Andy Samberg Reveals the Easy Cocktail He’s Been Making For His Mom Since High School [Exclusive]

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Andy Samberg has no issue getting into character. And he’s not afraid to get weird. The Golden Globe- and Emmy-award-winning actor wrote some of his funniest and most ridiculous roles on Saturday Night Live with his two best friends and fellow members of the comedy trio The Lonely Island, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer. Today, their most passionate fans (shoutout Quaid Army) can catch them recounting each digital short alongside Seth Meyers on The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers podcast.

For his new Super Bowl ad with Hellmann’s Mayonnaise, Samberg plays an unkempt Meal Diamond. Singing “Sweet Sandwich Time,” a “weird Al version” of “Sweet Caroline,” he prances around a diner squirting mayonnaise on people’s sandwiches. The song is kinda catchy, the jokes are super silly, and it’s all very Andy Samberg.

Credit: Hellmann’s

“We shot at Canter’s Deli in LA, which is a place I used to go all the time, because I used to live a few blocks from there with my friend, Akiva, before we got SNL in the early aughts,” Samberg says. “It was really cool to go back there and sort of be doing it professionally, and realizing that everything had come full circle for me in a nice way.”

As we know all too well at The Kitchn, the Super Bowl isn’t anything without game-day food. I mean that’s the only reason I go to watch parties. (Sorry, not sorry.) Naturally, we were curious what Andy Samberg likes to eat, what his signature dish is, what foods he can’t resist at the grocery store, and the nostalgic snack he ate backstage while on set. Here’s what he had to say.

What is your favorite game-day food?

Oh man, I mean, I should start with sandwiches since we’re on Hellmann’s clock. I do love sandwiches, and that’s realness. Game day, I often end up in front of some wings. I love a lot of places for Buffalo wings in LA. There’s a place called Ye Rustic Inn and a place called Hot Wings Cafe that I’ve been getting wings from for, let’s see, 20-plus years now. Ooh that doesn’t feel good saying out loud.

Are you strictly a Buffalo guy? Or honey barbecue? What’s the sauce situation?

Kinda all of them. I do really like classic Buffalo with some heat on it. But I like the lemon pepper and other stuff too. I’ll do a straight-up barbecue. There’s really no bad version of it for me.

What would you say is your favorite sandwich?

It’s a tough one, it’s a tough one. I like many sandwiches quite a bit, and I’m not even gonna dive into the ‘is a hamburger a sandwich’ conversation. I love a cheesesteak. I love a classic bodega deli sandwich. I used to get those constantly in New York when I lived there, like a cracked pepper turkey with Swiss, spicy mustard, on a hero. But does a bagel with lox and cream cheese count as a sandwich? I’d put that on the list. [Or] a BLT with that Hellmann’s.

Credit: Hellmann’s

What was your favorite on-set or backstage snack when you were on SNL?

Besides coffee? Just a lot of coffee. At SNL, you’re just trying to not fall asleep. They used to do this thing at Brooklyn Nine Nine. On Fridays, they would get this gigantic apple fritter, like the size of a car wheel. And you [would] slice slices off of it and bring it back to your chair. Then at one point, it was a blueberry fritter and that was also super bomb.

Out of The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers podcast crew, who do you think is the best cook?

Akiva.

What’s something that he’s made?

Whatever Akiva cooks is really good. He’s a very detail-oriented person, and he enjoys the process. He’s also really good at making cocktails. If you go to his house, he’s like, ‘Oh, should we have Manhattans?’ And I’m like, ‘ooh yeah.’ He’ll make you a perfect Manhattan. But I don’t know what his staples are. I know he makes tacos and does a lot of breakfast for his kids. He’s good on the barbecue. But yeah, I don’t know what Jorma can and can’t do. I don’t think Seth cooks, and my scope is also very limited.

What’s your signature dish? Or is there something that you like to make with your kids or your wife?

I make my daughter fried eggs exactly how she likes them. I cracked that code. And I make my mom martinis. She taught me how to make martinis in high school for her, so I feel like I’m good at that as well.

Gin or vodka?

Vodka. My mom’s favorite martini is Belvedere up with olives and a little bit of dirtiness to it. I like mine a little more clean. I don’t do the dirty martini. I like just straight-up.

What food would you say describes your personality?

Oh, wow. I really don’t know the answer to that question. You know what I’ll say about that question? That’s a question you don’t want to get wrong. It can both expose yourself badly as to how you see yourself or really undervalue yourself in a bad way. Yeah, I’m pretty much like a greasy pork sandwich and a dirty ashtray. I don’t know. I have favorites that I like to eat, but I don’t know how I would equate my … do people have answers for that? For some reason it’s throwing me. I’ve answered thousands of questions over the years, and this is the one that’s stumped me.

Okay, there can be no answer. What’s one thing that’s always on your grocery list?

These days? Coconut water. Hydration, electrolytes. My kids love it, and I also love it. There’s more sugar than you want, but we cut it with water, and don’t tell them. So don’t tell them. Also, we want to make it last longer because it’s super expensive.

Do you have a favorite grocery store?

I mean, I grew up going to Safeway and Lucky’s in Northern Cali. But no, I don’t think I have a favorite.

What was your last grocery store impulse buy?

Where they often get me is the rare-batch jerkies. If you’re at a grocery store, and they’re like, this is locally made jerky, small business, then I’m just like, ugh it looks really good. [Especially] when I’m hungry. It’s such a mistake going hungry to the grocery store. You’re like, I want to get all this. You get home and you’re like, oh no!

Is there a food trend that you find absolutely baffling, like you don’t get the hype?

There’s times when you’d be going to restaurants and there’s truffle oil on everything for no reason. I don’t need truffle oil on my ice cream. It gets out of hand. And not every place does it right. So it can get pretty pungent, and it’s not what I personally like out of that experience. Obviously, it’s a splurge no matter what, but I think a lot of people, or a lot of places try to sort of ‘class up’ a dish by putting truffle oil, but it’s not what it really calls for, and it can be dissonant.

What is your favorite late-night snack?

Ice cream. I like a lot of the ones with cookie dough and brownies in them. Chock-full of stuff. I do go more for the vanilla-based ones, as opposed to the heavy chocolate. I can’t do chocolate on chocolate. I love chocolate, but it needs to be with other stuff.

We heard that there was a lot of burrito talk on the podcast. So can you describe your perfect burrito?

Oh my gosh. Yeah, it’s getting out of hand on that podcast. I’m from the Bay, so my go-to burrito in the Bay is a pollo asado with guacamole added at Gordo’s Taqueria. That was my local growing up. I love that spot. But there’s like 50 places in the Bay that are my favorite burritos.

What’s one thing people would be surprised to know about you?

Gosh, I hope something at this point. When I was a teenager, I was on my district soccer team and tried out for state. I didn’t get it. But I made district. Nothing to sneeze at.

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