Ayo Edebiri reveals her favorite dessert only Bostonians know about

Dorchester native Ayo Edebiri discussed her favorite dessert with Seth Meyers, a local delicacy the "Inside Out 2" star described as both "foul" and "perfect."

Ayo Edebiri and Seth Meyers. Lloyd Bishop/NBC

June 19, 2024

Dorchester native Ayo Edebiri and New Hampshire native Seth Meyers had a very locally focused interview, touching on regionally relevant topics including Celtics fandom, the great molasses flood, Edebiri’s favorite dessert only Bostonians know about, and why her dad refused to let Martin Scorsese film “The Departed” at their house.

Edeberi taped her appearance on Monday, which meant that the New England natives didn’t yet know that the Boston Celtics would beat the Dallas Mavericks to capture their 18th championship. But the star of “The Bear” was absolutely certain of the outcome.

After Meyers said the Celtics “may be world champions” by the time the interview aired, Edebiri held nothing back, saying, “they will be world champions.”

Meyers and Edebiri joked about the shared delusion of Bostonians that we are still a city of underdogs when it comes to sports success.

“I think there’s something that’s in the Boston tap water that makes you a fan of Boston teams, regardless of anything.” Edebiri said. “They can do no wrong. Everyone is the bad guy and we are the underdogs, even though we’ve been champions 57 times.”

Ayo Edebiri’s favorite dessert only locals know

Meyers and Edebiri also discussed how their New England heritage can sometimes reveal itself in odd ways in social situations.

“I was reduced to tears because I was talking about the Great Molasses Flood,” Edebiri admitted. “Everybody started laughing, and I was like, it’s not funny. People died of molasses.”

Edebiri also discussed her favorite dessert, one that even Meyers hadn’t heard of: The Cool Dog.

The hot dog-shaped ice cream treat was previously sold at Fenway Park and Storyland, but has since become nearly impossible to find. (The Marlborough company’s website is currently broken, which certainly doesn’t help.)

“They’re foul and they’re perfect,” Edebiri said. “The bread is cake, and the dog is ice cream, but it’s put through the same machine they make hot dogs through. So the shape is a hot dog. The mustard is chocolate sauce, and the relish is whipped cream.”

“And also there’s a little bit of real hot dog,” Meyers interjected.

Ayo Edebiri’s ‘villain origin story’

Edebiri wrapped up her interview by telling another Boston-based story from her childhood, about the day her dad refused to let “The Departed” film at their home in Dorchester.

Edebiri, a self-described Leonardo DiCaprio superfan, said a location scout approached her dad as they were leaving the house to take Edebiri to her piano lesson.

When the scout asked about using their house for a few days, Edebiri’s dad, a first-generation immigrant, thought it was some sort of scam to steal their home.

“And my dad was like, ‘Use my house? So you can get the deed to my house?’” Edebiri said. “’You want to come inside the house, take my keys, take the deed, and take my family? Nice try.’”

“And they were like, ‘Yeah, no, that’s not how that works. Like we just want to use your house for a few days and we pay you for it,’” Edebiri continued, adding that the scout said that DiCaprio and director Martin Scorsese were “like 30 minutes” from the home.

“He left and I went to piano lessons,” Edebiri said. “Then they used a house in our neighborhood — and I don’t play piano anymore, so.”