How to Be a Man: Nick Offerman's Master Class

The Lillie Langtry Room at Keens Steakhouse in Manhattan is paneled in warm oak. In its center is a table covered in a starched white cloth, upon which rests a steak grilled medium rare, plates of creamed spinach and mashed Yukon gold potatoes, and a bottle of Lagavulin Distillers Edition with a couple of snifters. This, for Nick Offerman, is paradise.

The co-star of NBC’s Parks and Recreation is in New York to promote his book, Paddle Your Own Canoe: One Man’s Fundamentals for Delicious Living, and like George Hamilton at the Polo Lounge or Alec Baldwin on Page Six, a steakhouse is his natural habitat. “There’s nothing more delicious than red meat—I enjoy it greatly,” Offerman says, tucking into his T-bone. He and other members of his family have not always been on the best terms with cholesterol, but he will never abandon beef entirely. “I’m still on my feet,” he says, “and as long as I am, I intend to eat a huge, juicy steak.”