Reality Bites is a feature series focused on the relationships people have with food, what kinds of cooking they’re inspired and sustained by, and the ingredients and tools that help them along the way.
Chef, cookbook author, and mother Mina Stone made a name for herself as an artist and art lover's chef — first by cooking gallery dinners for Urs Fischer and others in the New York art scene (and writing a cookbook, Cooking For Artists, on it), and then by opening up Mina's, a casual, all-day cafe at MoMA PS1. Her food is approachable and unfussy, just the kind of simple Mediterranean fare that one wants to nibble on as morning turns to day then night. Here, she speaks about growing up eating her yiayia's cooking, her love of coffee, and how her Greek heritage informs and inspires her cooking today.
What's your morning routine?
My morning routine involves thinking about coffee from the moment I go to bed the night before. In the morning, I prepare it with lots of milk. Then I make my son breakfast and pack his lunch — which is my favorite part of the day.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you got into food. How is food, for you, related to community, culture, and ancestry?
I've been interested in food from a young age — I loved being around my yiayia and watching her cook, and I also went to Spain when I was 15, which really opened my eyes to how different and delicious food could be. I think the interest lies in a few things. One is the creative aspect; it is almost like a language that I understand and speak easily. I love cooking, mixing different flavors only to start all over again. I like to try and tap into the mind of someone I am cooking for and create something they would like to eat. I find that to be also very interesting.
I always tap into my Greek heritage for nutrition, community, culture, and ancestry. It is the easiest and most natural place for me to go. What feels best to me is to eat a Mediterranean diet. I never feel as healthy as I do when I am in Greece eating traditional Greek food. I have to attribute this to the food, and partly MAYBE it is in my DNA?! Who knows.
what did you eat growing up?
I ate my mom's and yiayia's food growing up. It was mostly very traditional Greek food. My dad also loved making me scrambled eggs with hot dogs. Some of it I loved, some of it I hated, and at times wished for a more "American" lunch like my friends.
How would you describe your diet and relationship to eating?
I gravitate to a Mediterranean diet, but it takes on a different, more local shape when I'm in NYC. In NYC, my diet is more vegetable, grain, bean, and meat-heavy than when I'm in Greece. I get most of my food from Essex Farm CSA. Fish can confuse me in NYC — specifically, its environmental impact — and I usually only eat it when I can get it from a farmer's market.
I would like to say that although this is how I eat, I stray from it often and get inspired by many different things. My current relationship to food is one of intrigue. It is a relationship I continually get to know better. I associate with having little dogma attached to food — only appreciation for the different ways it finds us and how special it all can be. I like learning about food and what cooking represents to people — anywhere from pain to joy, heritage, identity, and connection, to so much more.
what does a typical day of eating look like for you?
My breakfast is coffee with milk (I don't usually do well with eating early morning).
Lunch is my breakfast: a bowl of Salty and Sweet Olive Oil and Maple Granola I make all the time (the recipe is in my book, Lemon, Love & Olive Oil), yogurt, and blueberries.
Dinner is always a full spread with family and friends.
I am not a snacker because it ends up being a full meal when I snack. So I tend to avoid it! IF I do snack, it is always Goya or Chifles plantain chips. I love love love plantain chips!
where do you shop for your ingredients and what’s your strategy?
I go almost every day… embarrassing but true. I get the bulk of my food in a delivery from the Essex Farm CSA every week, and then I like to supplement by going around to my local grocery stores with my son Apollo. I tell him to remember our grocery list (which he does), and we have a pretty good time.
Who do you typically eat with?
We have big raucous dinners almost every night. At some point, my husband Alex and I get exhausted and take a break for a day or two, but our natural mode is a big dinner every night.
dream dinner guest?
Are there times you feel uninspired to cook, and if so, how do you inspire yourself?
Yes, many times. The only thing that ever works is to take a breath and rest.
What do you eat that makes you feel your best?
Tiny fish and Greek-style greens! (Simmered, drained, salt, lemon, and olive oil).
what do you drink or eat when you're bloated?
Plain Adirondack seltzer, which is very, very bubbly, through and through!
are there any ingredients you avoid?
Not that I know of… I don't love vegetable/canola oils, I guess.
What’s always in your fridge and pantry?
I always like to have good quality milk in my fridge because it is how I like to drink my coffee, and in case you missed it; I LOVE coffee. I love buying from Devoción which we also carry at the restaurant. I usually have lemons, butter, apples, olives, and feta too. My pantry always has extra virgin olive oil, cinnamon, oregano, and various nuts.
favorite cookware and servingware?
A lemon squeezer and a very sharp knife from Wüsthoff as tools. And ceramics from Artshack BK.
essential cookbooks?
The Aleppo Cookbook by Marlene Matar. Others I like include Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi, Vegetarian India by Madhur Jaffrey, Istanbul and Beyond by Robyn Eckhardt, Washoku by Elizabeth Andoh, Modern Jewish Cooking by Leah Koenig, A House with a Date Palm Will Never Starve by Ella Shohat, The Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen, Vefa’s Kitchen by Vefa Alexiadou, The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters, Delights from the Garden of Eden by Nawal Nasrallah, and The Taste of Country Cooking by Edna Lewis.
Chefs or individuals that inspire you?
Lisa Gross, the founder of League of Kitchens.
favorite restaurants and spots for take-out?
I love Apt. 2 Bread in Clinton Hill, Titan Foods and Stamatis restaurant in Astoria, Mixtape Coffee in Bed-Stuy, and Roman's in Fort Greene!
Your go-to recipe?
Sweet and salty olive oil and maple granola. I make it with Apollo every few days. We eat it almost every day and divide it between my neighbors too.
My other one is Revithia Sto Fourno (oven-baked chickpeas) from Lemon, Love & Olive Oil. Hands-off and a delicious crowd pleaser!
header image by cassandra macleod
additional images provided by mina stone
interview by marina sulmona