Talkin' food with Fernandez

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Vicente Fernandez shares his favorite restaurants, foods and tournament day snacks.

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Q. What food always reminds you of home?

Fernandez

VICENTE FERNANDEZ: Miso carrero, which is noodles, chicken, vegetables, and stew.

Q. Do you have a favorite restaurant?

FERNANDEZ: I have a lot of favorite restaurants. Most of the time in the United States, I eat at Carrabba's Italian Grill.

Q. What do you order?

VICENTE FERNANDEZ: Pizza Margherita to start with and then I'll have various types of pasta or fish.

Q. What's your most memorable meal?

FERNANDEZ: My most memorable meal. It was coming off Q School in 1976. We stopped in Miami where they were playing a mixed-team championship. Chi Chi Rodriguez took us to dinner at Joe's Stone Crab. That's when I found out I was allergic to shellfish. I almost died from that experience. Even today, I cannot eat shellfish.

Q. What's your favorite snack?

FERNANDEZ: That's easy. Mozzerella cheese on a baguette.

Q. What's your "competition day" breakfast?

FERNANDEZ: Fruit, cereals, and then toast with marmalade or peanut butter. Perhaps a latte sometimes.

Q. To maintain your competitive edge, are there any foods you've added or given up?

FERNANDEZ: I given up eating red meat on competition days and also carbonated drinks.

Q. What do we find in your refrigerator at home?

FERNANDEZ: You will find a lot of things that go with snacks, like smoked salmon, ham, all kinds of cheese and a bottle of champagne just in case.

Q. Most unusual thing you have ever eaten?

FERNANDEZ: Iguana tail. In Argentina. It's very tasty and I highly recommend it.

Q. If you could have dinner with anyone in the world, dead or a live, who would it be?

FERNANDEZ: My parents.

Q. Do you have a favorite food tradition every year?

FERNANDEZ: We are famous in Argentina for having the best meat in the world, so I would say barbeque. Argentinian barbeque is different. We cook it very slowly, with very low heat and it's very tasty. For example, T bone steak or sirloin, is cooked for about seven minutes in the United States. In Argentina, we cook it for 15 to 20 minutes.