To Dine For with Kate Sullivan

KATE SULLIVAN: It is the golden rule of New York City dining.

If you want to know where to eat, ask a local, and today, I'm definitely dining with a local.

SARAH JESSICA PARKER: I love the food.

I love the owners.

KATE: A woman who is synonymous with New York City.

SARAH JESSICA: Any association with me and the city is a point of enormous pride, and I love it.

KATE: Today, Sarah Jessica Parker is taking me to her favorite restaurant in all of New York.

We're eating what she loves and finding out why she loves it.

SARAH JESSICA: It's so good.

KATE: Then, we're diving into her incredible career spanning five decades.

SARAH JESSICA: A lot of our lives, are leaps of faith.

KATE: Plus, what is she working on now and how her lifelong love affair with books has turned into her latest passion projects.

SARAH JESSICA: I can't quite describe the feeling.

KATE: Yes.

SARAH JESSICA: It's amazing and overwhelming.

It's daunting.

KATE: What's better in life than a bottle of wine, great food, and an amazing conversation?

My name is Kate Sullivan, and I am the host of To Dine For .

I'm a journalist, a foodie, a traveler with an appetite for the stories of people who are hungry for more: dreamers, visionaries, artists: those who hustle hard in the direction they love.

I travel with them to their favorite restaurant to hear how they did it.

This show is a toast to them and their American Dream.

To Dine For with Kate Sullivan is made possible by... (Music and chatter) MAN: During the weekends, we do like a grill.

(Clatter of chess board) MAN #2: You know you have bragging rights in the hood.

I'm like, "My guy won the game."

(Clatter of chess piece and men yelling and cheering) FEMALE ANNOUNCER: At American National, we honor the "do"-ers and the dreamers: The people who gets things done and keep the world moving.

Our local agents are honored to serve your community, because it's their community, too.

American National.

KATE: Hello, everyone.

Today, I'm in New York City on my way into Madame Vo, a Vietnamese restaurant located in the middle of Greenwich Village.

The person who chose this as their favorite restaurant is an iconic American actress, an entrepreneur, and a visionary.

I can't wait for you to meet Sarah Jessica Parker.

Hi, Sarah Jessica.

How are you?

SARAH JESSICA: Hi, I'm very well.

Thank you.

How are you doing?

KATE: I am so excited to try Madame Vo.

Thank you for bringing me here.

SARAH JESSICA: Oh, you're in for a treat.

It's incredible.

KATE: One of the best parts about dining in New York City, the options are endless.

So when you stumble upon a neighborhood spot that is truly crave-worthy, you become a regular, and that is exactly how Sarah Jessica Parker became a repeat customer at Madame Vo, a soul-satisfying, modern Vietnamese restaurant in the heart of the East Village.

JIMMY LY: Yeah.

YEN VO: We get so many fun people, people who've traveled, people who like moved from different countries or like even here in the United States, students, like everyone.

It's so fun.

JIMMY: Yeah, all age groups.

YEN: Yeah.

JIMMY: A lot of regulars come in and they know what they're getting.

They don't even have to look at our menu.

That's like so important and so awesome.

KATE: Husband-wife duo Jimmy Ly and Yen Vo created Madam Vo in 2017 using generations of family recipes.

Their idea, to elevate Vietnamese cuisine by combining big flavors, fresh herbs and spices, and a lot of sauces and garnishes.

JIMMY: I want people to be wowed by the food.

Or if you never had Vietnamese food and you tried it, it's so comforting, it's so good, and uh, maybe take you to Vietnam you know, if you haven't been.

Uh and if you've been, then maybe like it reminds you and it resonates with you.

KATE: It didn't take long for their bold flavors to win over New Yorkers.

From Madame Vo's noodle soups to their rolls and wings, the menu is Vietnamese comfort food at its best.

JIMMY: I mean, it's very rewarding, but it's a lot of work.

You know?

But at the end of the day, like we really, really want to share our food and share our culture.

KATE: Sarah Jessica is one of those Madame Vo regulars who doesn't need a menu to order.

In fact, she ordered up a dish that isn't even on the menu during the winter months.

It's the bo bia, an autumn roll with jicama, garlic, Chinese sausage, and eggs.

Also on today's list, a crowd favorite, the Madame Wings.

They're double fried with garlic, fish sauce, and chili and served up extra crispy.

JIMMY: I know this is one of your favorites, the Madame Wings.

[Kate laughs] KATE: And then we're digging into the banh xeo, a savory Vietnamese crepe that got its name from the noise it makes when it hits the pan.

I am so excited.

This is the perfect meal to share with a multi-talented star.

First of all, all thank you for bringing me to Madame Vo.

SARAH JESSICA PARKER: [Laughs] Are you kidding me?

Any any opportunity to bring anyone to Madame Vo, so I'm getting as much out of this as you are.

KATE: You are a New Yorker through and through.

You could have taken me really anywhere.

So I'm wondering why did you choose Madame Vo as your favorite restaurant?

SARAH JESSICA: Well, for a lot of reasons.

First, just simply put, I just, I love the food.

I love the owners.

I read about Madame Vo probably just in the weeks that it had first opened, and I was really intrigued because I love Vietnamese food, and this had such a sparkling review.

There are Vietnamese restaurants in New York City.

It's not like we're underpopulated, but this sort of had a sort of time taken to it that was very different than other Vietnamese food that I'd eaten.

It was quiet, it wasn't rushed, and there were things on the menu I'd never seen before in a Vietnamese restaurant, and they were so excited to present them to every single customer.

KATE: Take me back to your childhood in Ohio.

You came from a big family.

How would you describe your childhood, and were there any unwritten rules of your household?

SARAH JESSICA: There were rules.

[Laughs] They might not have been written, but you felt their presence.

I am one of eight children.

In Ohio, we had six.

In New York, we had two more.

Colorful, chaotic, active, interesting, exhausting, um, unpredictable, rich.

KATE: Rich?

SARAH JESSICA: But not rich.

KATE: Yes.

SARAH JESSICA: You know, not rich... KATE: Full, vibrant.

SARAH JESSICA: Financially, but um a very rich life culturally and experiences.

[Gasps] JIMMY: How's it going?

SARAH JESSICA: Oh my god.

I know what these are.

JIMMY: So this is our bo bia.

It's our autumn rolls with jicama, garlic, peanuts, eggs, Chinese sausage with a hint of basil and hoisin sauce.

Enjoy.

SARAH JESSICA: And if you don't mind, Jimmy, will you share why these are not on the menu all year round because they're not, right?

JIMMY: They're not.

They're called autumn rolls for a reason, but we had to make it happen in the winter time.

But... [All laugh] KATE: For Sarah Jessica?

JIMMY: Yeah, but it's a seasonal thing.

It's not always on the menu.

SARAH JESSICA: I think these are one of the most special items, don't you think, on the menu?

JIMMY: It is.

It's my mom's favorite thing, making, weekly growing up.

SARAH JESSICA: It's not like a spring roll.

Prepare yourself for something really special.

JIMMY: And it has so much flavor in it and a little bit of spice, too.

KATE: Oh, wow.

It's the freshness of the basil.

Is that fresh basil?

SARAH JESSICA: It's so good.

KATE: Mm-hmm.

You used so many different um adjectives just to describe your childhood.

SARAH JESSICA: Yeah.

KATE: Noisy I think was one of them, right?

SARAH JESSICA: Yes, for sure.

KATE: I guess with a lot of siblings.

SARAH JESSICA: Yes.

KATE: But it was also a fertile ground for you to explore the arts.

How was that possible with so many kids?

SARAH JESSICA: My mom was smart about always being aware of the ways in which she could expose us to the arts in an affordable, economic way.

So we could afford to go to the ballet, the symphony, the theater.

There were scholarships available.

I had a scholarship for ballet.

KATE: And she must've seen something in you that you had an interest yourself in the arts?

SARAH JESSICA: Well, I think at the beginning she didn't care if we had an interest or not.

It's like maybe introducing your child to vegetables or reading.

KATE: It was important to her?

SARAH JESSICA: It was important to her, and it was a way in which like she developed our palette for things.

KATE: Sarah Jessica's early exposure to the arts led to early acting success.

At age nine, she landed her first small screen role in "The Little Match Girl," a locally produced NBC Christmas movie.

Sarah Jessica's talent was obvious from the start, and her family packed up their VW van and relocated to New York.

Their goal: to maximize acting opportunities.

Just two years later, Broadway came calling.

She debuted as Flora in "The Innocents" at age 11 before getting her big break to play the title role in "Annie" two years later.

What was it like really being on stage at such a young age?

How has that shaped how you see the world?

SARAH JESSICA: I think it was pretty easy.

I think um I think that's the sort of land mine that child actor to adult actor has to sort of find their way safely through because you know like so many things that young people do.

If you are an athlete, you know, and you start by playing T-ball and you just do it because you enjoy it, um and then, at a certain point, you show promise and maybe you're recruited, and all of a sudden, the stakes are much higher.

And maybe then, you're responsible for paying your own bills, and people have opinions about you, and it penetrates in a way that wouldn't have when you were 11.

You go on stage when you're 8, 9, 10, 11, and it's fun.

There wasn't that much at stake.

[Gasps] Oh, I know what this is.

KATE: Wow.

JIMMY: So this is our our... SARAH JESSICA This is gorgeous.

KATE: This is marvelous.

JIMMY: Our banh xeo, our savory turmeric crepe with pork belly and shrimp.

I know this is one of your favorites, the Madame Wings.

[Kate laughs] KATE: You must really love these, too.

To eat these on camera, this is going to be a lot of fun.

SARAH JESSICA: They're so good.

They're really messy.

JIMMY: Please, enjoy.

KATE: Thank you.

SARAH JESSICA: These are beautiful.

Thank you so much.

JIMMY: Of course.

KATE: This is awesome.

Thank you.

SARAH JESSICA: Yeah, it's really good.

KATE: Really good.

You're bringing this together?

SARAH JESSICA: Yeah.

KATE: Oh, wow.

SARAH JESSICA: Don't think there's any wrong or right way, and it's going to be messy, I'm sure, but that's all right.

[Kate chuckles] SARAH JESSICA: Oh my goodness.

Lord have mercy.

KATE: That is delicious.

SARAH JESSICA: Isn't that pretty?

KATE: And bursting with flavor.

New York was exactly where Sarah Jessica needed to be.

She attended the Professional Children's School, a school known for fostering some big names like Macaulay Culkin and Scarlett Johansson.

SARAH JESSICA: I got out of school, and I was paid.

And when you don't have a lot of money and you are making money for something that seems... joyful, you put two and two together.

You're like, "Wait a minute, people do this?"

KATE: The fact that you were getting paid was important to you?

SARAH JESSICA: Yeah, definitely.

KATE: And was that something that family dynamics taught you, or was that something that was important to you to make money for the family?

SARAH JESSICA: It wasn't important for me to make money for the family, but I knew we didn't have a lot of money, and I thought, "Well, this means we have more," or, "I have more," or, "It's going to be there."

KATE: As a child all the way through as an adult, what part of your ability to spot a great story is is innate to you, and why do you think it's been so important in your career?

SARAH JESSICA: I don't know if I can spot a story better than anybody else.

I think you can have great success with this particular group of people, and then you put the exact same people together again, and it doesn't... crackle.

KATE: Yes.

SARAH JESSICA: A lot of our lives are leaps of faith, you know, romance, and choosing to be a parent or... a job.

KATE: You took a leap of faith with "Sex and the City."

At the beginning, what were your first impressions on that very first episode of "Sex and the City"?

SARAH JESSICA: I mean, I was very thoughtful and deliberate about choosing to do the pilot, but it was for HBO, and I think if we like go back in time and really look at the network at that time, it was pretty much- KATE: Emerging.

SARAH JESSICA: Male-dominated.

KATE: Yes.

SARAH JESSICA: There was, I think, two scripted shows, both about men, and boxing and movies.

And this is pre-Sopranos.

This is- You know we, we were first.

We shot the pilot, and a lot of time passed, and I, forgot about it.

It's the truth.

I forgot about it.

KATE: Did you?

SARAH JESSICA: Like my career or many people I know, they're journeymen.

They go to job, to job, to job, to job, job, and that's great.

KATE: "Sex and the City" debuted on HBO in 1998.

The show followed Carrie Bradshaw, a sex columnist with a love for designer shoes as she navigated life and love in the Big Apple.

The comedy series drew in fans around the globe, and Sarah Jessica's portrayal of Carrie Bradshaw earned her two Emmys, six Golden Globes, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.

When the show ended in 2004, fans weren't ready to let go.

Sarah Jessica kept Carrie Bradshaw's story going through two feature films and an ongoing sequel series called "And Just Like That."

I think the role of Carrie Bradshaw is inextricably tied to the landscape of New York.

SARAH JESSICA: It was only, well into the run that anyone started saying, "Carrie, New York, Carrie, New York," and it's been many, many years of that sort of being baked in.

It didn't happen right away.

Nobody wanted to claim Carrie as a... like a lot of people objected to her.

They still do.

KATE: Why?

What were the objections?

SARAH JESSICA: Well, she wasn't... simple.

She wasn't unchallenging.

She made mistakes- KATE: But I mean, what New York woman is?

SARAH JESSICA: -and she made bad choices.

I think it took a lot of time to sort of separate, her humanness from this affection she had for this city.

Like the ways in which this- she needed this city and this city needed her and the way she committed to the city, the way the city, never let her down, even if it hurt her and broke her heart, it was there and consistent and reliable, and it was the best relationship outside of her friendships.

KATE: Right.

SARAH JESSICA: That idea that we kept coming back to, I think, over time helped this idea or this connection, this association, which I'm very proud of because I love this city, and it's my hometown now.

You know?

KATE: To be such a um, iconic character of New York, when you walk out in the streets, and it's almost like you are just as much as a landmark as, as in character form.

SARAH JESSICA: It's wonderful.

I mean, I love any association with me and the city is a point of enormous pride, and I still believe in its promise, and I still believe that there are dreams to be pursued here, and I know it's, radically different than when I first arrived.

It was...

When I first came in the early '70s, it was affordable.

You know, like dancers came here and lived, and, there is still an idea, which I don't think is delusional, that the city is special.

KATE: What do you think people get wrong about you?

SARAH JESSICA: Oh, probably more than I'm aware of, but um, Carrie Bradshaw, Sarah Jessica Parker, it's its uh it confu- it's gotten muddy.

KATE: You are not Carrie Bradshaw.

SARAH JESSICA: And I'm not Carrie Bradshaw, and I love beautiful clothing and shoes, but it's not- it doesn't play as fevered a role in my life.

I mean, think of all the worst things, the far worse things they could think of me.

KATE: Right.

SARAH JESSICA: It's really, it's not a burden, but sometimes I do have to remind somebody the difference.

KATE: You've been acting for five decades.

SARAH JESSICA: Mm-hmm.

KATE: Was there a moment you wanted to quit?

SARAH JESSICA: I think I think about it a lot because it's really hard, and I think that's the part that's like most frustrating to me about trying to describe what we do.

If you look at "Sex in the City" and, you don't really examine it, it looks like a bunch of women running around the streets of New York in a really pretty dress, but it's a far more complicated affair.

KATE: For sure.

SARAH JESSICA: And I take it really seriously, and I executive produce the show, and it's incredibly long hours.

And I care about every single scene, and I work really, really hard, and days are 16, 18 hours.

It's incredibly common, and I love the job, but after a while, it does occur to me, how much time I'm not with my family.

And you can only arrive at these things when you've been doing it a really long time and you're in a privileged place to choose to work or not, which is not the case for most people.

KATE: Yeah how do you spend each day on earth am I doing it exactly the way I want to do it?

SARAH JESSICA: So I don't think about like quitting.

I think about more so, "How many more days can I be walking down the hall of my house with a script in my hand trying to memorize 11 pages for the next day?

Like how many more hours does that get?"

KATE: Sarah Jessica isn't just busy on camera.

She spent decades building brands and businesses she cares about, two fragrances, a clothing and shoe line, and a wine label, Invivo, to name a few.

Well, you are an entrepreneur.

You have um, Invivo, a wine label that you're very proud of.

SARAH JESSICA: Slainte.

KATE: Slainte.

Thank you for that.

You know of all the things you do, it must be nice to do something that you said is a departure from re- memorizing the lines and getting into character.

What has it been like being an entrepreneur as well?

SARAH JESSICA: I'm always better if I know more.

KATE: Mm.

SARAH JESSICA: And there are lots of people that approach business differently and lots of people who are much more successful than I am who don't do that.

They see a product.

They understand putting their name on it has value, and then they walk away and let everyone else make decisions, and they're enormously wealthy because of it.

[Kate laughs] I have a different approach.

KATE: Sarah Jessica didn't just put her name and face to the wine label Invivo.

She was very much a part of the creation of the wine, helping with the blending and the choosing of grapes and flavors.

Of all the things that you do, you know from executive producing um, to you have your own, obviously, wine, um your own book imprint um, what part of all that you do feels most Sarah Jessica?

SARAH JESSICA: Publishing authors who are yet known to a reading audience who I think are magical, special, important, new American voices or voices from elsewhere that I think discerning and excited and greedy readers are going to be transported by, moved by, find unforgettable, want to follow this writer for the rest of their career.

Introducing that relationship is thrilling because I know what books mean to me.

KATE: Yes.

SARAH JESSICA: I know the role that books play in my life.

I know when someone offers me a title as a reader and I'm swept away and don't want to be doing anything else or be anywhere else except in the pages of this book.

Readers know what it's like to be like... "What's my next book?

What's my next book?

I don't even need to buy books, but I'm buying books."

Like, you know?

KATE: You've been asked to be the judge for the Booker Prize.

What was that like to get that recognition?

SARAH JESSICA: I was very honored.

I mean, the Booker is...

It's everything to me.

And um you know outside the Pulitzer and the Nobel really in literature and there are all sorts of other incredibly um, important prestigious awards, but for in my head, there was something about the Booker, and I've followed the Booker forever, so I was thrilled, honored to be asked.

It's a big deal to do it.

It's like I can't even describe it.

KATE: How many books do you have to read?

SARAH JESSICA: We'll probably read about 200 books- KATE: Right?

In a short amount of time.

SARAH JESSICA: In six to seven months.

KATE: That's unbelievable.

SARAH JESSICA: It's- I can't quite describe the feeling.

KATE: Yes.

SARAH JESSICA: It's amazing and overwhelming.

SARAH JESSICA: It's daunting... KATE: Yes.

SARAH JESSICA: To make decisions about a book, and you keep in mind the amount of time a book took a writer to produce.

It could be 10 years.

It could be 20 years.

It could be four years in absolute solitude.

It's mostly all in solitude, and you are making decisions about, its journey on the path to winning, it's incredible.

KATE: Sarah Jessica isn't just an avid reader.

Her connection to books turned into a passion project, a documentary feature recently released at the Sundance Film Festival.

What about The Librarians?

You're a producer on that.

Tell me about that experience and why was it important to you to be a part of that?

SARAH JESSICA: I grew up in a library.

I don't know about you, but anytime I'm in a room, I would be willing to bet that 50 percent of us, were library kids, and I don't know anybody that bought books.

Like that's different now.

My daughters, they they own books.

KATE: Same here.

SARAH JESSICA: We owned library books.

KATE: Right.

We had library books in rotation all the time.

SARAH JESSICA: Yes, exactly, and I just loved libraries.

I loved libraries from the time I was little.

There's a myriad of things that a library offers, and "The Librarians," is about a group of librarians across our country as we speak, who are, in many ways, singularly resisting book bans and in many cases at the cost of their jobs, their livelihood, and their standing in a community.

But the idea that hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of books, which have proven to be important, significant, life-changing, life-saving will not be available to our students in our public schools, and now, as we speak, in our public libraries outside of our schools, that books will not be made available.

And equally of concern, that a librarian, who is trying to do right and be a steward of that library and serve her community, who asks questions why.

The fact that they are in danger, that their lives are being threatened, that they're losing their positions, they're losing their jobs, they're losing their homes, you know they're losing their livelihood, I think that's really worrisome.

It's not just worrisome.

It's devastating in some communities and devastating to some of our librarians.

And I think we can have really hard conversations about what those books are, and we can disagree, and we can find ways of finding solutions to the things that people are objecting to without destroying lives.

KATE: Um, what's next for you?

What have you not done that you'd like to do?

SARAH JESSICA: I don't know.

I mean, I think we're sort of trying to figure that out right now.

You know, what do we want to do, and how do we want to do it, and who do we want to do that with, and what's, what's needed in people's life and world?

Like the last thing you want to be doing is making more junk for people.

Like, like none of us need anything else in our homes really, do we?

KATE: Right.

SARAH JESSICA: But that doesn't mean that there's not joy to be discovered and found and purchased that feels like you want to carve out a spot for it.

So we're just trying to sort out what that might be.

KATE: I love that.

I think we're all in an, an evolution and all trying to figure out what's next, and I feel like that's where you sit squarely as well.

SARAH JESSICA: Yeah.

I mean- KATE: What is next?

We don't know.

SARAH JESSICA: You know, we have to get the show on the air.

We have to do our next blending, have to read about 170 more books, so- [Laughs] KATE: You have a lot to do.

SARAH JESSICA: Right now, I feel pretty committed.

KATE: This has been delightful.

SARAH JESSICA: Thank you so much.

KATE: Thank you so much.

Cheers to you.

SARAH JESSICA: Thank you for asking such smart questions and being such a good dinner companion- KATE: It's been so fun.

SARAH JESSICA: lunch companion- KATE: Lunch companion.

SARAH JESSICA Breakfast companion, all of them.

KATE: Thank you.

SARAH JESSICA: Dining companion.

Thank you very, very much, Kate.

KATE: What a meal with Sarah Jessica Parker, a woman whose name and face is synonymous with New York and the New York story, whose career has spanned five decades and who continues to reinvent herself in so many ways as an entrepreneur, a philanthropist, and friend of the arts.

Sarah Jessica, at this point, can do anything.

And what does she do?

She chose to champion books and the librarians who are standing up to book bans.

What better legacy than to champion the freedom to tell stories and the courage of ordinary people to stand up for that freedom.

KATE: If you would like to know more about the guests, the restaurants, and the inspiring stories of success, please visit ToDineForTV.com or follow us on Facebook and Instagram @ToDineForTV.

We also have a podcast.

To Dine For , The Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

To Dine For with Kate Sullivan is made possible by... (Music and chatter) MAN: During the weekends, we do like a grill.

(Clatter of chess board) MAN #2: You know you have bragging rights in the hood.

I'm like, "My guy won the game."

(Clatter of chess piece and men yelling and cheering) FEMALE ANNOUNCER: At American National, we honor the "do"-ers and the dreamers: The people who gets things done and keep the world moving.

Our local agents are honored to serve your community, because it's their community, too.

American National.