Things have never been hotter for Eli and Max Sussman. After years of working as professional restaurant chefs around New York City, the Brooklyn-based brothers recently released their fourth cookbook called Classic Recipes for Modern People—a collection of traditional recipes with contemporary twists—and are turning their Mediterranean pop-up concept in Crown Heights into a permanent spot on the Lower East Side opening soon.
Even with all that going on, summer to the Sussmans means firing up the grill with friends, recreating Middle Eastern recipes from their childhood in Detroit, and (always!) putting together the best music for the occasion. Music plays a starring role in almost everything Eli and Max do—from prepping in the kitchen to planning a party, nothing beats great tunes to inspire creativity and set the stage for a good time. Check out how the dynamic duo is rockin’ their summer and plans to carry that laid-back mindset into fall.
Having a party in the summer is pretty easy as long as you do some in advance planning. Start off with tons of beer on ice and nicely ask your friends to bring more when they arrive, so you're constantly restocking the cold drinks. It's essential to have an awesome playlist with speakers fully charged, or plugged in, so you never run out of music or juice. Lastly, you need to offer up some sort of food. Even if it’s chips, give your guests something to snack on while they drink—and hopefully end up dancing their faces off!
We like grilling. There’s nothing quite like standing next to a grill, drinking beers. And it's a great spot to hang out during the party because you have an excuse not to move—people can mingle and come to you. Fish or chicken tacos with guacamole and a layered bean dip is always a big hit, and marinated chicken wings or pulled pork with Martin’s potato rolls and some slaw/cold salads is also a perfect way to feed a lot of people. (You can find a ton of crowd-pleasers—like Arroz con Pollo Arancini, Popcorn Shrimp with Leek Chili Butter, and Chicken Liver Mousse with Blackberries and Toast—in Eli and Max’s latest cookbook.)
Mix it up based on the flow of the party, and also what type of crowd and vibe you want to have going. We play a lot of ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s music. ELO, Parliament, William Onyeabor, Billy Joel (check out Google Play Music Piano Man Radio), Elton John, Bob Seger, Huey Lewis and the News, Bruce, Phil Collins, Thin Lizzy, Talking Heads, The Smiths, Whitney, Pointer Sisters, Salt-N-Pepa, and Prince are some of our go-tos when we make mixes.
We definitely play specific music based on different times when we are cooking. If we start prepping at 9am, we are going to keep it pretty relaxed and most likely listen to Motown—something like Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers (chill out with Google Play Music Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers Radio). During the middle of the day, we're probably be blasting some ‘80s like Outfield, Bon Jovi, Madonna, Lionel Richie style stuff that you can sing along to and help move the time (rock out to Google Play Music Pop-Rock Hits of the '80s Radio). Then closer to dinner service, we switch it up to something really upbeat, but also still nostalgic, like Nelly or DMX. Maybe toss in some Destiny's Child.
We spend so much time cooking and in the kitchen that we probably listen to 50-60 hours of music a week. We usually fall back on the older stuff that everyone likes to jam out to—it helps the hours fly by when you're just head down prepping for hours on end. We don't listen to that much new music. Songs from 2009 and onward don't usually make it into the kitchen…unless it’s Rick Ross/T.I., which occasionally we listen to.
We thought it made perfect sense to release the mixtape because we spent so much time listening to music, and many cooks like a very specific type of music that they want to share with everyone in the kitchen. We wanted to share that experience with our cookbook readers—here are some awesome recipes and also a cool mixtape of songs we really like and think you would have fun listening to while you cook.
We love to listen to ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s music when traveling. Fleetwood Mac, Talking Heads, and the Smiths are go-to travel bands. Lots of amazing albums you can play over and over. You can’t go wrong with Google Play Music Go Your Own Way Radio.
As summer turns into fall, you may migrate from the roof to the living room depending on your climate, so it's all about figuring out what the night is looking like. Is it a classy dinner party with some Nina Simone and Aretha on in the background? Is it an all-out dance party with Chromeo and Robin blasting? You gotta know the audience. It's the same way with the food. Cook the food for the type of night you want to have!
We are working on developing and expanding Samesa, our newly opened Mediterranean restaurant. We opened our first location as a pop-up in Crown Heights at Berg'n Beer Hall and are currently looking at other potential locations around the city to open a second permanent location. It will focus on the Middle Eastern food we grew up eating, and, of course, have fun music to match.
Ready to rock your next party? Listen to free, ad-supported radio in Google Play Music here and share your favorite stations using #### #googleplaymusic
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