Ask a New Yorker: You are Uberchic today. For the whole month, actually!
Lou: I should consider myself a fashionable lady, thank you very much.
Ask a New Yorker: Where are you headed?
Lou: I am heading to Purume, a restaurant. It’s not all vegetarian, but mostly.
Ask a New Yorker: Do you use nutritional yeast in your cooking?
Lou: I actually don’t.
Ask a New Yorker: You should, it’s great with Tofu. You cut the tofu into bite size squares and coat them with the nutritional yeast and pan fry with a little oil. Sprinkle with soy sauce, delicious. I love your yellow boots!
Lou: I actually got them in Jersey at a Wal-mart.
Ask a New Yorker: What are you listening to?
Lou: Acida from Spain. They’re kind of a little techno, a mixture of different sounds.
Ask a New Yorker: What do you do?
Lou: I teach yoga.
Ask a New Yorker: Hatha yoga?
Lou: Iyengar yoga. All yoga is hatha yoga but Iyengar is alignment based.
Ask a New Yorker: What’s up with the hot yoga trend?
Lou: Bikram yoga. Yes, those are valiant people. It’s intense I’ve done it a few times, controversial Mr. Bikram.
Ask a New Yorker: Do you have any pets?
Lou: I have a cat. His name is Miso Soup Yamaha.
Ask a New Yorker: What else should we know about you?
Lou: I love the city after the rain and while it rains, it’s beautiful. Everything is wet and sparkling and clean. It’s very nice.
Ask a New Yorker: I agree. When was the last time you crossed the Brooklyn Bridge?
Lou: That was probably about three months ago. I use to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge when I worked down town. I walked across it maybe four or five times a week.
Ask a New Yorker: Have you been to Eataly yet?
Lou: Little Italy?
Ask a New Yorker: No, Eataly, the huge Italian market on 23rd?
Lou: Oh no, I’m thinking Italy in Europe or little Italy, no. Yes, I have heard of it by the Flat Iron building. Absolutely, I’ve walk by, it’s been catching my eye lately. I’m thinking about going in sometime soon.
Ask a New Yorker: Where do you teach Yoga?
Lou: I teach yoga in a few studios. I teach at a studio in Chelsea called Yoga Union Center for back care scoliosis. It’s for people who have either have scoliosis or any back situations going on which is a lot of us. And I teach yoga in Bushwick at Green Fitness studio. It is a green environmentally friendly gym. I also teach yoga in Forrest Hills at a place called Zen and Yoga.
Ask a New Yorker: You get around.
Lou: Yep, I’m everywhere. I’m always moving.
Ask a New Yorker: What will you order at Purume?
Lou: I’m going to get the vegetarian feast, which is a macro-biotic and it’s very good. It’s very basic but it’s very nurturing and yummy. It’s perfect for a rainy day.
Ask a New Yorker: U turn. What makes you sad?
Lou: Not the rainy days. People’s indifference towards each other I think, it’s kind of tough to swallow, especially when you live in a big city. People are sitting right next to each other subway or they pass each other by, like they’re not even there. It’s very interesting. We all live in our own little bubble. We’re bumping like little bumping cars but we don’t actually interact.
Ask New Yorker: No tunnel vision for you when strolling down the street.
Lou: No definitely not, especially not with yoga. Eyes leveled, because the spine is long and the eyes are leveled. So you make eye contact and find out things.
Ask a New Yorker: You have a boo boo on your middle finger.
Lou: Yes, I had a wart removed so it’s healing. It’s been with me for a while. It was a big decision. So we’re going through our parting times.
Ask a New Yorker: Did you have a name for your wart?
Lou: Charlie. His name was Charlie. Yes, absolutely. Hey, he’s been part of my body. He lived with me. He went everywhere with me.
Ask a New Yorker: How about if Charlie grows back?
Lou: Some warts come back. Some warts have decided, ”hey, this is where I’m living”, and they keep coming back. So if he comes back, he will stay.
Ask a New Yorker: Did they burn Charlie off?
Lou: They froze Charlie.
Ask a New Yorker: Last question, tell us something else that sets you apart.
Lou: I like to swallow gum. I swallow a few pieces a day. I’ve been doing it since I was probably ten or eleven (Laughter).
Ask a New Yorker: My wife does that too! Why do you do that?
Lou: I love the feeling of gum coming down my throat. It’s not like food that you’ve already chewed up and broken down in your mouth. It’s like this hard little thing. It’s a gummy little thing down my throat. It’s fun.
Ask a New Yorker: You’re terrific. You’re fun and very, very Uberchic! Thank you Lou.
