Al Roker is synonymous with two things - style and the weather. While Roker can't always make the sun shine, he does bring his unique flavor of dapper dressing to America's most watched morning show, TODAY. Beyond his anchor duties, Roker also spearheads the monthly walking challenges for the Start TODAY community. With over 700,000 members, the Start TODAY community continues to be inspired by Roker and his promoting happier and healthier lives.
One bright spot for Roker (and his fans) will be seeing him as part of TODAY's Olympics coverage. Heading to Paris in July, Roker will be joined by fellow anchors Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb. And although Roker is a fan of the City of Light, Manhattan will always be home.
A modern renaissance man, you can often catch Roker and his family at haute boîtes like One MICHELIN Star Clover Hill and Tatiana by chef Kwame Onwuachi. However, beyond the plate, Roker enjoys the city's splendor through its museums - the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Transit Museum, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
Below, get to know Roker off-screen and who knows, you may add a hat or two to your wardrobe.
Explore more insights on New York from our Inspectors, chefs, and celebrities.
Dining Out:
Clover Hill is just this small jewel box of a restaurant and I think it only has like 12 tables, and the food is just exquisite.
Tatiana is big and boisterous, and Caribbean-infused, African-infused. Kwame Onwuachi has created this place where it's actually the potential of New York. It is about as diverse of clientele eating together as you'll ever see.
And then just a nice, lovely spot to dine on the Upper East Side is Café Boulud from Daniel Boulud. I've known him since literally both of our 30-something-year-old daughters were newborns. It’s one of those tried and true, great New York places.
Culture Club:
From a cultural standpoint you've got the usual suspects, whether it's the Metropolitan Museum of Art or the Schomburg Center in Harlem. Each one represents a worldview of culture. I think different audiences can go to each one and learn more about culture in general.
One that people might not think about, but I think they should consider, is the Transit Museum in Brooklyn. If you like trains and buses, and they are New York City's lifeblood, you ought to go to the Transit Museum.
Central Park was designed by Frederick Olmsted as kind of a tonic for the “huddled masses” who had immigrated to New York and to give them outdoor space and a sense of nature, and its Brooklyn sibling, Prospect Park, are just two gems. And the Bronx Van Cortlandt Park is just unbelievable.
Style Counts:
I've got a great barber on Lexington Avenue. His name is Alex at Shantl & Co. Barber Shop. [Another is] Sharp Styles on East 85th Street. Both are terrific. The guys both happen to be immigrants and both know how to shave a head. And if you want to put something on that head, a terrific hat store up in Harlem is called Flame Keepers. Handmade hats of all designs, all colors, whatever mood you're in, from a derby to a fedora to a trilby. You can get a terrific hat.
We have a great little groomer in our neighborhood. It's called Groomingdales and they treat each of the dogs like family. Pepper always comes back with a little knit bouquet or something on her collar. You know it's a great place when your dog is actually pulling to get to the place.
Hero image: Courtesy of Virginia Sherwood / NBC
