MY WEEKEND:
From Chuck Berry to David Bowie, there’s hardly been a rock icon in history that hasn’t been seen through the lens of Bob Gruen. The born-and-bred New Yorker will show some of his iconic photos at Art New York at Pier 94 from May 3 to 7 (50 percent of his sales will benefit the Perry J. Cohen Foundation for the advancement of the arts). You can also hear him speak there on May 6 at 4 p.m. Here’s what the 71-year-old Greenwich Village resident tells HARDEEP PHULL about his ideal New York City weekend.
The first thing I like to do on Sunday morning is go over to Russ & Daughters to get brunch for takeout. [My wife Elizabeth Gregory and I] go for things like the creamed herring, tofu scallion cream cheese, matzo ball soup and babka. I do think that my longevity is due to eating fresh, well-prepared food. When I was on the road with bands, if the only food option was McDonald’s, I would drink water and fast!
Now that the weather is getting warmer, it’s the season for outdoor concerts. I used to see folk music in Washington Square Park when I was a kid, but now you get to see name bands, sometimes for free, on the Pier or in Central Park. People recognize me sometimes, but it’s always very respectful. They come up and say they like my pictures or something. I always say that I like people who like me, because we have something in common!
Another thing I like to do in the summer is go to my favorite ice cream spot on Bleecker Street, which is called Cones. They have this Italian dessert called zabaglione, which is made of egg whites and some cognac. It’s wonderfully delicious.
But most of all, I just really like walking around the city. I like seeing people, and I run into friends all the time. You never know who you might see. I remember running into Elvis Costello recently, Jakob Dylan, and one time I even saw Robert Plant on the Bowery. He was coming to see an exhibit of mine at the Morrison Hotel. I walked him through the exhibit and I remember the photo he liked the most was of Chuck Berry kissing his guitar.