Grub Street

As the go-to party spinner for the likes of Jay-Z, Diddy, and Russell Simmons, DJ Cassidy, who recently cut tracks with J-Lo and Jessica Simpson, has seen some lavish food spreads in his 25 years. For instance, the time he was flown to Naomi Campbell’s birthday bash in Dubai. “It was in the middle of the Arabian dessert,” he remembers. “It was a never-ending buffet with the most amazing stations — every kind of meat being carved for you, every dessert you could think of, every kind of seafood at the raw bar. I don’t like to work with a heavy stomach, but I couldn’t resist. I stuffed my face.” We asked him what he caved into this week.

Wednesday, August 1
I had Cookie Crisp for breakfast. I tend to like things that I liked when I was a kid. Even my cereal is retro: Right now I have Cookie Crisp, Lucky Charms, Smacks, Fruity Pebbles, Apple Jacks. What I’d really like but my supermarket doesn’t have is Count Chocula. I tend to sleep late. When you get up at 1 p.m. or 2 p.m., you tend to feel anxiety because the day is half-done, so you forget to eat.

Later I went to my studio on 38th Street, where I am every hour when I don’t have a gig. I got two slices of plain pizza at the local pizza place. And I had a Welch’s grape juice.

Then I was at the studio all night, skipped dinner, and then went to a couple events and ended up at GoldBar around 2:30 a.m. where they serve amazing food. I had French fries with truffle oil and a grilled cheese cut up into small pieces with prosciutto. I don’t drink — never had a sip — so I asked Rob and Steve, who run the place, could I have one of their creative drinks without liquor. They gave me a sort of ginger and strawberry soda-juice.

Tuesday, July 31
I had a bunch of meetings so I did what I shouldn’t be doing— I woke up and left without eating food. At 4 p.m. I had lunch at Balthazar. I had the chicken club and a pineapple juice.

I ordered dinner from Daisy May’s from my studio. They’re one of the few restaurants that goes anywhere in the city. I order from home often. I had a barbecue brisket sandwich with a side of creamed spinach, sweet potatoes, and creamed corn. At 4 a.m. I ordered from Sarge’s Deli. They also deliver anywhere, anytime. I had a corned beef with Swiss, not melted — I don’t like when they melt the Swiss like a Reuben — mustard, half-sour pickles, cream soda, and a black-and-white cookie. And yes, I still weigh only 127 pounds. I haven’t broken 130 yet. Don’t ask — it’s a miracle.

Monday, July 30
Around 3 p.m. I ordered from the Silver Star: grilled Swiss with bacon on rye, chicken noodle soup, and a fruit salad.

I had a fairly late dinner, around 10 p.m., at the Pink Tea Cup: The barbecue pork chop. For my sides I had string beans, corn, and of course I had to order mac 'n' cheese and yam. I had a lemonade and some sweet-potato pie for dessert. I love the jukebox there — the second I go in there, I put in five singles. They have an option to pay more and make your songs skip to the front. I always do that to piss everyone off. The second I come in, you’ll hear Luther Vandross, Chaka Khan, and Keith Sweat.

Sunday, July 29
I had lunch at Via Quadronno, one of my favorites. They have lots of sandwiches that aren’t the norm — I had the four-cheese sandwich and also a plate of Parmesan and prosciutto, and a peach juice. And a hazelnut gelato.

That night I went to Shun Lee for a father-son dinner. I got crispy shredded beef, garlic sautéed string beans, Shanghai soup dumplings with pork and crabmeat, and a vegetable fried rice and ginger ale.

Saturday, July 28
I had Lucky Charms. For lunch at Via Quadronno, I had an open-face crabmeat sandwich and a peach juice.

I went to Tomoe Sushi. It’s one of my favorite sushi places along with Sushi of Gari and Sushi Seki. I often go to Seki at 2 a.m. and sit at the sushi bar by myself. The highlight at Tomoe was the spicy squid salad, and I had a whole lot of sushi.

Friday, July 27
I went to D.C. to D.J. at a massive new club, Ibiza. On the train I had a turkey-and-Swiss sandwich and a granola bar by Bare Naked. I asked the server for a Bare Naked, and she looked at me like I was insane. She’s like, “Oh, the granola.”

Before my nap at the Mandarin Oriental, I ordered a cheese plate from room service and a strawberry-mango sorbet. I woke up and had a spaghetti and meatballs and a tomato, onion, and blue-cheese salad. When I got home, I had buffalo wings and another strawberry sorbet. I tend to eat a lot when I’m in a hotel, because I like the menu so I just keep ordering.