More Sour Than Sweet

In the Green Room with Columnist Meghan Daum

Meghan Daum is a Los Angeles Times columnist. Before interviewing author Cheryl Strayed about writing personal history, she talked in the Zócalo green room about her obsessions with anchovies, bagged kale, and web cam videos of puppies.

Q. What’s your favorite pizza topping?

A. Anchovies.

Q. What salad dressing best describes you?

A. Honey mustard. … Although not really-I have no honey in me whatsoever. It would be something with a lot of vinegar in it.

Q. What promise to yourself do you break most often?

A. To use the files in my filing cabinet-to file things away, like receipts.

Q. Are you working on any home improvement projects at the moment?

A. Oh, always! My husband bought a bulletin board for his desk that he hasn’t put up-it’s been a year now. And that is going to make him organized.

Q. What’s your current obsession?

A. The kale in plastic bags at Trader Joe’s.

Q. What fictional character do you identify most with?

A. Lily Bart from The House of Mirth. Or Bridget Jones, sadly. I’m too embarrassed to admit that, but I just did admit it.

Q. Where would we find you at 10:00 on a typical Saturday morning?

A. Possibly walking my dog in Elysian Park. Or swimming at the Rose Bowl.

Q. When did you last break a sweat?

A. Last week, because I was in New York, and everywhere you go you break a sweat for some reason, even if it’s cold. You’re wearing a heavy coat and you get on the subway, and you end up getting sweaty. I’ll probably break a sweat in about 20 minutes.

Q. What can you watch over and over again?

A. Web cams of puppies. I can watch any kind of video of certain kinds of dogs-like Newfoundland dogs or Golden Retriever puppies-over and over again.

*Photo by Aaron Salcido.