Fake Fruit released their excellent second album, Mucho Mistrust, this year (listen below) and spent a lot of time on the road promoting it. Eating on tour can be tough but singer/guitarist Hannah D’Amato makes an effort to not just hit the roadside chains. She made us a list of her Top 10 Meals on Tour for 2024 and says of it: “They call me Ham for a reason you know! Everything revolves around food for me; this goes double on tour as the quality of a meal can change the tone of the day altogether for better or for worse.”
Hannah’s list includes off-the-beaten-path spots, a few restaurants in venues, and one cautionary tale about bringing an Instant Pot on tour.
Check out Ham’s list below and if you’re in a band you might wanna bookmark this page for your next tour.
Fake Fruit – Top 10 Tour Meals of 2024
On this particular show day we were low on time and I was desperate to find a Caribbean spot within walking distance so we wouldn’t have to re-enter the absolute battle that is parking in Toronto. Like a north star shimmering, there was Fahmee on google maps 10 minutes away, we ordered jerk chicken (so incredibly tender and perfect), rice and peas, curried chickpeas, and a coleslaw laced with some real heat, plus a few patties to go, and devoured it in front of a bus stop. I told everyone I was 100% going to return the following day to eat there again, and everyone else passionately agreed. We shared an airbnb with Spllit that night, re-heated the patties and whatever leftovers we had, and returned as a group of eigh the following day. The folks at Fahmee were so sweet to us too, they sent us with a box of patties on the house after hearing about the long drive we had ahead of us. I cannot wait to go back!!
2. Gaja Korean Bar, Atlanta, GA
We definitely realized we are conditioned to Bay Area prices and portions when we went to Gaja. This meal was magical because each dish was $10-$15 so we ordered a bunch thinking each plate would allot one bite per person but mamma mia the portions were huge and we ate like kings!! Bless this place, loved everything we ordered.
3. Ggiata Delicatessen, Los Angeles, CA
This place slaps! I got a salad that was basically antipasti in a bowl, lettuce, roasted peppers, chickpeas, radicchio, salami, chickpeas, succulent cherry tomatoes and pecorino romano!! We also shared an order of the arancini with vodka sauce, very decadent. All in all a spenny tour meal but SO worth it.
4. Homemade Pav Bhaji @ Aarvi’s house Dallas, TX
Nothing beats a homemade meal on tour, when it happens it makes you remember you’re not a wild animal who subsists on salt and vinegar chips and gas station coffee alone. We stayed with our friend Aarvi who knocked the Pav Bahji out of the park, and sent us off with homemade cookies too. What a gem.
5. Comet Ping Pong, Washington DC
Love this place, and we loved everyone who worked there. We didn’t eat the pizza when it was fresh because we had just been out to a revolving sushi bar with our label head before load-in *ooh la la*. But, even what? 5 hours later after the show, cold as can be, it was some of the best pizza I’ve ever had!
When I lived in Vancouver I went to this spot weekly because it was walkable and one of the only things I could afford in the neighborhood I was living in at the time with the family I nannied for. The jalapenos, the sauces, just perfect! Nothing makes me feel more animal than watching meat get carved off of a trompa. We all got wraps and walked down to the beach with them. A 10/10 yet very messy dining experience.
People are hysterically sensitive about BBQ. We posted that we ate at Stubbs and got all kinds of comments and private DMs saying it wasn’t THEE best. We’ve eaten at other BBQ places in Austin, and we will continue to eat at different ones when we come back, Stubbs was a 4 min walk from the venue and “the Itis” we got from eating it pre-set was worth it.
8. Japanese Curry I made in the hotel room Salem, VA
I brought a cook box (armed with olive oil, fish sauce, special spice blends shoutout Woon Kitchen and Oaktown spice shop) with us on this tour because i’m a grown woman and I cannot eat fast food everytime we’re in a food desert. I used my instant pot to make japanese curry with eggplant, carrots, bell peppers, potatoes, carrots, chicken etc. The hotel room was smelling fragrant with ginger as I released the pressure on the pot, and then the uh… smoke alarm went off, and the uh..*cough* entire building’s fire alarm went off too. Everyone had to evacuate the building, and although we can’t be positive that it was us, a google search I did while we waited for the fire truck to arrive kind of gave us our answer. Anyway, the curry was delicious and I will not be using the instant pressure release function in hotels anymore.
9. Lucy’s Vietnamese, Brooklyn NY
When I lived in Brooklyn I worked at their first location and lived directly next door. I got the job because I was in there eating (my favorite dish) brisket pho and the owner Johnny said “whoever eats this pepper gets a free meal” naturally I volunteered. A jalapeno on the Scoville scale (determines how spicy a pepper is) lands between 2,500-8,000 and the thai chili I ate that night lands between 50,000-100,000. I immediately ran outside, felt like I was on drugs and was shoving snow in my mouth for about 40 mins to try and tame the heat. Anyway the broth is so comforting!!
10. QuikTrip, 19 states and territories
When we found QT our lives changed. If you’re in a place in your life like us where you find yourself eating hot dogs from gas stations; better make it a QT dog. They have all of the fixins you could imagine and a bunch of demented ones too! Highlights for me include, sport peppers, celery salt, raw onions, kraut, and tomatoes. They also have nitro cold brew on draft which really makes me feel in control of my life again no matter how dirty I happen to be.
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Check out more Best of 2024 lists.