Entertainment

My New York: Lewis Black

Lewis Black is sick and tired of everyone running their mouths about how growing older is just so fantastic. “I talk to the kids about what they have to look forward to,” says the 61-year-old “Daily Show” favorite who brings his “In God We Rust” tour to City Center April 22-24. “It’s the whole concept of people saying, ‘I’m 63, and I’ve never felt better.’ Well, you’re a liar. Honestly, did you spend your early days in an iron lung?” As he gets older, the Hell’s Kitchen resident, who’s lived in Manhattan for more than 30 years, is only getting more ornery. This is his New York.

1. A Voce, 41 Madison Ave., at 26th Street

“Whenever I want an Italian meal that’s just right, that’s where I go. The food can only be described as stupefying. I’ve never had anything I didn’t like. At the end of the meal, you order these cream-filled doughnuts with chocolate dipping sauce. No matter what you ate before it, I think you would go away feeling good.”

2. Amy’s Bread, 672 Ninth Ave., at 47th Street

“I had avoided bread for a long time. It’s been around for years, and now they’ve got me back on bread. You can’t go in there and not buy something. They also have great sandwiches and soups, but basically, they reminded me that bread is the stuff of life. Sadly.”

3. Gotham Comedy Club, 208 W. 23rd St., between Seventh and Eighth avenues

“They really helped me find a presence in the club world in New York, because they gave me a lot of stage time. I would say I found my conversational voice at Gotham. It’s a great place to work.”

4. West Bank Cafe, 407 W. 42nd St., between Ninth and Dyer avenues

“It’s really where I became a comic. I started as a playwright, and we ran a room downstairs there — me and two friends. I came in as a playwright and left a comedian. Joan Rivers is playing there now, Karen Finley is playing there. If I could live there, I would live there.”

5. See Eyewear, 312 Bleecker St., at Grove Street

“If someone had told me I would become addicted to glasses, I would have said they were insane. But this is the best value in the city in terms of glasses. You’ve also got to realize, I’m like one step away from a seeing-eye dog. They’re a French eyewear company, showing once again that the French know how to do things, even though Americans can’t deal with that.”

6. Barney Greengrass, 541 Amsterdam Ave., between 86th and 87th streets

“I have cousins that used to work as appetizer wholesalers. They sold pickles and nuts, and one of the great memories I have as a kid was going in there. It’s like being in a giant food emporium of really great stuff and you can eat what you wanted. It’s this palace of lox. And salmon is so good for you, so I always feel like I’m having a healthy meal. It’s like going to visit a relative — without the other a – – holes around.”

7.Strand Bookstore, 828 Broadway, at 12th Street

“I’m happy there’s still a cathedral of books somewhere in the city, other than the library. You can walk in and just get lost. As we stand on the edge of print to digital, you just hope that it can hang in there. If anything gives you a tactile sense of what books are about, it’s walking through the Strand.”