Travel Tips From Comedians: Marc Maron
Like most stand-up comedians, Marc Maron has to travel a lot to do his job. But to do what he’s become best known for, his podcast, “WTF With Marc Maron,” his guests mostly come to him (to his garage, specifically, in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles).
Highlights from his many conversations with famous people — such as former President Barack Obama and just about every living comedian of note — make up his new book, “Waiting for the Punch: Words to Live From the WTF Podcast,” which he put together with Brendan McDonald, his producer. The excerpts are organized by topic: childhood, relationships, sexuality, identity, parenting and so forth.
One topic not covered in detail is travel, something Maron has plenty of opinions on thanks to his many years on the road. One way he gets the most out of the cities he visits, he said, is to home in on regional gastronomical creations.
”A lot of times I will use the road as an excuse to eat decadent things, if, and only if, they are indigenous,” Maron said. “I’m not going to eat barbecue in Portland. But, if I go to Austin, I’m going to drive out to Spicewood and go to Opie’s, every time, and just go for it.”
The following are edited excerpts from a recent interview with Maron.
Seeking out local delicacies is (usually) worth the journey.
There’s a corned beef place in Cleveland — why would you even know that unless somebody took you there? It’s called Slyman’s. I’ll go and do morning radio to promote the show, and the guy’s like: “Let’s go to Slyman’s for corned beef,” and I’m like “What?” You go, and it’s all they sell, so you get it for breakfast; corned beef and eggs, I think I had, which is good. Sometimes you learn these weird little things about places, in places.
I was in Georgia, and there’s something called Brunswick stew. It’s like a tomato based stew, it has lima beans and butter beans, okra, vegetables, one or more types of meat. I was sort of hung up on finding Brunswick stew, and I found this little weird lunch counter, and it was just OK. But, sometimes the journey is worth it.
How to make a flight less horrible.
As I get older, it’s like anything else you’re afraid of, once you’ve committed and you’re on the plane, you’re just going to have to suck it up.
I do a lot of thinking on planes. But it’s good if there’s a good movie. The good thing about being on a plane is you can just watch the part you want to watch. You got options, so you can try movies and fail.
Making hotel room coffee less horrible.
Immediately ask them to send up more coffee packets. Never use the amount of water you’re supposed to — use less. Don’t be afraid to double up on those coffee packets to get powerful coffee.
You don’t know what your hotel room has been through.
If you know you’re going to sit on the desk chair naked, always put a towel down on the desk chair. You don’t know what that chair’s been through. You don’t know what’s been done on that chair, and you might be doing it. Be courteous to the next guy.
How to avoid checked baggage fees.
I have a large black Filson duffel bag. I can get a lot of stuff on the plane without checking it, because I figured out a way to walk up to the woman at the gate and sort of turn a certain way so you don’t really see the size of my duffel bag. I’ve carried on like two weeks’ worth of stuff, and I’m not a light packer. To me, that’s the most important thing: Do not check at all costs, if you can avoid it.
You can go home again (maybe for not too long, though).
I spent a lot of years in New York City, but I didn’t spend a lot of years doing the things, necessarily, that New York has to offer in any real way. I was very focused on my work.
I get energized when I go there. But I don’t feel the need to spend more than a week there. I can only eat at Mogador and Veselka so many times, but I do enjoy it a lot when I go.