Bob Dylan's Favorite Comfort Meal Is As Eclectic As The Man Himself

Bob Dylan isn't your typical rock star. His eclectic musical tastes led him to explore everything from country to gospel and helped revolutionize popular music along the way. He's won a Pulitzer, Nobel, Grammy, Oscar, and Golden Globe, demonstrating the breadth of his talent. His culinary tastes seem equally eclectic and abundant. In 1986, he sat down with Interview magazine for a wide-ranging discussion. Among the various things Dylan revealed he loved was a long list of dishes when he was asked what was for dinner.

The list includes several Southern classics, not too dissimilar from his friend and fellow musician Johnny Cash's list of favorite old-school dishes. Dylan's answer included "grilled corn on the cob, black-eyed peas, beet root salad, spinach and pilaf, deep-fried cauliflower, French-fried chicken and gravy, French-fried cabbage, pinto beans and rice, and cocoa angel cake." The famous musician has always been known for being evasive, cryptic even, during interviews so we're left to determine whether this extensive list is merely his favorite dishes or a comfort meal to be consumed in one sitting. The latter choice seems akin to the kind of feast Elvis Presley — whose typical breakfast included biscuits fried in butter, a large serving of scrambled eggs, sausage, and bacon — might have enjoyed.

It seems Bob Dylan, at least back in the 1980s, had a fondness for stick-to-your-ribs dishes, such as fried chicken and gravy, besides his preference for legumes and veggies like cabbage, beets, and spinach. Relatedly, he also tipped his hat to an old-school breakfast treat: johnny cakes slathered in maple syrup. This is a type of pancake made with cornmeal. It's a far cry from David Bowie's bizarre go-to meal in the mid-1970s that consisted of a glass of milk and red and green bell peppers.

Besides Dylan's breakfast and dinner choices, the famed musician dished on some other food-related tidbits during the interview. He relayed his last slice of pizza (at the time), had been five years earlier at the well-known Italian restaurant in Manhattan, Tony's Di Napoli, located near Times Square. It's still in business today and we hope Dylan has indulged in a pie since then.

Dylan also mentioned a food related memory he wished he could forget. It was a spaghetti meal at the airport in Helsinki, Iceland, a country not well known for pasta. Who knew Dylan had so much to say on the food front? As it turns out, quite a bit. Back in 2006, he shared his figgy pudding recipe on a "Theme Time Radio Hour" broadcast. Dylan's talents, it seems, aren't merely in the musical sphere. Perhaps it's that long list of dishes in his favorite comfort meal that's fueled all that creativity.