There aren’t many celebrities who have had their eating habits examined like Frank Sinatra. Born to a family of Sicilian immigrants in Hoboken, New Jersey, as the legendary crooner became a cultural icon, he also became famous for his love of great Italian food and cocktails. Sinatra was a restaurant regular at famous old-school red sauce joints across the country, from Patsy’s in New York to Matteo’s in the swanky Westside of Los Angeles. But the performer’s tastes were more wide-ranging than just Italian food. He particularly loved basic scrambled egg sandwiches on bread fried in Italian olive oil for breakfast, and when it came to filling up before a performance, his dressing room was always stocked with three cans of Campbell’s Chicken and Rice soup.
Musicians are often famous for the very specific list of demands they have about dressing room food, and Sinatra’s demands were wide-ranging but also geared towards helping him perform. The warm, comforting Campbell’s soup was a way to help soothe his throat before singing. This is also the same reason he would request Life Savers and cherry- and honey-flavored Luden’s cough drops. When it came to the soup, Sinatra was heating it up himself, as his technical rider also mandated a hot plate, crock pot, ladle, and four porcelain soup bowls with silverware (via Forbes). Why did he need four different bowls? Perhaps for the same reason he asked for 12 whole boxes of cough drops?
Sinatra would down cans of Campbell’s Chicken and Rice soup before a show
While the various cans of Campbell’s soup were a practical food, it wasn’t the end of Sinatra’s pre-show meal requests. There was also a bowl of fruit, cheese and crackers, chips and pretzels, and three different types of sandwiches: ham & cheese, turkey, and chicken salad (no mayo). The only thing on the small side was his dessert, which was limited to some mini Tootsie Rolls.
You can better understand why Sinatra made such big requests when you see the drink menu. It began with water (Evian specifically), Perrier, and 24 sodas, specifically Coke with 75% diet and 25% regular (via Tampa Bay Times). Bottles of both red and white wine were also included. Then, of course, there was a bar stocked with Sinatra’s favorite whiskey, Jack Daniels, Absolut vodka, Jack Daniels Beefeater Gin, Chivas Regal, and Courvoisier, along with mixers like club soda and ginger ale.
While Sinatra didn’t take too many visitors in his dressing room, he was always ready to entertain; the bar itself was always filled with 12 wine glasses and 12 rocks glasses. That was the thing with Sinatra. While the man clearly loved to eat and drink, he also showed (through things like his devotion to the same family restaurants) that it was about the people who you enjoyed your meal with, too.
