Food & Family: An Interview with Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka

While you might know Neil Patrick Harris from one of his many roles on comedic television and musical theater, or David Burtka from his show "Celebrity Dish", their newest professional venture is a joint one—promoting the new Capital One Savor card. The Savor card is the first card to offer 4% cash back on dining and entertainment purchases with unlimited rewards. Burtka and Harris firmly believe that food and entertainment bring people, especially families, closer together, which is why they decided to partner with Capital One and start swiping the Savor card themselves.

I sat down with the couple to talk about the most important aspect of this card—the food adventures it encourages. We touched on food, family, and building relationships through cooking.

Spoon: How would you describe your relationship with food?

NPH: I am a creature of habit, so before I met David I would pretty much wear the same clothes, watch the same shows, and eat the same meals over and over. So when my heart expanded after meeting my future husband, my palate expanded as well. He is definitely the foodie, and he is the one who's very adventurous with the eats, which I am a much better person for.

DB: Growing up, our family really put a lot of emphasis on food. Going out to eat was for special occasions—not many times because we didn't have a lot of liquid income growing up, but when we did, going out was a really special time.

NPH: David is 100% Polish, so they as a family would celebrate with food.

DB: We would cook like crazy! There would be a different family party every weekend, we would go to someone's house and everyone would bring a dish to pass around, there would be three different proteins and eight different side dishes and seven different desserts. Food was what we based all of our memories around. When I met Neil I was already into the food world [in New York], so I remember taking him out for his first real fancy meal at Gramercy Tavern. He sat down for these tasting courses where they just bring you food and it was so new to him.

NPH: Yeah, who knew bone marrow was a thing?

DB: I know! I remember we both got the barbecue pork belly. I had never had pork belly at that point, so we both were like oh my gosh, should we try this? That was a new thing for us! We were in our late 20s, babies at that point.

Spoon: What are your favorite cheap eats restaurants?

NPH: We are super lucky to live in New York, because there's pizza places all over that all use the same water and the same six or seven ingredients. I think New York pizza slices are as good as some towns in Italy, so that's a cheap eat. I'm also a big sushi fan, and I think you can get good lunch specials and sushi combinations of different fish that challenge the chef without spending $150 to do so, and that gives you a single bite of deliciousness! That said we go to Gato, Bobby Flay's place, and you can sit down there and have a nice bowl of pasta and a couple side dishes and feel like you've been a part of the Food Network. 

DB: The good thing about Gato is that they're all small little plates, so you can try a bunch of little stuff and not break the bank at all, not get an entrée that costs $42. My go-tos when I was living here [in New York] when I was young was this place in the East Village called Dojo, and when I was in my 20s, $7 for a giant plate of brown rice, a salad with carrot ginger dressing, and a fried tofu patty. It was so good and so filling! And you know what's also really great? For like 10 bucks you can go to Totto Ramen if you don't mind standing in line for 40 minutes. You get a giant bowl of ramen and they give you some of the best broth—it's unbelievable! Sometimes Neil and I go there when we're still hungry after a show because then there's no line, especially in the winter, it's a nice way to warm up.

Another way to eat cheap: I've got this book coming out called "Life is a Party", and it's really geared towards the millennials and the modern potluck. It's sort of showing that you don't have to cook alone, you can do things together and entertain together. You can go to the grocery store and source from different restaurants—see who has the best chocolate chip cookie and just bring those. And of course you can use Capital One to do that!

NPH: Nice integration! I agree. When you're only required to provide one dish you can focus on it, and if a bunch of people are gathering and doing the same, you can enjoy a giant feast without spending much money.

DB: My favorite times in college were when I tended be the guy at my dorm room or at my apartment that would cook for all of my friends. And those were some of my best times making big pots of chili or spaghetti sauce. I had a George Foreman grill and I would make 20 grilled chicken breasts and have people over and that was a nice way to share memories with all my friends. We have that common bond of needing to eat, so why not do it together?

Spoon: Do you have a favorite potluck dish that you make now?

DB: Yes, it's in my book! It's a Mediterranean chicken, it's so easy and really portable. You just take jars of olives, capers, dried prunes, dried apricots, chicken, oregano, red wine vinegar, and you just marinate it all overnight in a Ziploc bag, and then the next day put it in a pan, cover it with brown sugar and sprinkle with white wine. It's to die for, people go crazy over it. It's both sweet and sour, it's got a really nice moistness from all of those juices. And then you serve it with rice pilaf and it's a huge hit with a crowd.

NPH: I was going to say chips and guacamole, but his answer is better.

Spoon: Do you have any favorite celebratory places in NYC?

DB: For a celebration, sometimes we go to Eleven Madison Park for a really special occasion. Or just about 20-30 minutes out of the city, we go to Blue Hill Stone Barns. At the farm, it's so stunning. You can go there actually just during the day and eat at their café, without having to spend hundreds of dollars on a meal. They've got great yogurt and fresh eggs and lots of produce that they sell there, but also lots of bread and sandwiches. You can actually go tour the farm there and see everything that they're doing, and all the animals. You can feed the chickens and there is just so much to see. We all owe it ourselves and to our country to eat locally and support our farmers. Now I'm trying to think of what other celebrations we have...

NPH: My birthday this year was a big immersive adventure that David threw for me. It took the whole day and ended at the Nomad Hotel's restaurant. The Nomad is a great place to celebrate because they have an amazing mixology menu with a very mid-20s sexy vibe. It feels like you're living it up in NYC and I had a great time there.

DB: Also, the Polo Bar is a really nice celebration place.

NPH: I love that for the college kids you've recommended Eleven Madison Park, Stone Barns, and Polo Bar.

DB: Well that's how we celebrate!

As Harris and Burtka continue to celebrate their success in NYC's hottest food destinations, I'll continue referring back to this interview for life aspirational points. And who knows—maybe someday I'll be celebrating at Polo Bar with my very own Savor card.