Hell\u2019s Kitchen<\/em>. He\u2019s a really funny guy.<\/p>\nSnkrs Day: Do you remember rocking any memorable kicks?<\/b><\/p>\n
Robl\u00e9 Ali: Oh yeah, I went off this season. I actually rocked some of those Barkley Foams – the \u201cAll-Star\u201d Galaxy ones. I haven\u2019t seen a real life person with them other than TI.<\/p>\n
Snkrs Day: Do you have a favorite pair of sneakers to wear while you\u2019re in the kitchen?<\/b><\/p>\n
Robl\u00e9 Ali: I don\u2019t wear sneakers in the kitchen at all. Not while I am cooking. The thing is basketball shoes and sneakers are great for grip on the court, but terrible in the kitchen. They have no grip. That\u2019s why most people wear those non-slip shoes. I actually wear Crocs.<\/p>\n
Snkrs Day: You don\u2019t wear sneakers while cooking, but are sneakers what you normally wear on a day-to-day basis?<\/b><\/p>\n
Robl\u00e9 Ali: I always have sneakers on. You will very rarely catch me in any other kind of shoe. I\u2019m always in kicks. I did The Chew the other day, and cooked for Mario Batali. That\u2019s the \u201cgod\u201d right there. You know what I\u2019m saying? I don\u2019t know if there is a chef I respect more than him. I had on the Yeezy 2. He knew what they were [laughs]. I said they were okay, but his kids want them so bad. I was like, \u201cyeah, but you got those orange Crocs [laughs].”<\/p>\n
Snkrs Day: What shoe sparked your passion for sneakers?<\/b><\/p>\n
Robl\u00e9 Ali: I would have to say the Barkleys. The ones the Fab Five had on. Once they came out with them, I had to have them. The Air Force Max. The original colors were crazy.<\/p>\n
Snkrs Day: Have you ever done anything crazy for a pair that you wanted?<\/b><\/p>\n
Robl\u00e9 Ali: You know what? I haven\u2019t, but only because I\u2019ve been lucky. There is normally some kid that wants to sell them, and with sneakers being so available in New York, the prices aren\u2019t high. Also, a friend of mine owns a sneaker shop, so that helps. That\u2019s actually how I got my Yeezys.<\/p>\n
\nSnkrs Day: What influenced your style in terms of sneakers?<\/b><\/p>\n
Robl\u00e9 Ali: My main influence was not having them…my main influence was being broke. Once I started making a little money, I could finally start doing what I wanted to do when I was younger. As a teenager, of course, you want all the kicks, but not in my family. I had a lot of brothers and sisters. You got one pair of kicks, and you better stretch them out for the whole year. I always had a little hustle, though. I would mow some lawns, sell candy in school or whatever. So I always had some joints, but it was a case where I would wear them to school and that\u2019s it. I\u2019m not playing ball in them, and when I got home, I had a toothbrush and some Windex and I\u2019m cleaning them down everyday!<\/p>\n
Snkrs Day: You are based in New York, but you also consider Houston a second home. Can you compare and contrast the sneaker culture of each city?<\/b><\/p>\n
Robl\u00e9 Ali: There\u2019s no comparison. I love Houston, but there\u2019s just no comparison. It\u2019s so spread out down there. Here in New York, you don\u2019t even have to drive anywhere. I live in Brooklyn right now. I can leave my house, walk 15 minutes, and pass five or six sneaker shops. They are mom & pop stores too, so they have exclusives. I had one store that I can remember going to regularly in Houston. It\u2019s just different out here.<\/p>\n
Snkrs Day: With so many shops to choose from, which are your favorites?<\/b><\/p>\n
Robl\u00e9 Ali: If you go on the Fulton Mall in Brooklyn, there are probably five or six places. Just walk up and down the mall, and they are everywhere. For instance when the \u201cGreen Camo\u201d Foamposite Pros came out, I wanted those sneakers. I couldn\u2019t go get them because I was working, but I knew when I came back I could go to Fulton Mall and find a pair.<\/p>\n
Snkrs Day: Are you into Foams, or did you just like that particular pair?<\/b><\/p>\n
Robl\u00e9 Ali: I never had a pair of Foams before. That was my first pair of Foams, but I love those sneakers. They are definitely one of my favorites. I wear them like crazy. Now I love Foams. They are just so comfortable.<\/p>\n
Snkrs Day: Do you see yourself going to find some of the older releases now that you have a newfound love for them?<\/b><\/p>\n
Robl\u00e9 Ali: Oh yeah! Absolutely. I am going to buy some Foams now. I\u2019m going to get a few pairs. I don\u2019t want to dog these (\u201cGreen Camo\u201d Foamposites) out because I love them too much. They are so comfortable.<\/p>\n
Snkrs Day: I\u2019m sure with your passion for food, you eat out quite frequently. Are there any high-end restaurants that are sneaker friendly?<\/b><\/p>\n
Robl\u00e9 Ali: Well, you have \u201chigh-end\u201d restaurants, and you have white tablecloth restaurants. I don\u2019t really go to white tablecloth restaurants. I rarely go to the really fancy, fine dining restaurants because it\u2019s a different experience. For instance, if you go to LaBernadin, which is one of the nicest restaurants in the world, you\u2019re not going to want to wear sneakers. Even if they let you in, you look like an idiot. You need to put a suit on. But nice restaurants, like Stanton Social or Beauty and Essex, you can definitely wear sneakers. I always wear sneakers.<\/p>\n
\nSnkrs Day: With so many retros, do you find yourself buying every shoe you wanted as a kid?<\/b><\/p>\n
Robl\u00e9 Ali: Yeah, either that, or I\u2019ll fall in love with a pair that I never had the chance to get. You know what my favorite pair of Jordans are? The 4s that they just reissued. The plain black and grey ones. Those are dope sneakers. They are mad comfortable, and they go with a lot of different things. They look ill. Those are my favorite J\u2019s, and I wasn\u2019t even around when they first came out.<\/p>\n
Snkrs Day: Do you know if any other sneakerheads culinary industy?<\/b><\/p>\n
Robl\u00e9 Ali: My Sous Chef Che Gravy is a big sneakerhead. He has like 12 pairs of sneakers at my house that I want him to come get. He has so many pairs of dope sneakers that he just leaves them around. He left some LeBrons over here, and now I\u2019m actually into them. I want a pair now, and I never liked them before. The \u201cArea 72\u201d joints are a dope sneaker. I think I\u2019m about to get those. It\u2019s like they finally got it right in my opinion.<\/p>\n
Snkrs Day: Do you wear a lot of signature basketball sneakers?<\/b><\/p>\n
Robl\u00e9 Ali: I like the KDs. I probably wouldn\u2019t buy them, but I like them. I hate the Kobes. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever seen a human on the street wear them. I may have seen one little kid wear them.<\/p>\n
Snkrs Day: What are you top 5 shoes of all-time?<\/b><\/p>\n
Robl\u00e9 Ali: Number one would be the Air Jordan 4 Black\/Red. Second is the Charles Barkley – the original colorway of the Nike Air Force 180, the black with red and white. I need a new pair. The ones I have are dogged out. Then, I would have to jump over to the black and solar red Yeezy 2. The construction and quality are really ill. I want to throw the \u201cConcord\u201d in the top 5, but I\u2019m not going to. If I liked them that much, I would wear them more often. I going to say the other Barkleys, the Air Force Force Max that the Fab Five wore, is my number four. Number five is the Air Jordan 5 in the black and metallic silver colorway.<\/p>\n
Snkrs Day: Being such a renowned chef, I would be remiss if I didn\u2019t ask for restaurant recommendations in New York and Houston.<\/b><\/p>\n
Robl\u00e9 Ali: You know, in Houston, I love the Pappa chains. Pappasito\u2019s, Pappadeaux, and Pappamia are all good out there. I\u2019ve actually been to a lot of nice restaurants in Austin. I really like Drink.Well. They have great drinks, great food, and they are affordable. They also play good music. It is a great restaurant. If you are ever in New York, definitely hit up Beauty and Essex. Bring a girl. If you bring a girl there on a date, half of your work is already done for you [laughs]. I have to say one in Chicago. I love Chicago. Chicago\u2019s food scene is ridiculous. I\u2019m going in a month, and I\u2019m taking two days off just to eat. There\u2019s a nice restaurant there called Girl and the Goat. The chef won Top Chef<\/em>. There\u2019s a lot of goat on the menu. You don\u2019t have to eat goat, but they have really good food.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Robl\u00e9 Ali has quickly made a name for himself in the culinary world. His popular show, Chef Robl\u00e9 & Co., just finished its second season on Bravo. If you watch closely, you will quickly notice his love for sneakers. Whether it is a Nike Air Max model, a Charles Barkley sneaker, or a pair of the Nike Air Yeezy, Robl\u00e9 is sure to stay fresh. Snkrs Day sat down with the culinary star to discuss his love for kicks, food, and what he likes to wear in the kitchen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4653,"featured_media":317486,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[199],"cultivate_rss":[],"class_list":{"2":"type-post"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Chef Robl\u00e9 Ali Details His Favorite Kicks and the NYC Sneaker Scene | Snkrs Day<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n