The Hungry Crowd: Tony Azevedo

Olympic water-polo competitor Tony Azevedo talks about goat carnitas and his cooking passions.
Twitter: @Waterpolotony Athlete/eater Tony Azevedo. Photo © Mitchell Haaseth / NBC Olympics.

I absolutely love Mexico City, where my wife is from. One of my favorite places to eat there is called Restaurante Arroyo. It’s a really big place; you go in and they are frying the chicharrónes right in front of you. Their goat carnitas with fresh tortillas are to die for.

My favorite show is Top Chef; I download episodes on my iPad when I’m competing overseas so I can see what dishes Gail Simmons and Tom Colicchio like. Then I go to the website to find the recipes.

My pasta carbonara. I like to throw pepperoncini in it—I do everything spicy. When we invite Italian friends over, they cringe at that, but I’m American, so I feel like I can always do something a little different.

Sea urchin, or uni, is my go-to. And, of course, Sapporo beer.

My biggest nightmare would be mole sauce. Whenever I go to Mexico City, I see my wife’s mom and grandma slave for hours over this sauce, putting in millions of spices, tasting a little bit and saying, “This isn’t good.” I’ve never made it myself. I won’t even attempt it.

Red wine. Lately I’ve been exploring California Cabernet Sauvignons and Zinfandels. I fell in love with wine when I lived in Italy, and Barolo is my favorite. As a wedding gift, my wife and I received a bottle of 1982 Giuseppe e Figlio Mascarello Barolo Monprivato for her birth year, plus a 1981 Château Margaux, from the year I was born. We store them in a friend’s cellar. If I win a gold this year, we’ll be drinking one of those for sure!

View the original article here