Musician Andrew McMahon takes us on a tour of his favorite New York spots
We’d usually be hesitant to spend an afternoon in Times Square, but when Andrew McMahon of Jack’s Mannequin and Something Corporate invited us along to celebrate the upcoming release of his latest Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness record—Zombies on Broadway, out February 10—we had to go to the place that inspired it all. Zombies = slow-moving tourists in Times Square, of course.
We start the afternoon at Sapporo, an unassuming spot that’s cash only and no frills with a giant laminated menu of ramen and other Japanese food. “I know Times Square isn’t necessarily considered the hotbed of culinary magic, but this is the place where I ate vegan miso ramen almost every day while recording,” McMahon says. Later, he adds that you could “probably get your week’s worth of salt” in one bowl, so there is a chance he is made up of about 99 percent salt after his few months writing and recording in New York last year.
But more important, where did he like to drink? Not Times Square. “My go-to was a place called Hotel Delmano, which makes a really nice old-fashioned. Or I’d visit my friend Bobby [the guitarist from Jack’s Mannequin] at Olympia Wine Bar in DUMBO, or Hops Hill.” The morning after, he’d wander across the street to Devotion Coffee or hit Sweatshop for the undeniable pull of avocado toast.
After slurping some of the best ramen, we head around the corner to Gregg Wattenberg’s studio, who produced most of Zombies on Broadway. McMahon plays a private, keyboard-only renditi