine: Sarah shares her passion for discovering authentic local food experiences while traveling, highlighting the joy of eating at neighborhood spots rather than tourist traps.
- Family History with Food: She recounts her mother’s influence on her relationship with food, noting how her mother's love for different cuisines shaped their family dynamics.
Q&A with the Audience
- Audience Engagement: Throughout the episode, there are interactive segments with audience questions, focusing on experiences related to food, theater, and personal stories about dining.
Culinary Knowledge Sharing
- Cooking Demonstration: Sarah participates in a cooking demonstration, discussing the preparation of puntarelle salad, illustrating the simplicity and elegance of Italian cuisine.
Closing Thoughts
- The Role of Food in Community: Sarah concludes by emphasizing how food connects people and communities, reinforcing the episode's theme of food as a vital part of human experience.
Conclusion This episode of *Ruthie's Table 4* showcases the deep connections between food, culture, and personal identity through the engaging dialogue between Ruthie Rogers and Sarah Jessica Parker. Their discussion reveals how shared meals and culinary experiences shape relationships, memories, and cultural appreciation.
Additional Links
- [The River Cafe Website](https://rivercafe.co.uk/)
- [River Cafe Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/therivercafelondon/)
- [River Cafe Facebook](https://en-gb.facebook.com/therivercafelondon/)
Listening Experience For more episodes of Ruthie's Table 4 or similar content, listen on platforms like iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00This is an iHeart Podcast.
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1:17Hi everyone, welcome to the River Cafe. I can't think of a nicer place to be on a sunny spring morning than here. We have a live audience for this very special episode that features Sarah Jessica Parker, hosted by, of course, Ruthie Rogers. Enjoy the interview, and we'll be taking questions later.
1:38The first time that Sarah Jessica Parker and I spoke, the tables were turned. She was on the phone in the River Cafe kitchen, and I was on a beach in Mexico. It was really hard to hear her with the noise of pots and pans, the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean, but her dazzling warmth traveled the 6 ,000 miles. If the phone connection was poor, the friendship connection was instant. Last Sunday, she was in the River Cafe with her family, and I was there with mine. They were sitting on table one just a few feet from the pink wood oven, close to the drama of the kitchen, and there she was, dazzling and warm.
2:19How does all this work, Ruthie? How do you make sure that Matthew's ravioli comes out the same time as my asparagus bagna cauda? This kitchen, she said, feels like the inside of a pinball machine with energy bouncing between the different stations. how do you all have the energy to do both lunch and dinner now i suppose if i went backstage to plaza suite the play that sarah is doing here with her husband matthew broderick i would have similar questions how does this work sarah what do you do if someone forgets their lines and how do you all have the energy to do a matinee and an evening performance.
3:05Today we're here, not miles apart, inches apart, two friends together, surrounded by all of you great people. What a connection. Thank you, Rishi. So here we are. Did you ever work in a restaurant? No, but I say this knowing how hard it is. I think I would really love to be a server. Like, I really think that I know how hard it is. She's a jewel. Yeah, she is higher. But you were really admiring your servers today because I said to the girls, I was like, I'm not sure that I've seen servers move this fast in a long time because Sunday is a very busy day for you guys, right? Like, especially so.
3:49Well, that day was a really busy day. And I was saying to somebody, and I said, I don't get to come to the River Cafe very often. I don't live in London. And to myself, to Matthew, it's like a very, it's like a special thing. It's like something you earn or maybe you work toward or you pine about and then you visit it. And you're not sure if you made it all up. Like, is it possible that you joined a sort of cult, like a kind of thinking about it? Can it be? and then you come here my hand it is and the kitchen really is it's extraordinary to watch it is like a pinball machine but it's like there's such precision about it and I love watching the chefs talk to each other quickly in passing or actually come together to speak I don't know it's amazing and it's um it's glorious we were thrilled to be here really well we're thrilled to have you and I also when when we first did the completely open kitchen you will remember after the fire Richard Eyre who's a director of theater came in and I said Richard isn't this just like theater you know watching everyone around and he said actually Ruthie it isn't it's like ballet and he said because watching people everybody you can't shout in an open kitchen I mean sometimes raise your voice but basically you're you're moving around to speak to people about if you need to usually there's a kind of communication and this time I had the ravioli with the spinach and the ricotta and those tiny gorgeous porcini mushrooms that are like a surprise they don't talk about that as much and we ordered two and I was like my daughter said do you think we can order another one James Hulkey said can we order another one which just seems so like gluttonous and decadent and greedy.
5:43And then I was like, you know what? Yes, and if anybody says anything, I'll just say, we'll take it. Like, I'm sorry that we're being so, like, animals about this, but it's good to think of it as this kind of once-in-a-lifetime. It's just incredible. One of the things I think that we all, probably everyone in this room would think about was that in Sex and the City, in the way you talk about food, the joy. So many conversations were over food, and it was the pleasure of food. It was enjoying food as a way of communicating and being together, which we all feel here, that the restaurant is a place where you share food.
6:27You're sitting down at the table or at home with your children. And so how is that working in Sex and the City? Was that from you? I always loved food scenes. I think it was initially in place, I think, probably from either Candace's original source material or Darren Starr wrote that first coffee shop scene, which I think was just a great meeting place to sort of talk about the themes of each episode, like get the headline out. And then each person, those kind of archetypal characters would share points of view. So we knew where everybody stood and it allowed for controversial conversation or titillating conversation.
7:10But I will say this, that Cynthia Nixon, who is a dear friend of mine, and we've been working together since we were little girls. We've known each other since we were 11 or 10. Where did you meet? She was a child actor also, and we would always audition together. She often got the part. But we played siblings when I was very young. We played sisters on records. They used to do records of stories. And we played Laura and Mary Ingalls, and then we played siblings. We played children of Vanessa Redgrave in a movie. But Cynthia and I in those coffee shop scenes, we always eat. Yeah. We always eat, and we always need to, like, re-prop our plate.
7:57And then when we finally wrap, they always said to Cynthia, me and Cynthia, do you guys want to take it to go again today? We're like, yes, we do. So we really like those seeds, and we very much go back and forth about, they'll send the menu in advance now, now that we all have the bones and things, because they want you to order in advance for props to have everything ready and multiples of it. So we'll go back and forth. What did you order? Are you going to order? I'll order that so you order that and we can share. So the food is, the lines are blurred. It was kind of a joy of food, though, wasn't it?
8:33Yes, absolutely. It was a way of women eating. Yes. It was something that we are all thinking about, how we combine food. And I think it's changed. You find that your daughters are different now in terms of their attitude? Yeah. I mean, I never was very disciplined about it. I just wasn't. I think I'm not really good at denying myself something. And I think also I was a dancer for so long and running around, so I was able to be that way. It's certainly not the same now. But I also just, when I had girls, I just was so, So I didn't want them to have a relationship with food that was antagonistic or they felt like this was their enemy and that they were going to have to sort of like stake out a position with food.
9:27So when I was growing up, we weren't allowed sugar in the house and we were allowed cookies and we weren't allowed chocolate. And of course, all we did the minute we moved out was buy Entenmann's cakes and cookies and, you know, and I didn't want that. So in our house, we have cookies, we have cake, we have everything. And I think as a result, you kind of have a healthier relationship. And my daughters will have the figures they have, and hopefully they'll be healthy, and they're athletes. And they enjoy food, and they have different palates, and you can't make someone like something they don't like or want.
9:58And I hope that they can maintain their affection for the experience and their delight in taste. And find their own ways to have that be healthy for them. And your son. He's absolutely mad for food. It was fantastic to meet. All three of them were just, you know, involved in the food and talking about the food and asking questions about food on Sunday. Does Matthew cook? Matthew cooks. We both cook every single day. Every day? Every single day. Every day. We probably eat dinner as a family every night. If I'm shooting or he's doing a play, obviously that shifts around. We always have dinner Sunday night.
10:46But one of us, if we're home, cooks every single day. And we love to cook, and it's boring to keep saying to each other, what are we going to eat, what are we going to eat? Are you going to go to the grocery store? Am I going to go to the market? But it's kind of just what we do. Yesterday, I made lamb. What did you eat last night? Last night we went to a restaurant in Chinatown really quickly after the show. But I had made, during the day, I made lamb stew and Matthew made a white bean soup. So we knew we had that. I actually was bringing some to my son, but I like to have it in the fridge for matinee days.
11:28But we cook every night because, I don't know why. We never understood order. We didn't get ordering in in time, and now we're too old. I don't know how to use a thing. And every now and then we're really beat and we'll say, should we, you know. But I'll still call a restaurant and order it. Send a taxi to pick it up. Or we pick it up or they deliver it. But we love cooking. I don't know why. Do you think that's part of the drama? Do you think it's part of theater, a part of being an actor, that it's separate from what you do? Is it a time? I know that when I was working, I would always come home and everybody would say, sit down and relax.
12:09And I found the most kind of relaxing thing to do was to cook. To be in the kitchen. It is. We always wonder about the post-meal part. Like, we're always like, wow, now we have to do all this. You know, all the cleaning and stuff. So that kind of punctures some of the kind of helium of it. But I don't know if it's so much relaxing as it's just kind of what we do. It's like what's expected. What else is the family going to do if we don't get in the kitchen? And in New York, like here in London, you can run out at the last minute. You can make a meal quickly. um it's not as like it doesn't seem as such a big effort in a way um and often things just taste better than if you're ordering in in our opinion we i mean not that we don't think of ourselves highly as like chefs or anything not like that but i don't know our children always i will say they always say like wow we're really lucky we get to we have dinner every night yeah But when you're in a play, do you eat before the performance or after?
13:18I eat a huge meal after. Yeah, so do you go on stage hungry? A little bit. I'll have yogurt, bananas. There's these eggs here that I'm in love with that I go mad for, the ones I want to put in my suitcase, but I know I'm not allowed. They're called Burford. Oh, Burford, yeah. They have those orange yolks that are just, oh, my God. Oh, my God. So we go through a lot of those. I eat those bananas. I'll have some lamb stew or barley and some meat. I love your rashers here, your bacon, streaky bacon. And kofta from our local butcher is really nice. I think it's time for our first question from our audience, which Sad is going to read.
14:04I used to work at the River Cafe and every night I felt like customers had a different collective character. Saturday night was different from Tuesday night and it was not the same every Saturday night but it would become a kind of dominant vibe. And then I started working in theatre and in my mind it was exactly the same. And I wondered what your experience of London audiences has been and are they different to American audiences? Well you've described it so beautifully whether it's in America, New York City or here that sort of I always say like what time did they all get together and decide who they were going to be tonight?
14:42Like it's a conspiracy that they work so beautifully together. And it is a range and a Saturday night can be boisterous and civilized or boisterous and out of control and sort of behaving, I'm going to say poorly in quotes, but not really, but just more talkative. But generally speaking, the audiences here have been really, really lovely and very hospitable. And we weren't sure because this is a very American play by a real American playwright writing about kind of cultural familiarity to Americans, especially New Yorkers, but they've been absolutely wonderful. I think they've proven to be really great listeners, like sincerely great listeners, but they do seem to have psychically agreed upon something and I don't understand it.
15:34Like these people probably couldn't agree about anything else if you remove them from the theater like as a whole maybe they could I don't know but it is unique and I think that is in a restaurant don't you think that we can yeah you can sort of cook the same food at the same time the same with the same team yeah you can go home at 10 o 'clock and think I'm a failure you know this is a dead you or you think this was one of the greatest nights of my life yeah it's just so hard to it is and it's I think the human part of all of this is the thing that's just hard to pin down. Like you can't do the same show.
16:15You have a good show and you're trying to sort of always mimic that or in the kitchen, you'll have a great, and you're always trying to, but it is human. So it's never going to be the same. It's never going to last as long. The pause isn't going to get a laugh or maybe it will, or, and that's the I think that's what is makes it so exciting for a diner or hopefully for an audience is they are very much a part of it they are a significant 50 of the relationship is the diner to your chefs and your servers and you and us with our audience our playwright our words our director and this audience like we have to they have to be our partner for the night and they show that in various ways did you know the river cafe has a shop it's full of our favorite foods and designs we have cookbooks linen napkins kitchenware tote bags with our signatures glasses from venice chocolates from turin you can find us right next door to the river cafe in London or online at shoptherivercafe.co.uk.
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19:40So, Sarah, you've just made Punturel, all of a matter with Sean. There is something to me about punterrel salad that it really, it blows my mind. And it's very hard to get in New York for anybody who lives in New York. Punterrel is like contraband. Like apparently it's not allowed or, and when it is, there's like, you have like four days to enjoy it. And to have it here sort of like at your whim to me is such decadence.
20:13This is a punterrel. I've never seen it in its natural state. I've never seen it. I think this might even be smaller. Because we were in Turin last week, weren't we, Ruthie? And they were huge, massive heads of it. It's actually a gecoria. Do you know what? It's like a gecoria plant. And so you can either use the outside leaves and just chop them up and boil them as a vegetable. Oh, really? And then this is like the bulb in the middle. Oh, wow. Yeah, this is actually the bulb of the whole plant. Oh, my God. And inside is these things that look like fingers. So what you generally do is just, well, you can cut them off or pull them off.
20:50Do you have to soak them or anything? Yeah. It's all in the soaking. Right. This goes in iced water. And it goes in iced water for about an hour. And then it turns into, hang on, bear with me, Cornette. No, you're okay. Oh, yeah, here. It's going to go all crunchy like this. And it crisps up. Right. Ah, I see, I see, I see. So once you've cut it, just put it in iced water. So the dressing, I'll make the dressing for one. Is that garlic? Yeah, I'll put a tiny bit. That? Whatever you want. Don't change anything on my account. What is that beautiful? That's chilli. That's chilli, gorgeous. Tiny bit of chilli, like a tiny bit.
21:28And then these anchovies are really... Those anchovies are so beautiful! A bit more pepper in, I'll just touch my hands. Probably about that much olive oil. This is actually making, it's going to be super well-dressed. Oh, my God, it's gorgeous. Yeah, this is just your dressing. Oh, it's so gorgeous. And it is literally as simple as this. Now, how dry, did I get them dry enough in your estimation? Okay. But, I mean, it's supposed to be as much anchovies you like, as much vinegar as you like, really.
22:03So, Sarah, read the recipe. Read it any way you want. Should I just tell you that it's absolutely divine? And it was on Sunday. Two heads of puntarell. Am I saying it correctly, puntarell? You're saying it perfectly. Five salted anchovies cleaned, and your wonderful chef used Spanish anchovies. Two tablespoons of red wine vinegar, one garlic clove chopped, and then she did this gorgeous thing with her knife where she sort of smeared it. She named Sean, who's right there. Sean, I'm sorry, Sean. She sort of took her knife and mashed it and made it a wonderful kind of misery. One garlic chose chopped, as I've said, two dried chilies, one teaspoon of black pepper, four tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
22:46And then to prepare the puntarell, fill a bowl with ice-cold water, adding a few ice cubes. Pull the hollow buds from the puntarell heads, I guess once they're out of that and nice and clean and crisp. Slice the buds very thinly lengthwise and place in the water to crisp until they curl up. This will take about an hour. Add the garlic to the anchovies with the crumbled chilies and the pepper. Add the olive oil. Spin dry the pouturel and place in a bowl and mix with the anchovy sauce. Simple. Perfection. Perfection. I'm curious about when you first had pouturel. Did you have pouturel in Cincinnati?
23:26In Cincinnati? No. Well, I moved to New York when I was a very little girl, but we can talk about the vegetables that were available in Cincinnati. But the first time we had it, there was a wonderful little restaurant that didn't last very long. And it was on McDougal and I can't remember the cross street right off of 6th Avenue. And it was on the menu. And I just, Matthew and I actually just read the ingredients or the description. And we thought, well, of course, we'll try it. And it was absolutely beautiful. And so then we sort of, like, we're chasing it, I guess a wee bit like truffles, like waiting for that moment, you know?
24:08Yeah, that is Italian food. You have it, then you say goodbye and you say hello. That's what makes it so special, yeah. But going back to Cincinnati, tell us about eight children. I'm one of eight, yes. Wow. In Cincinnati, at that point, we had only six. My mother was pregnant with the baby girl when we moved to New York City. We moved to New York City on January 1st of 1977. So I've lived there most of my life. My real father is from Brooklyn, born and raised. So we spent some time before that in Brooklyn visiting and visiting my grandparents on my father's side. But food was, for a lot of my siblings, things we um think and talk and share feelings thoughts experiences with food I would say in some way it dominates our relationship like it's the it's the thing that we I would say maybe with books as well but food probably even more so and I we all have a different relationship with it Some of us cook, some of us don't.
25:19Some of us have money to explore restaurants that would be more rarefied and some don't. But food is and always has been in my memory, this destination. And I always want to have something I've never had, always. But did your mother, did she cook? What were mealtimes like? She cooked. We had dinner every single night. All of you, all seven or six of you around? Eventually all eight. My mother would probably say that she really didn't care. She didn't enjoy cooking. She didn't come from a family that enjoyed food. And I think with eight kids, it was work versus joyful. But simultaneously, she loved food.
26:12And she, as a young woman, went off to New York City as an employee of Procter & Gamble, which is a big company in Cincinnati, Ohio. You know, like a lot of girls straight out of college got a job at Procter & Gamble and was sent to New York to be a salesperson. And her first stop was always Chinatown, always Chinatown. She loved Chinatown. She loved Chinese food. She loved anything that was different. And there was a place. This would be in the 60s. This would be in the 50s. Yeah, late 50s, mid to late 50s. And there was a place called Dave's Luncheonette that was a very famous place you just stopped by and had an egg cream after having Chinese food.
26:51And so she, of course, she grew up reading The New Yorker. The librarians from the time she was a little girl would save her the weekly New Yorker. So she would read about food. And she would read about Chinatown. And she would read about places in the outer boroughs. And so for her, food was this thing that was part of another life that she hoped to give all of us. And so even though she didn't like cooking and she cooked, you know, three meals a day, we all helped with breakfast, lunch and breakfast and dinner, lunch in the summers. Did your mother work? Did she manage to feed seven or eight children every day and work?
27:29or did she? She was a school teacher up until a few months after I was born. And then I think that was her last year. She taught second grade. At the time we lived in a very little city in southeastern Ohio. This was before Cincinnati. It was in the foothills of Appalachia actually. And so she taught second grade, but her students could be anywhere from seven to 14 years old, depending upon how much time they've been afforded to be in school. And so she stopped teaching for many, many years and just, not just, she was a mother, which she consumed all her time. And then she started her own preschool for many, many years.
28:11She had her own school in New Jersey. It was a sort of Montessori. She's a progressive educator. And she retired from that about 10 years ago. and she just came to London to visit. My father passed away a year ago, so she's newly. Was there anybody helping her? Did your father ever go, your stepfather ever go in the kitchen? Everybody helped. Everybody. It was our jobs to be helpful. So you come home from school, do your homework, and then help get the dinner. Yes, well, we came home from school. We did some homework. Sort of. And then we had ballet classes, and so when we'd come home from ballet, then we'd all jump in and help in the kitchen.
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28:54We all had jobs before and after dinner that wasn't necessarily connected to cooking. It was cleaning, putting things away, sweeping, loading the dishwasher, unloading the dishwasher, helping with laundry. But even though it was labor, we all came out of that house, for the most part, really loving food and willing to try anything and if I travel sometimes I say I'm only going to try like I'll take a job I think well I'm really taking this just so I can go eat this and you know if you are on a holiday and you go trying to find restaurants and I do endless months of research like where where where where where and then you get to your destination and you'll try to ask people and they'll send you the place that everybody else in the hotel is going or everybody else and I'll say no no no please where do you eat Mr.
29:50Concierge Miss Concierge where do you eat where do you eat and they won't tell me because they think we want this stacked food fancy you know and so I'll just follow the employees home yeah I literally follow them home yeah and then I see where they live and their communities and their restaurants and that's where I go and that's where I shop yeah hardware stores you know maybe you could just stay with employees but that's where like the good food is hotel bills and just yeah because do you know what i mean does that make sense my husband used to always go to bookstores he would get into verona or a little town in the south of spain or italy and he'd always for some reason he would always think that people who worked in bookstores would know would know where to eat right and um probably where they like finding those places that that means it's it's i think finding that local experience it it completes the experience in a way that sometimes you can't have if you don't know you know like when a local person gives you directions and you realize oh they're giving me directions without realizing how little i know yeah if you describe to someone how to get on bleaker you'd have to say listen bleaker is going to go left and right and up and down you have to give them those yeah so when you get to eat local you're like having their experience I asked quite a few actors whether when they took a part, whether they would not so much choose the part.
31:14That's kind of extreme about what restaurants were there. But quite a few of them did research before going to shoot a film in Budapest or Venice or wherever they were before they went to find out where to eat. Because it's important, isn't it, when you're making a movie to feel part of the community, the markets. I think wherever you get to travel for whatever reason, if you can somehow try to embed a little bit in the local flavor of a community. I don't know, sometimes I'll, I've been, you know, for work, you have to travel a lot and you do like these things like press junkets, you know, and especially in the old days, they do these big grand world tours.
31:59and you'd be given a guide, which was all wonderful, and I was super grateful. But then I would just say to the guide, like, no, stop the van now. Stop the van now. I want to get out here. They're like, well, there's just houses here. And I was like, yes, exactly. I just want to see the houses. You know, I don't know. You feel like you're seeing something versus the same boulevard with the fancy shops and the fancy restaurants. Time for a question from our audience. What happens on an aeroplane when you have a long distance flight? Because I cannot imagine the cuisine exciting you. Do you bring your own food?
32:38Depends on the airline. Like, I think a lot of the Asian airlines have really, really, really good food. Aerolingus, I love their food. But I will bring, I always have snacks in my bag. I always have meat sticks that I love, like, you know, healthy. They're not. I'll bring stuff that I think will get me through a flight that might have that I might there might be dubious. I might have some feelings and concerns. I can't bear the idea of being hungry. I just like meaning. Let me rephrase that. If I can help that not be true, I will keep up my end. You know what I mean? So but I don't mind trying anything on an airline.
33:26And in the old days, what I was saying, when we used to do these big press junkets, we were always flying to Japan. And I will say that food on Japan Airline was like, what? I would just stay up just to eat. They were like, would you like to rest? And I was like, absolutely not. I would like to eat and digest and then start the next offering. Like, what else is on this menu? If you like listening to Ruthie's Table 4, would you please make sure to rate and review the podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you.
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35:01Finance agreement, iPhone 17 Pro, 256 gigs,$1 ,099.99, and new line minimum$100 plus a month plan with auto pay, plus taxes and fees required. Best mobile network in the U.S. based on analysis by Oclobe Speedtest Intelligence, data 1H 2025. Visit T-Mobile.com. Life's messy. We're talking spills, stains, pets, and kids. But with Anabay, you never have to stress about messes again. At washablesofas.com, discover Anabay sofas, the only fully machine washable sofas inside and out, starting at just$699. Made with liquid and stain-resistant fabrics, that means fewer stains and more peace of mind. Designed for real life, our sofas feature changeable fabric covers, allowing you to refresh your style anytime.
35:43Need flexibility? Our modular design lets you rearrange your sofa effortlessly. Perfect for cozy apartments or spacious homes. Plus, they're earth-friendly and built to last. That's why over 200 ,000 happy customers have made the switch. Upgrade your space today. Visit washablesofas.com now and bring home a sofa made for life. That's washablesofas.com. Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply. Hey, it's Amanda from Soul Sessions with Amanda Rieger-Green. Discover Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, a perfect destination to unplug and enjoy the season. The rolling hills and quiet countryside offer a peaceful escape, while the vibrant city and rich culture provide so much to explore.
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37:16Park smarter, park faster. ParkWiz. Download the ParkWiz app today and save every time you park. When I was growing up, we all went to restaurants for a special occasion, you know, a birthday, an anniversary, or my mother just being possibly too tired to cook. But it was a rare occasion that we went. And here in the River Cafe, we see people coming in for Saturday lunch, Sunday lunch, early dinners, late dinners, and kids are ordering. And there is a breadth of children and young people eating out, you know, and that. They're more used to it than I ever was. I mean, it was such a big deal to eat out for us growing up, and we certainly get to.
37:54And we get to travel in a way that I, my family didn't take vacations. We didn't go on a holiday, not until much later. And then it was, you know, you're sharing a house with another family and you're still cooking all your meals. You wouldn't, you know, we would go to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. This was 40 years ago. More? Oh, more. And it was this sort of very pristine, not very popular destination. And so the big deal for us was that we would get crab and throw down newspaper and, you know, and that was a big deal. That was like eating out. But my children, when they came to London to visit, we went out the first night and they were like, oh, my gosh, we haven't been to a restaurant in so long.
38:41It's so exciting to be at a restaurant. So it's still exciting, but it's something they're definitely more familiar with it than I ever was as a child. I mean, I think another similarity is that we both like our neighborhoods, you know, that we like a neighborhood. Yes. I like a neighborhood. I love neighborhoods. And, you know, when we moved, it's not where I live isn't quite the West Village, but it, in a sense, it doesn't have perhaps a lot of the character that you have. But it is a place that you want to be involved in. So we call up, you know, we called the local theater and said, we're here.
39:11Yeah. What can we do? Or you, I know you do that with your neighborhood. Yeah. And your neighborhood being the West Village is probably full of restaurants, isn't it? Do you eat local? We do. Do you go to the same place over and over again? We do. And especially, you know, after the pandemic, we were really concerned. There were a lot of small businesses and restaurants included in that that were not part of larger consortiums that were really, really struggling. I'm sure you all had it here as well. And it was so easy to be supportive because they're our neighbors and we know their family stories or the stories of the restaurants.
39:49Um, and we knew, you, you know, the collateral damage, like if something closes, it's not just that it's everything around it that kind of lives and breathes off of it. And, um, so it's, it's very easy to do it, not just out of, you know, desire to be a good citizen and a neighbor, but because it's one, they're wonderful restaurants, they're wonderful restaurants and some are old and not inventive at all you know they're not like rethinking or deconstructing italian food but they've been in business since 1978 you know and then there's newer chefs that are doing really exciting things and then you've got your local little delis and bodegas and everything in between and and it's it's a real privilege to live among them and to say that we are patrons and that we mean it, you know.
40:45There's so much to talk about. Can you tell us about the wine? Yes. So I was asked now six years ago, seven years ago, by these two young gentlemen in New Zealand producing Sauvignon Blanc out of the Marlborough region, which is not that surprising, if I would like to work with them, partner with them. And I was absolutely confounded because I didn't know anything about the wine business except that one of the reasons my husband and I like to travel is to taste local wine. And I thought, like most of us, that you have to come from generations of wine families. And the language I thought I would never understand, and I thought it was really only for the rarefied few.
41:29But they said no. And I said, well, if you'll let me really learn and really be as informed as possible, then we can start talking about it. And, of course, they did. And it's been an amazing, an amazing experience. We're in our sixth vintage on our Sauvignon Blanc. It's been picked in the top 100 wines in the world for the second time. And it's won all sorts of awards. Like, I don't say this about my acting work ever. Like, I wouldn't say, like, I've won it because I haven't. But I'm so proud of this because we've worked really hard. And it's been, the Sauvignon Blanc's been so beautifully received.
42:08and our rosé has been beautifully received and we've never, I think, done below a 93 in Wine Spectator, which is a big deal in that business. And we're about to launch our Pinot Noir, which is, it's so gorgeous. So it's been amazing and I really love them and I love the wine. So yeah, we just keep working really hard and I do all the blendings and it's been incredible. It's been a great education. If we were to say in this conversation that food is fun and it's exciting and it sustains us and we share it and we cook for our children as an expression of love, it's also comfort. If you do need comfort, is there a food that you would turn to, Sarah Jessica?
42:53Yes, I would say that pork chops. And I would just describe them more specifically as saying thin-cut pork chops on the bone, not fancy, not from your most special butcher, but from Gristides. like simple put them in the pan with olive oil and salt and pepper and yeah heaven and that i just i don't know why i love it my brother loves them too but bringing up a very close competitor is probably lamb chops which i make probably two or three times a week do i make pork chops at least twice a week and we we here i've made lamb how do you make your lamb chops I'm kind of embarrassed because it's not.
43:47But we use, I use, because I do the lamb chops. We use Kerrygold butter. Anyone know Kerrygold butter? There's so much unsalted butter in London, it's kind of hard to find the salted. So I use Kerrygold butter and just a touch of olive oil so the butter doesn't burn. And I salt and pepper the baby lamb chops and I throw them in and that's it. and they are just that you can taste all the fat you can smell the fat when it's cooking and we eat a lot of lamb in Ireland and I've bought lamb here from our local butcher you go to three times a week you have a house in Ireland yeah where it tells us about it's way up in County Donegal so it's way up northwest and um my husband's been going there since he was a little boy and I've been going there since we were together which is 30 years and uh we finally you know bought our own little house because he shares his family home with his siblings and they have all grown children and they have children and um so yeah we go there a lot what is the food like the best potatoes it really is like a cliche but it's true the greatest greatest greatest potatoes ever especially if you're there for the new potato season is oh it's heaven Kerrygold butter.
45:03York cabbage. I don't know what it is about a York cabbage. That blows my mind. Lamb, lamb, lamb, lamb, lamb, lamb, lamb. The eggs, the rashers. Any root stuff there is really good. We don't. We're not there enough to take care of it and really earn it. You know, someday. Someday. But, yeah. White toast. White toast baby batch. Anyone know what a baby batch is? No. It would be forbidden in my house growing up. Like, we were not allowed to have white bread growing up. It's just bread slices. Like, the kids like it. You make sandwiches for when company comes over. But there's a beautiful brown soda bread there that you just get it.
45:45Oh, my gosh. That we eat crazy. And that we can get in the States. We can get a bunch of the food in the States now. And we can get Kerrygold butter. Go to Greece? Greece is my favorite place outside of any place else. And it's maybe the food. I think there's nothing better than a Greek salad in Greece and lamb chops. But I just think the people, the history, the culture, the art, the way it looks, just seeing Greece for the first time and seeing white against blue, against sky, against the sea. I don't know. I think, I don't know. it's probably a place that I would spend many, many months a year if I could.
46:32Like, everywhere. Yeah. You have been part of so many award-winning productions over the years, whether it's film or television or theatre. I would love to hear about one of your favourite celebratory meals. Well, it happened to be my brother's birthday, but that was coincidental. But he's my oldest brother, and he's kind of a very important figure in our lives growing up. and I had been like researching for a really long time Georgian and Russian restaurants in Brooklyn but like the real stuff like because there's a massive Georgian and Russian community as you guys probably know in Brooklyn and it's way way way way way out like you know could be 30 stops on the train but you make like a pilgrim it's like a big deal well it was for me and I had been researching and researching and then this day appeared and I was like this is the day I'm gonna to do it.
47:26So I called my brother Pippin because he's one of the siblings that goes crazy for the food like me. And I said to Matthew, like, let's just do it. And so we went out on this long train ride, which was fantastic because you're under and over. And we had Georgian food, deep, deep, deep, deep Brooklyn. And it was my brother's birthday. So it was really great. And he had to go around the corner and buy you know spirits or wine or something but that was an unbelievable meal unbelievable meal yeah it was everything um that's what I could think of I just wanted to ask about the joy of going to a restaurant that's comforting like jeans jeans did you say jeans Who is that?
48:14Oh, hi. Jeans is in a restaurant. Yeah. Jeans. Jeans is a wonderful restaurant on 11th Street in the West Village, very near city and country. Seemingly a little bit, like, not fancy room. It's this beautiful room, terribly low ceiling. One of the prettiest bars you'll ever see in New York City. It's got marble steps. You walk down to it, and this gorgeous bar greets you that's been around for however long. This is do the math. I can't do it. Famously good bartender. Local sit there and eat. And the food is like veal scallopini, tomato sauce. But they are one of those places that, remember when you did the thing with Danny Meyer and he talked about how these restaurants in New York put out the stainless steel platter with the cold vegetables on the ice cubes.
49:05So you get to your table and it's got big radishes and carrot sticks and hearts of celery and fennel. It's gorgeous. It's like easy, wonderful, and everybody in there is an older group. And they're so lovely. They'll all say, you know, we're going to go see your show. You know, we read about the book. Or, you know, they're very community-oriented. And it's a wonderful place. And we go there a lot on Sunday nights, like if we're meeting other people. If we're not going to invite people to our house for dinner, we'll go to Jeans. Okay. We have to go to Jeans. Beautiful cocktails. Shall we eat? and we have great ones.
49:41Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you.
49:52Thank you for listening to Ruthie's Table 4 in partnership with Montclair.
50:05Ruthie's Table 4 is produced by Atomai Studios for iHeart Radio. It's hosted by Ruthie Rogers and it's produced by Willa Malensky. This episode was edited by Julia Johnson and mixed by Nigel Appleton. Our executive producers are Faye Stewart and Zad Rogers. Our production manager is Caitlin Paramore and our production coordinator is Bella Cellini. This episode had additional contributions by Sian Wynn-Owen. Thank you to everyone at the River Cafe for your help in making this episode.
50:43Life's messy. We're talking spills, stains, pets, and kids. But with Anabay, you never have to stress about messes again. At washablesofas.com, discover Anabay sofas, the only fully machine washable sofas inside and out, starting at just$699. Made with liquid and stain-resistant fabrics, that means fewer stains and more peace of mind. Designed for real life, our sofas feature changeable fabric covers, allowing you to refresh your style anytime. Need flexibility? Our modular design lets you rearrange your sofa effortlessly. Perfect for cozy apartments or spacious homes. Plus, they're earth-friendly and built to last.
51:26That's why over 200 ,000 happy customers have made the switch. Upgrade your space today. Visit washablesofas.com now and bring home a sofa made for life. That's washablesofas.com. Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply. This is Amanda from Soul Sessions with Amanda Rieger-Green. Lancaster County, Pennsylvania is a perfect destination for a quick weekend getaway. Explore charming small towns, browse unique shops, and discover restaurants the locals love. discoverlancaster.com makes planning easy with insider tips and upcoming events so you won't miss a thing plan your weekend trip at discoverlancaster.com forward slash soul sessions parking shouldn't slow you down park whiz gives every driver a shortcut book ahead save up to 50 and skip the hassle of circling the block park smarter park faster park whiz download the park WhatsApp today and save every time you park.
52:28Hey, what's up? It's Mario Lopez. Back to school is an exciting time, but it can also be overwhelming and kids may feel isolated. A vulnerability that human traffickers can exploit. Human trafficking doesn't always look like what you expect. Everyday moments can become opportunities for someone with bad intentions. Whether you're a parent, teacher, coach, or neighbor, check in. Ask questions. Stay connected. Blue Campaign is a national awareness initiative that provides resources to help recognize suspected instances of human trafficking. Learn the signs and how to report at dhs.gov slash blue campaign.
53:05This is an iHeart Podcast.
From the publisher
The first time that Sarah Jessica Parker and I spoke, the tables were turned. She was on the phone in The River Cafe kitchen, and I was on a beach in Mexico. It was really hard to hear her with the noise of pots and pans, the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean. But her dazzling warmth travelled the 6000 miles. If the phone connection was poor, the friendship connection was instant.
Last month, she was in The River Cafe with her family, and I was there with mine. They were sitting on table one, just a few feet from the pink wood oven close to the drama of the kitchen. And there she was, dazzling and warm. ‘How does all this work, Ruthie? How do you make sure that Matthew's ravioli comes out the same time as my asparagus bagna cauda.’ ‘This kitchen’, she said, ‘feels like the inside of a pinball machine with energy bouncing between the different stations. How do you all have the energy to do both lunch and dinner?’
Now, I suppose if I went backstage to Plaza Suite, the play that Sarah is doing here with her husband, Matthew Broderick, I would have similar questions. ‘How does this work, Sarah? What do you do if someone forgets their lines? And how do you all have the energy to do a matinee and an evening performance?’ Today we're here not miles apart, inches apart. Two friends together, surrounded by all of you great people. What a connection.
Listen to Ruthie’s Table 4: Sarah Jessica Parker in partnership with Moncler.
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