What Comedian George Civeris Can’t Live Without

I grew up as a bit of a fat kid, so I struggled with T-shirts because they often show the exact shape of your body. Because of that, I’m still drawn to heavy-duty, boxy ones that make you look as neutral as possible. I also like that the neckline looks neat and keeps its shape under a jacket, unlike the cheaper Gap tees I mostly wear as undershirts. So often,T-shirts are too long, but this one is the right length to be flattering without looking obviously cropped. It’s the one I’m wearing in my special under my suit, which I also found at Front General — a vintage dark-navy Comme des Garçons that magically fit me off the rack without tailoring.

Imagine me saying this in the most masculine way possible: My husband [New York’s chief restaurant critic, Matthew Schneier] and I bought same-day tickets to the Madonna Celebration Tour at Barclays Center the day after we got engaged, and this is where I bought this hat. I have a pretty big head and caps often don’t fit me well, but this one is the exact right size and is very flattering. Considering it’s Madonna merch, it has a very nice little logo that doesn’t feel cheap. It’s red on black, so it goes with everything. If you don’t notice that it reads “Madonna,” it could be mistaken for a cool streetwear brand. My podcast co-host, Sam Taggart, owns the same one, so it makes me feel connected to the two most important men in my life.

When I was a teenager, my first scent was Acqua di Giò — the fragrance every boy wears to junior prom. This feels more sophisticated. It’s optimistic; the description says it’s inspired by “new beginnings and early-morning light.” Someone regifted it to me during the pandemic, and when things opened up, I started wearing it out and have never gotten so many compliments. It’s the perfect midway point between masculine and feminine.

Sorry to go Goop Mode, but my breakfast almost every single morning is a piece of toast with Good Culture cottage cheese, pistachios, and cracked black pepper. My husband has an intense brand loyalty to Nuts.com (and a knee-jerk suspicion of all other nut purveyors — do not get him started on Nuts Factory), so all our nuts, dried fruit, and assorted snacks are from there. He says that while shelled pistachios seem expensive, you’re actually getting a better deal because you aren’t paying for the weight of the shells. These have the perfect level of saltiness, and one bag lasts for months because I refrain from snacking on them. I use them only for breakfast or in a salad I make based on aSmitten Kitchen recipefor Altro Paradiso’s fennel salad. I once put them out in a bowl for guests, and Matthew said, “These are not for guests!”

Every summer when I visit my family, I buy two or threekomboskinievil-eye bracelets and wear them until they disintegrate. The evil eye was a huge, looming presence in our household growing up. If you had a success, you didn’t brag too much because that invited the evil eye. If you broke a glass, that was good luck because it warded it off. If I did poorly on a school test after seeing an aunt, I’d attribute it to her having given me the evil eye and would avoid seeing her before the next one. So getting an evil eye from someone else is bad luck, but actually wearing an evil eye yourself brings good luck. It’s a classic superstition.

I’m very bad at planning my time and often procrastinate, so I may end up having a protein bar instead of lunch at 1 p.m. That way, I can still work out without being too full. These are the only protein bars I think actually taste good because they fully taste like a candy bar. Every few months, I discover a new flavor and eat one every single day until its scent makes me sick. Then I choose a new one and repeat this amazing process. The only one I have not tried yet is “lemon cheesecake,” but I fear its time is coming.

I recently wore my favorite Margaret Howell sweater onSubwayTakesand received a bunch of DMs asking where I got it, along with quite a few other ones telling me to apologize to Pete Buttigieg. It’s not flashy — just a nice olive-color sweater. The mock neck is great because I don’t need a scarf in the winter. These are pricey, but you can usually find them for 30 to 50 percent off on sites like SSENSE or Mr. Porter. It’s the most “cashmerelike” a wool sweater can be.

I would say this is the thing I’m most passionate about on this entire list. Having my coffee stay hot has made such a big difference in my morning routine. I would never have bought them for myself because they seem like a “male optimization” thing, which goes against my romantic idea of drinking from a locally produced, imperfect ceramic mug. But when I got these as a Christmas gift from my brother-in-law, I realized how much better it is when your coffee actually stays hot. And without any weird Bluetooth-powered rubber coasters that are secretly surveilling your home. Now, when I use a regular mug, I’m shocked at how quickly it gets cold. Unfortunately, I can never go back to my collection of perfectly curated Brooklyn ceramic mugs. Better luck next time, local artisans!

Like any good LGBTQ+Rancho Gordo Bean Clubmembers, we are a Burlap & Barrel household. You may think you don’t need to upgrade your red-pepper flakes, but that’s not really something a winner would think. I put these on everything — eggs, pizza, you name it. They aren’t too spicy and have a fine consistency, like salt, rather than large flakes that get stuck in your teeth. I used to make fun of people who bought overpriced spices, but now I’m fully Burlap & Barrel–pilled and refuse to buy grocery-store spices. I even grind whole cumin seeds with a mortar and pestle now, which I would have probably made fun of someone for doing five years ago.

My special,A Sense of Urgency, came out almost exactly ten years to the day of my first open mic in Boston, and I am very proud of it. Being featured on the New York Times “Best Comedy of 2025” list was such a nice surprise. In a sense, it’s dedicated to my mom, who, when we were growing up, would often say my siblings and I lacked a sense of urgency. This was her classic immigrant-mom way of reminding us to keep our eyes on the ball so we could bring home the next big accomplishment. Coincidentally, I was at my cousin’s apartment this past summer, and she had a cutout from a magazine taped to her wall that simply read “a sense of urgency” in Greek. We had never discussed this being the title of my special, and when I asked her about it, she said she had just seen the headline and thought it was an evocative phrase she wanted on her wall.