Interview: Claire Lower, Senior Food Editor @ Lifehacker & Host of the"You Like That?" Podcast on Good Food, Old Porn, and Portland vs. NYC

Food and porn -- we Americans consume lots of both. These days you can easily get food delivered to your house or dialup billions of porn videos on your computer. But just because food and porn are so easily accessible doesn't mean that writing and commenting about them intelligently is easy. It's a real skill requiring lots of hard (pun intended) work.

Someone who does that hard work and writes and comments quite smartly on both food and porn is Claire Lower -- the Senior Food Editor at Lifehacker.com and co-host of the "You Like That?" podcast about the Golden Age of Porn. In both her food writing and on her podcast, Claire makes observations and provides insights that are funny, smart, sweet, and -- like food and porn -- simply irresistible.

Claire was kind enough of answers some of Mr NYC's questions about her writing and podcast. A resident of Portland, OR she also answers some of my questions about how her city -- like mine -- has changed over the years, and how both seem to be at risk of becoming less sexy and fun. 

Tell us a little bit about your background and your work as a food editor. What’s the best part about being a food editor? Do you get to eat all the time?

I’ve been writing about food for almost a decade, and a full-time staffer at Lifehacker for 6 years, where I’m currently the senior food editor. I do get to eat all the time, but it’s not always what I want to eat in that moment. It’s nice when I get to develop an egg recipe in the morning, but this morning I ended up wrapping a pickle spear in fried cheese. Still good, just a little weird at 10 a.m.

I do love my job though. I’m able to talk about food in what I hope is a very accessible and fun way, and help people eat better.

What inspired you to create the “You Like That Podcast?”

I actually made a slideshow of Golden Age films for Lifehacker, and then I realized I actually had a lot to say, and a lot of love for these movies. I just think they’re so interesting from a historical perspective, and I’ve always been a slut for the 70s.

What’s your favorite thing about doing the podcast and the most challenging?

I really love finding interesting historical tidbits and anecdotes to share with Catie [her co-host] and our listeners, and I really like watching porn with a more critical eye. It can be challenging to watch THAT much porn, however. I watched Taboo five times to prepare for our most recent episode, because I wanted to listen to all of the commentaries.

What’s your favorite era for “Golden Age” adult films – the 1970s, 1980s, or another?

Late 70s and early 80s are great, but I really like the early Golden Age, right after loops kinda started to fade out and make way for capital-F films.

What makes a “good” adult film?

Jamie Gillis. Just kidding. I think a good adult film doesn’t have to be super serious, but I like a bit of plot, well shot sex scenes, and sets and locations. Give me something to look at! I don’t care is the story is goofy, I want to believe these two people have a reason for having sex with each other. Doesn’t even have to be a good reason.

Has there really ever been an adult movie where the story or the performances were compelling beyond the sex?

Oh, absolutely. Immediately, Mascara by Henri Pachard comes to mind. The sex in it is really interesting and inclusive, but the story about the relationship between the two women is so well told and acted. Both Lisa De Leeuw and Lee Carrol give these incredibly nuanced performances that are heartbreaking in moments, but they’re also very funny. It’s also got a great score, and a consistent mood.

Who are some of your favorite adult films and performers, past or present, and why?

Oh my gosh, so many. Jamie Gillis, R. Bola, Lisa DeLeew, Kay Parker, Herschel Savage (who I’m actually pretty good friends with), Richard Pacheco, Seka, Veronica Hart, Christy Canyon, Ginger Lynn, Andrea True (who also put out some great disco and rock records), Mike Horner. I’m sure I’m forgetting someone and going to kick myself later. A lot of my favorites were either actors who started doing porn for easy money, particularly Gillis, Bola, and Savage. I do think Gillis was the ultimate male porn star. A true pervert and artist. I always feel like Gillis is subtly mocking the audience, which I like. But it’s also not that deep. Some people are just fun to watch fuck.

Who would be your dream guest on the podcast?

We’ve actually got a lot of my dream guests lined up to be on here. We already released our Christy Canyon episode, we got to interview Lisa Cintrice about Mascara, and we’re currently editing our Howie Gordon/Richard Pacheco interview. Herschel Savage and Veronica Hart will probably be on at some point. I guess a dream guest would be Gillis, because that is obviously impossible and could only take place in a dream.

Are you a fan of the movie Boogie Nights?

I am, haha. I love PTA, and I love the 70s, and I love that pool party scene with that Three Dog Night song, even though Herschel told me that’s all a fairytale. They didn’t really all hang out in cliques and throw pool parties.

I do like the limo scene, which is based on Gillis’ On the Prowl Series. Tom Byron has told a great story about how Jamie wasn’t thrilled with it; he thought they took this beautiful thing he made and made it sad and tawdry, whereas On the Prowl is tawdry, but still kind of light and fun. But I think you have to be a real pervert to see the difference in the two.

What would you say is the biggest difference between “Golden Age” porn and today’s Internet stuff?

Lisa Cintrice said something in her interview that really stuck with me. She said “it’s all loops again.” And she’s right. There’s barely any plot, no real production value, and I just think digital looks so much worse than film. I know there is good porn being made, and I’m glad that women seem to have more control over their money, but the porn film is very hard to find.

Moving on: how long have you lived and Portland and what do you love about the city?

I’ve been here eight or nine years. I actually really like the weather. I like my house. I like that there are record stores everywhere and a good food and beverage scene. I also hunt and fish so it’s nice to have all that stuff nearby.

Are you a fan of the show “Portlandia” and was that an accurate or out-of-date parody of the city?

It’s barely a parody. I liked it before I moved here, but it’s hard to watch if you’ve lived here a while. You can still find “death to Fred and Carrie” graffiti in dive bar bathrooms. How has the city changed in the time you’ve lived there? Yeah, it’s just more sterile. More condos and little shops with Notorious RBG mugs.

I’m a New Yorker and it feels like NYC has become a less sexy, less wild, city than it used to be, thanks to gentrification. Portland strikes me as another sexy, wild city that has undergone a lot of change. Is it still wild and sexy or is it getting more boring?

We still have more strip clubs per capita than any other city, and several sex clubs of varying repute. They did shut down Hawthorne Theater though, and that was like the last seedy porn theater. I never got to go and I regret it.

Do you have a favorite adult film set in NYC – or Portland? Mascara is my favorite movie set in NYC. It’s so moody and pretty. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a porn set in Portland. (I never go to Hump or anything like that.)

Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?

I really think it’s important to watch these old fuck films. We forget that porn was illegal and dangerous to make, and I really do consider those early actors and directors to be free speech heroes. They really are stars to me.

Thanks Claire! You can follow her on Twitter at @Clairelizzie.