Courtesy Publishers Group Canada and the CBC

​ Jonathan Ames is the author of nine books, creator of the HBO series Bored to Death, amateur boxer, and a Brooklynite. We caught up with Ames to talk about his adventures with food, and eating in and around his neighborhood.

What's in your refrigerator right now?

Almost nothing. Some cheese in a plastic Tupperware thing and some olives. An old coffee I must have planned to reheat. A jar of jam and a jar of relish given to me as presents. Two old bottles of Perrier. One old kombucha. One old bottle of cod-liver oil.

What do you think are the best eating neighborhoods in Brooklyn?

I'm a bit limited, but for yuppie food, Smith Street and Fifth Avenue in Brooklyn are good. For Russian food, Brighton Beach is good.

What do you eat before a boxing match? After?

Before: A banana. After: Anything one wants. But I'm no expert. I'm a rank amateur who's had two very amateur bouts.

This summer, you tweeted (is that a verb now?) that you got kicked out of Clover Club--what happened?

My friend was coming upstairs from the bathroom and gave me a shy, funny look and then disappeared back down the stairs, so I called out something like, "Hey!" I said it loudly but playfully. It was late at night -- we had just gotten off work, it may have been close to midnight -- and I had just ordered a ton of food from the waitress; there was one other couple in the place and they were just getting ready to leave. After my friend disappeared back down the stairs, I noticed that the bartender was glaring at me. I apologized for being loud and asked if a Prosecco would be delivered to the table for my friend. He said he wouldn't serve me. I was shocked. He thought I was intoxicated, which I wasn't. I had just gotten off work and was very tired, which may have seemed like intoxication.

Anyway, I had just ordered nearly $100 of their most expensive items -- I was wanting to treat my friend to a good time and also planned to give the waitress a nice tip, since the place was so quiet and she probably hadn't earned much. But since the bartender wouldn't serve me a Prosecco, we left.

I then told myself I would never return there, but then a few months later I was starving late at night and went back there because I'm morally weak and it's hard to hold a grudge. Nevertheless, they didn't serve me again because the kitchen had closed, which was like a double-blow -- I felt like a loser for not being able to maintain my boycott of the place AND I was still hungry.

I should mention that when we left the place that first time, the couple, whom ostensibly I could have offended by calling out "Hey!", told me they were fans of my books, which was very nice to hear. I then asked them if they had been annoyed by my calling out "Hey" and they said they hadn't even heard me. I don't know why it bothered the bartender so much, but it did. Anyway, unless I weaken again, due to hunger and having a weak spine, I probably won't go back there. Regardless, it's not a big deal, and I'm sure it's a perfectly fine place.