MY LIFE IN FOOD: John Oates on the Greenwich Village restaurant that inspired his ’80s hit “Maneater”

I was born in New York, and when I was very young, I lived with my Italian grandmother. Being the first grandson of an Italian family, I occupied a high position. When she cooked, no one was allowed in the kitchen except me, and she always gave me the first meatball.

It’s something that has stayed with me forever. She also prepared lasagna, spreading the pasta flat on a sheet. I always remember the smell of that flour in his room.

My mother wasn’t really a cook – everyone was attracted to my grandmother. She later moved into my aunt’s house in New Jersey. The whole family gathered for the end of year celebrations in the basement.

We never ate turkey for Thanksgiving, it was always Italian: lasagna or a big ziti (penne-style pasta) in the oven. My uncle served his homemade wine in little milk glasses.

When I was four, we moved to Pennsylvania for my father’s job (designing electronic servers for aircraft guidance systems).

We were New Yorkers transplanted to this sort of rural Pennsylvania Dutch community. There were a lot of German dishes: soft pretzel with mustard, scrapple (leftover pork, offal and spices in the form of meatloaf), souse (pig’s head terrine) and Philly cheesesteak sandwich, the haute cuisine of Philadelphia!

But it didn’t please. For me, Italian is the only food you can eat your whole life without ever repeating a dish.

While touring, I enjoyed seeking out local delicacies.

Hall & Oates visited Japan in the late 1970s and were one of the first Western bands to be popular there. There weren’t many Westerners. You have this unique opportunity when you’re on tour because you’re traveling to these places, whether it’s a small town in Nebraska and having an incredible steak or down south eating barbecue or incredible Creole cuisine at New Orleans.

New York has been the source of some of my best meals ever.

Living there in the 70s and 80s was fantastic. We were going to Little Italy and there was a restaurant called Joe’s. It was full of real characters – colorful mob guys. There was a great restaurant called Marylou’s in Greenwich Village – run by a friend, sort of an ’80s hangout. I got the inspiration to write “Maneater” while I was sitting in that restaurant.

I love living in Nashville, where I currently live.

It’s an incredible city. Back in the ’90s, when I first went there with my wife Aimee, a flower designer, she said, “My God, we have nothing to eat.” There was “meat and three” (a dish of fried chicken or meatloaf with collard greens, mac and cheese, or green beans). Today, the city is growing at breakneck speed, leading to a demand for better quality food.

I’m not a fan of Indian food.

I’m a wimp when it comes to hot spices or hot peppers. I don’t like cilantro either. I love ice cream, but I can’t eat it anymore, for many reasons, including the effects it has on my voice. It’s truly sad.

My wife likes healthy foods so we have lots of gluten free things in the fridge, as well as various cheeses, some salamis and lots of fruit. Cherries are in season, they come from Washington, so I replace the sweets I was eating with fruit. I love chocolate but I try to avoid it. Look, man, I’m 70 years old. I have to do my best!

My last dinner would be lasagna or baked ziti.

And Italian sausages. If I were going crazy, I’d probably have a pork chop with applesauce. And for dessert, I would absolutely go with split banana nuts and an ice cream sundae!

MeetingJohn Oates’ new album is now available