Grub StreetNew York

• New York
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On the week of the release of her new video “Pocketful of Sunshine” (also the title of her new album) and the announcement of U.S. tour dates today (she plays Irving Plaza on June 25), London songstress Natasha Bedingfield flew into town and headed straight to (where else?) Rose Bar. Chances are she didn’t bat an eye at the $20 drinks. Her hometown is the most expensive city to eat in, but she says she doesn’t notice any price difference compared to New York. “I tend to spend a lot on food anyway,” she tells us. “I stay in hotels, where the food is always expensive. I never really look at the price of something before I buy it unless it’s wine. You can waste a lot on wine.” We asked her where and how she spent so freely.

Monday, April 14
I arrived from L.A. It was quite late — I didn’t really want to eat because I wouldn’t be able to sleep. I went to the Rose Bar and ate only nuts. We just turned up. They let me in because of my name, [though] I didn’t have to tell them who I was. I had some amazing drinks — I had a watermelon martini.

I love the fact that there’s a lot of choice in New York. It’s extremely multicultural. New York has diners and delis that are open really late; in London we have kebabs and fish-and-chips — they’re the ones that stay open late.

Tuesday, April 15
I had a bowl of porridge from room service at the Hotel on Rivington — with soy milk, a slice of banana and brown sugar. And I had coffee with cream. I try to have just one cup of coffee a day, and I like having cream in it — it’s a little luxury. I try to stay off wheat and milk.

I went to Tyra Banks for a taping, and I had a soy latte from Starbucks and some fruit in the dressing room to keep the energy up. In London, Starbucks is on every corner — it’s like the new pub. If I need some energy and I get really tired, I’ll have a little bit of dark chocolate.

For lunch I went to ’inoteca, and I had some salad with calamari and also a bit of a panini with prosciutto.

I had dinner at the Kobe Club with Heidi and Spencer from The Hills. I'd never met them, and my song [“Unwritten”] is on The Hills. I definitely get people approaching me. [People sing it back to me] particularly in nightclubs because that’s when people have had more to drink. I like the Kobe Club a lot. I ordered sea bass — it was really, really nice. One of my friends had the steak, so we kind of shared. They had an amazing cheesecake. I like tasting what’s on other people’s plates.

Wednesday, April 16
I bought some nuts. I went into a health store and got these sugar-free cookies made with dried fruit.

I had a freshly made ginger, carrot, and apple juice.

I had a bowl of white-bean soup at Bull & Bear after an appearance on Fox Business Channel’s Happy Hour.

For dinner I went to the Jade Jagger event, and again I had sea bass. Normally at parties I don’t get to eat very much because I end up talking to everyone. If there’s a lot of cameras, it can feel weird to eat when people can snap a picture of you.

I didn’t drink anything alcoholic that day.

Thursday, April 17
I didn’t eat breakfast, but I went to the Spotted Pig and I ate lunch. They have incredible food there: The gnudi made of ricotta cheese with butter and sugar around it are really a taste of heaven — you close your eyes and it melts in your mouth. I had a few of those and a skirt-steak salad.

Probably over the weekend I’ll go to a vegetarian restaurant because it’s nice if you’ve eaten meat all week. Most of the time I do the Zone diet, which has the right kinds of amounts of carbs, protein … On the weekend I’ll try to be extra good and not have a lot of creamy, rich food. Of course, that’s in an ideal world. Usually what happens is life goes on and you grab what you can.