Lee Schrager is the ultimate peripatetic eater; a consummate noshing nomad; a true foodie fanatic. As the vice president of corporate communications and national events at Southern Wine & Spirits of America — the largest wine and spirit distributor in the US — Schrager founded the New York and South Beach Wine & Food Festivals (nycwff.org). By his own estimate, Schrager — who lives between Manhattan and Miami — tries out 300 restaurants per year, sourcing new chefs for both festivals. Despite such epicurean access, Schrager insists he’s a simple eater. “I’m not particularly adventurous,” he explained. “When you look at the festival, it’s burgers, fried chicken and tacos — it’s not hard to figure out what my favorite foods are.” On the eve of New York’s Festival, Schrager dished about his recent travels, global street-food secrets and his upcoming book on fried chicken.
BEYOND MIAMI AND NEW YORK: I think Aspen (foodandwine.com/classic) is the granddaddy of all food festivals. It’s where the world’s most accomplished wine-makers, chefs and culinary luminaries come together in a beautiful mountain setting. It was actually on a trip back from the Aspen Festival that I thought, “imagine how great a festival would be on the beaches of Miami!” I always stay at the Little Nell hotel (thelittlenell.com) — they’ve got a great restaurant there.
THE MOST IMPORTANT FOOD FESTIVAL TIP, NO MATTER THE LOCATION: Avoid overload. Often folks will attempt 25 or 30 events in a day. Don’t! Instead, pick one or two great events that you can truly enjoy and really speak to you. Our NY Festival’s “Burger Bash,” for instance, is great for burger fanatics.
I’M WRITING A BOOK ON FRIED CHICKEN: “Fried and True” comes out next May. I’ve spent months — years! — eating great fried chicken and there are a few fried chicken joints I really love. In New York, there’s Elizabeth Karmel at Hill Country Chicken (hillco
untrychicken.com, pictured); in Miami, Michelle Bernstein does a great version at Michy’s (michysmiami.com); while Art Smith at Chicago’s Table Fifty-Two (tablefifty-two.com) is also memorable.
BEYOND FOOD FESTIVALS, I ALSO LOVE TO TRAVEL FOR FUN: I was just in Tuscany, where we stayed at Hotel Il Pellicano (pellicanohotel.com/en) — a sea-front resort with a Michelin-starred restaurant and exceptional spa. I was also in Ecuador in May; we went to the Mashpi Lodge (mashpilodge.com/en), which was truly one of my best hotel experiences ever. Beyond its stunning, cloud-forest location, I had a massage that was truly unforgettable.
FRANCE, OF COURSE, REMAINS A FAVORITE FOOD DESTINATION: Particularly the town of Mougins, near Antibes, where there’s a restaurant called Moulin de Mougins (moulindemougins.com/uk/index.php), which I first visited when I graduated from the Culinary Institute 35 years ago.
I ALSO LOVE FRENCH HOTELS: My favorite is the Hôtel du Palais in Biarritz — originally built by Napoleon III in the 1850s and directly fronts the Atlantic.
STILL ON MY TRAVEL WISH LIST IS ISRAEL: I haven’t been since my bar mitzvah — so when 40 years have passed, it begins to feel like the first time all over again. I’ll return to Israel in March and I look forward to time in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Naturally, I can’t wait to try Israel’s blend of Jewish and Arab street food.
I’M A BIG FAN OF STREET FOOD IN GENERAL: My favorite street-food cities are Istanbul for doner kebab or Delhi for crispy aloo tikki. Back home, Los Angeles, Portland, Ore., and New York have amazing street-food scenes — full of great colors, smells and incredible diversity. In LA, I’m mad for the Peking Duck Truck or Dog Haus, and I love the chicken and waffles at Portland’s Cartlandia.
AS FOR LUGGAGE: When traveling for business, I prefer my time-tested, fail-safe Travelpro Platinum Magna Spinner Suiter (travelpro.com). It always gets the job done. If I can snag a seat on my friend’s Gulfstream G650, then I’ll opt for more glamorous baggage — usually something by Goyard (goyard.com).