Talking Mozzarella Sticks With a Poet

Frankie Baby is still searching for that life-changing stick

Food plays a big part in Desolation (Long Day Press), the part-poetry collection, part memoir, all-confessional by the Brooklyn poet Frankie Baby, but it’s not a celebration of eating. Instead, a theme that runs throughout is one many of us have experienced where we’re taught to fear what we eat. This is bad for you, that will make you sick, eat something and you’ll get fat, etc. The collection shows Frankie Baby working through those experiences, but as the food service industry vet points out to me, “I think it’s really interesting that while the book deals with lack of family/ family issues and food issues, I’ve found family in this industry through food.”

And just by following her long enough on social media, one sort of food I notice she has a particular fondness for is the mozzarella stick. Since I’m also a fan of breaded and deep-fried cheese—because I’m a human—I thought our shared love of mozz sticks was a nice place to talk about food, poetry, and the food 3-year-olds and drunk middle-aged guys at bars can agree on. I sent Frankie Baby a few questions over e-mail.

Your book is titled Desolation. Do you feel the opposite of that when you're in a bar or restaurant?

I'm notorious for walking into a bar close to my apartment or whatever job I have and by the second time I go in … I've made friends with everyone. I definitely go in with the intention of being a desolate sadgirl poet who sits in the corner who writes and doesn’t make friends and is mysterious and quiet and empty. But I have this huge personality and even when I'm not trying it comes out. I was at Do or Dive once and I really didn’t want to talk to anyone and was minding my business reading a book, but the bartender started making jokes that were going over everyone’s head except mine. I laughed and laughed and I was like you know what, you’re funny.

About an hour after I left I got this text. He never said how he knew that I liked them. Recently someone said it’s pretty obvious??? I don't remember the name of the restaurant he was referring to. This was maybe two years ago. They did have caviar, which is now trying to become a thing. I am not for caviar mozz sticks for the record.

This is being billed as "Talking Mozzarella sticks with a poet" but I know you've also worked in the service industry at a few places readers would be familiar with. What was your first job in the service industry? 

My first job in the industry was so horrible. The owner was a psycho. I'm pretty sure he was embroiled in lawsuits because of his behavior so let’s just pretend my second job in the industry was my first. 

I was a reservationist for a Major Food Group! This was so early on. Sadelle's wasn't open yet—that early. The Grill wasn’t even a thought yet. It was my first experience really seeing what guest relations meant in the restaurant world. I was like Oh, I wanna do this forever. 

Without getting too into "your process," does hanging out in a bar or restaurant inspire your work at all?

Omg yes. I'm working on my second book now that I've nicknamed DIVE BAR BATHROOM. It chronicles the last two years of my life navigating monumental losses deep in the throes of grief while opening Laser Wolf. I was spending a large amount of time running from my feelings, submerging myself in work and in dive bars. My life takes place in restaurants, like right now I'm on the management team at Frog Club, and when I'm not there I'm eating at another restaurant, or at a bar. All my friends are in the industry so it heavily influences and inspires my writing. 

So let's talk about the really truly important thing: mozzarella sticks. First, what makes a good mozz stick?

Temp | crunch | cheese (in that order, I’d say)

If it’s piping hot then the crunch is there. if it’s room temp the crunch is lost and the cheese starts to solidify. fresh mozz?! Is that even possible? I wanna meet the person who can pull off a fresh mozz mozz stick. Too wet. I could be wrong and people can pull this off but I have never seen it. I hope this conversation brings me one step closer to someone who will make me a life-changing stick. 

I notice you're at Bernie's from time to time. How would you rate their mozz stick? 

Jason, I laughed out loud at this. Time to time is an understatement. I have probably been to Bernie’s more times than any other restaurant. 10/10. Hands down my fave stick. Perfect crunch. Perfect temp. Bernie’s to me is just perfect in general. 

Here I am at my beloved Bernie’s, wearing Bernie’s merch, and taking a picture of my little sticks. This is whatever the opposite of DESOLATION is.

How important is the side of sauce? Does it always have to be marinara? I've noticed some people have started. doing stuff like...nacho sauce or ketchup. Both seem off to me. More cheese as a dipping sauce is nuts and ketchup feels lazy and gross. 

I'm a purist. I don't even do sauce. So for me, it isn’t important at all. I saw someone squeeze a lemon on them like they were baked clams, or calamari but that I know I wouldn't like. If I did do a sauce it would be marinara. and it has to be hot. Don’t ever give me cold sauce. Ranch??? THAT MUCH DAIRY .. in this economy?? insane. 

Do you have a top three mozzarella sticks you could share with us

I'm sure we all see this answer coming. It's … Bernie’s! Lol. They will always be number one. They really are that good but also what makes a mozz stick even better .. is the people who you share it with. They’re comforting. Bernie's is def one of those places for me. Best times with the best people over a basket of sticks.

Second: Ray’s LES. They are so crunchy. so hot. so perfect. I'm 99 percent sure they use panko or at the very least a panko blend? (disclaimer : I have no idea and that 99 percent positivity I have is mozz stick ego.) They’re unseasoned crumbs, but the cheese is perfectly salted. My birthday was in January and I really woke up and said to myself … I'm gonna eat my favorite things. I went all over but made sure that it ended with RAY’s LES for sticks. Rays BK doesn’t have them.. so don’t go looking for them there. Which is probably a good thing because having to pick which side of the park to land on for a stick is my Sophie's Choice.

Third …. hmmmm. My friend Conner has a secret recipe… and they are def number one in my book but because you can’t get them in a restaurant they’re last by default. He’s a private chef so you could technically get them if you hired him for like a mozz stick dinner party.

CAN I ADD A MOZZ STICK I’M MOST EXCITED ABOUT ??

Of course. The more the merrier.

Danger Danger in Bushwick is building out a food concept and my friend Dan is the chef behind it. he casually said to me the other day.. there’s gonna be A MOZZARELLA CUTLET??? you’d eat it with a fork and knife. but it’s a square so actually it’s the mozz square I’m most excited about. 

Somewhere, somehow mozzarella sticks became part of my personality. My friends have an old-school screen printing machine and they were like oh why don't you make something try it out. I am not an artist.. which makes this even funnier. But I drew mozz sticks in and then made big prints and I gave them to my closest friends. Truly so ridiculous. 

Desolation by Frankie Baby is available now at Long Day Press.

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