The Restaurant Guys

This is a Vintage Selection from 2007The ConversationThe Restaurant Guy, Francis, visits viticulturist Barbara Shinn at her vineyard in Long Island, NY. As they walk the fields, they discuss how she became a biodynamic farmer and how that is expressed in the wine. She uses a variety of methods from fish guts to laser planters with sublime results. The Inside TrackThe Guys knew Barbara from The Red Meat Club (a monthly gathering of NYC restaurateurs) and her restaurant Home which she ran with husband David Page. The couple bought a vineyard and taught themselves how to grow grapes and make wine. Barbara talks about forging her own path to create a sustainable vineyard with excellent wines. “ My philosophy before we planted the vines was to make very, very high quality wine and to be as organic as possible. Our best winemaker friends and our best manager friends and even the viticultural section of Cornell University flat out said to us, ‘You cannot do both things at once. Here on the East Coast, we have too much disease pressure. It's too humid. You cannot be organic in this environment. So if you wanna make high quality wines, do that. You'll be lucky if two to 3% of the materials that you use in your vineyard are organic.’And this year, well, I proved them wrong,” Barbara Shinn on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2007InfoBarbara no longer owns Shinn Estate VineyardsSubscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regularhttps://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/Magyar Bankhttps://www.magbank.com/Stage Left Wine Shophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/Our PlacesStage Left Steakhttps://www.stageleft.com/Catherine Lombardi Restauranthttps://www.catherinelombardi.com/Stage Left Wineshophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/Reach Out to The Guys!TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.comFollow us on Instagram @restaurantguyspodcast

The BanterThe Guys discuss wine dinners and tasting menus and how it’s fun to cede control of your dinner and be swept away.The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys are thrilled to hear from Peter Byck, documentary filmmaker and advocate for climate solutions in cattle farming. Peter explains how we created the problem and how (relatively) easy it can be to repair it. Fascinating stuff!The Inside TrackThe Guys have promoted sustainable farming practices for decades, believing that solutions can be found that benefit both nature and the people involved. When they came across Peter’s work they had to have him on the show!“We were doing research to find out if a method of grazing animals could be beneficial for the farmer, beneficial for the land, and beneficial for the climate. Those were our questions and, and we're finding that yes, it can be, and that's our focus,” Peter Byck on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2025BioPeter Byck is a professor at Arizona State University where he teaches students to make short documentary films about sustainability solutions. He is the director, producer and writer of carbon nation, a documentary film about climate change solutions. In 2020, he completed carbon cowboys, a 10-part documentary short film series, focused on regenerative grazing.Peter is currently helping to lead a $10 million research project comparing Adaptive Multi-Paddock (AMP) grazing with conventional grazing; collaborating with 20 scientists and 10 farm families, focused on soil health & soil carbon storage, microbial/bug/bird biodiversity, and much more. The research also includes a new, 4-part docuseries called “Roots So Deep (you can see the devil down there),” directed by Peter, which is all about the inventive farmers and maverick scientists building a path to solving climate change.InfoPeter’s film Roots so Deep (You Can See the Devil Down There)https://rootssodeep.org/Carbon Cowboys YouTube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@carboncowboysSubscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regularhttps://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/Magyar Bankhttps://www.magbank.com/Stage Left Wine Shophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/Our PlacesStage Left Steakhttps://www.stageleft.com/Catherine Lombardi Restauranthttps://www.catherinelombardi.com/Stage Left Wineshophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/Reach Out to The Guys!TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.comFollow us on Instagram @restaurantguyspodcast

The BanterThe Guys talk about Francis’ decadent evening the night before with some industry mavens and a hog’s head.The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys talk with writer Melissa Clark about her new cookbook Chef Interrupted which simplifies chef’s recipes for the home cook. The discuss cooking shortcuts, macaroni and cheese and kitchen gadgets that make your meal preparation easier and prettier.The Inside TrackThe Guys are loyal readers of Melissa’s articles and they love the concept of her new cookbook. Mark even gave her a tip.Mark: The fact that water should never touch your pepper was one of those things we just classically learned in my family. In my family, we would wash with olive oil. Melissa:  That is such a good idea! If I had a recipe from you in this book, that's the kind of thing that would come out in the conversation we'd have. And I'd write it down because I think that's brilliant!Melissa Clark on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2006BioMelissa Clark is an American food writer, cookbook author and New York Times columnist. Clark has been a regular guest on television series such as Today show, Rachael Ray and Iron Chef America and on several radio programmes. In her early career, Clark was a freelance writer for various publications, including the New York Times. In 2007, she began her weekly "A Good Appetite" column at the New York Times and she became a full-time staff writer at the Times in 2012.Melissa has written more than 40 cookbooks.She’s won two James Beard Foundation awards and two IACP awards (International Association of Culinary Professionals) Her work has also been selected for the Best American Food Writing series.InfoMelissa’s bookChef, Interrupted: Delicious Chefs' Recipes That You Can Actually Make at HomeMelissa’s sitehttps://www.melissaclark.net/Benriner Super Standard Mandoline Slicerhttps://a.co/d/5flNuvvSubscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regularhttps://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/Magyar Bankhttps://www.magbank.com/Stage Left Wine Shophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/Our PlacesStage Left Steakhttps://www.stageleft.com/Catherine Lombardi Restauranthttps://www.catherinelombardi.com/Stage Left Wineshophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/Reach Out to The Guys!TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.comFollow us on Instagram @restaurantguyspodcast

The BanterThe Guys talk about the drive of hospitality and it isn’t what some folks say it is. The ConversationsThe Restaurant Guys welcome writer Genevieve Yam to discuss the decline in quality of Honeycrisp apples. Genevieve, who has investigated this issue, shares what happened and how we can keep other varieties from following suit.The Inside TrackThe Guys have been fans of Honeycrisp apples since the 1990s and even gave them as birthday gifts. Genevieve’s article about the apple’s origin, rise and “crapification” intrigued them so they had Genevieve on to tell them about it.“Dr. David Bedford and Dr. Jim Luby, two scientists working at the University of Minnesota's fruit breeding program came across a tree that was actually slated for the trash. Bedford was extremely curious about this tree. He thought that it had not been given a fair chance and decided to do a little bit of research and what he did changed the course of apple history because what would have ended up in the trash ultimately has become one of the most popular apple varieties here in the United States,” Genevieve Yam on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2025BioGenevieve Yam is a writer and editor based in New York. After graduating with a degree in politics and a brief stint in the start-up world, she enrolled in the International Culinary Center in New York City and cooked at Blue Hill at Stone Barns and Per Se.  After that, she became a freelance food stylist, a recipe tester and editor for the new edition of The Essential New York Times Cookbook, a personal chef, and a contributor to various publications. Most recently, she was an editor at Epicurious. Genevieve is currently an editor at Serious Eats, where she writes, edits, and develops recipes.InfoGenevieve’s Honeycrisp articlehttps://www.seriouseats.com/how-honeycrisp-apples-went-from-marvel-to-mediocre-8753117Genevieve’s sitehttps://genevieveyam.com/The origin story of Honeycrisp appleshttps://youtu.be/boirGUJk8yASubscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regularhttps://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/Magyar Bankhttps://www.magbank.com/Stage Left Wine Shophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/Our PlacesStage Left Steakhttps://www.stageleft.com/Catherine Lombardi Restauranthttps://www.catherinelombardi.com/Stage Left Wineshophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/Reach Out to The Guys!TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.comFollow us on Instagram @restaurantguyspodcast

This is just a teaser from a bonus episode for our subscribers. If you'd like to become a Restaurant Guys' Regular and listen to the entire episode and other commercial-free episodes, subscribe herehttps://www.buzzsprout.com/2401692/subscribeThis is a Vintage Selection from 2007The BanterThe Guys tell how being a regular at a restaurant can be a wise investment.The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys host Tony Soter of Etude Wines and Soter Vineyard about the joys and challenges of creating cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir and sparkling wines and how Tony has been able to find success in both California and Oregon. The Inside TrackThe Guys reminisce about a particular bottle of Tony’s pinot noir that may have changed Francis’ life and talk about the true purpose of wine: enjoyment.“The ultimate satisfaction is when you can sit there and watch the bottle go down and watch the smiles on people's faces,” Tony Soter on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2007BioTony Soter is the founder, with his late wife Michelle, of Soter Vineyards at Mineral Springs Ranch in Yamhill-Carlton, Oregon. Soter is a Portland, Oregon, native who began his remarkable 40-year winemaking career in the Napa Valley. After graduating from Pomono College in southern California with a degree in philosophy, Soter joined the staff at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars in 1975 to learn the trade. By 1982, he released his own wine under the Etude label, selling the winery almost 20 years later. In the meantime, Soter worked as consulting winemaker for such world-famous Napa estates as Araujo (now Eisele), Chappellet, Dalla Valle, Shafer, and Spottswoode, among others. After almost 30 years in California, Soter moved back to Oregon and founded Soter Vineyards in 1997, where he is still making some of the most heralded pinot noirs in the state.InfoSoter Vineyardshttps://www.sotervineyards.com/Our PlacesStage Left Steakhttps://www.stageleft.com/Catherine Lombardi Restauranthttps://www.catherinelombardi.com/Stage Left Wineshophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/Reach Out to The Guys!TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.comFollow us on Instagram @restaurantguyspodcast

The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys are thrilled to host chef Rocco DiSpirito on stage for their inaugural LIVE show. Rocco talks about family legacy, Tournament of Champions, and shares some secret ingredients to elevate weeknight meals. The Inside TrackThe Guys got acquainted with Rocco’s cooking back in the ‘90s when he cooked them one of the greatest meals of their lives at Union Pacific.  ”Art is when craft and point of view intersect. You have to have a point of view to become an artist. When you can elevate your craft plus a point of view into something that you remember 30 years later, that's a pretty good life moment,” Rocco DiSpirito on The Restaurant Guys LIVE! 2025BioRocco DiSpirito is an Italian-American chef, television personality, and author of 15 cookbooks. At the age of sixteen Rocco began his formal studies at the Culinary Institute of America and trained in Europe. He returned to the states to work at Lespinasse; the restaurant received four stars from the New York Times.At 31, Rocco subsequently opened two Manhattan restaurants. Union Pacific was the first, and shot Rocco to fame. He also opened Rocco’s which was  the subject of a reality series called “The Restaurant”, featuring his mother Nicolina making her famous meatballs.He has appeared on Good Morning America, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and was the first chef to compete on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars.Rocco is frequently on Food Network’s Chopped, Guy’s Grocery Games, Beat Bobby Flay and now Tournament of Champions.He is the author of 15 cookbooks including three New York Times bestsellers. He received the James Beard Award for his first cookbook, Flavor.InfoRocco’s bookshttps://www.roccodispirito.com/cookbooksTournament of Champions on Food Networkhttps://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/tournament-of-championsSubscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regularhttps://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/Magyar Bankhttps://www.magbank.com/Stage Left Wine Shophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/Our PlacesStage Left Steakhttps://www.stageleft.com/Catherine Lombardi Restauranthttps://www.catherinelombardi.com/Stage Left Wineshophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/Reach Out to The Guys!TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.comFollow us on Instagram @restaurantguyspodcast

This is a Vintage Selection from 2006The BanterThe Guys discuss one mayor’s aim to eliminate non-English advertising and why they think that’s a stupid idea. The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys welcome back Dr. Steven Witherly, to discuss the science of why humans like junk food and how we can use those tactics to get kids to eat their broccoli. The Inside TrackThe Guys have had several enlightening conversations with Steven Witherly. In this episode he shares some foods with superpowers that can elevate almost any dish.“ These are foods you can put in your cooking today without even changing the flavor profile, but it will be better. They're small things. For example, soy sauce is a secret weapon pleasure food, so is cheese, so is garlic, and my favorite of all is adding parmesan cheese to foods. That's a secret weapon,” Dr. Steven Witherly on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2006BioSteven Witherly received his BS in dietetics and his MS in food science from the University of California, Davis, and his PhD in human nutrition from Michigan State University. He has worked for Nestlé Foods, Nutrilite, and Herbalife and as a food and nutraceutical consultant.He authored Why Humans Like Junk Food: The Inside Story on Why You Like Your Favorite Foods, the Cuisine Secrets of Top Chefs, and How to Improve Your Own Cooking Without a Recipe!InfoSteven’s bookWhy Humans Like Junk Food: The Inside Story on Why You Like Your Favorite Foods, the Cuisine Secrets of Top Chefs, and How to Improve Your Own Cooking Without a Recipe!https://a.co/d/97w27JiSubscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regularhttps://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/Magyar Bankhttps://www.magbank.com/Stage Left Wine Shophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/Our PlacesStage Left Steakhttps://www.stageleft.com/Catherine Lombardi Restauranthttps://www.catherinelombardi.com/Stage Left Wineshophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/Reach Out to The Guys!TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.comFollow us on Instagram @restaurantguyspodcast

The BanterThe Guys talk about a common practice that is dubbed “too hospitable.”The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys catch up with Alton Brown while he is on a bus in the middle of his Alton Brown Live tour. They laugh about culinary mishaps, debate using the title chef and elaborate on Mark’s term “restauranting.”  The Inside TrackThe Guys and Alton found common ground on the desire and benefits to being a regular in an establishment.“ I want to be a regular. I don't need the new shocking experience. What I love is being able to walk in on a night when I do not have a reservation. And the maître d’ sees me and not only gets me a table, and gets me my table. And the drink that I like best comes without me ordering it.I will tip until I bleed to death!” Alton Brown on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2025BioAlton Brown is an American television personality, food show presenter, chef, author, actor, cinematographer, and musician. He is the creator and host of the Food Network television show Good Eats that ran for 14 seasons, host of the miniseries Feasting on Asphalt and Feasting on Waves, and host and main commentator on Iron Chef America and Cutthroat Kitchen. Alton is a best-selling author of several books on food and cooking. He is the recipient of two James Beard Awards and a Peabody. He won the Best Book award in 2003 for his first book, I'm Just Here for the Food, and the Broadcast Media Award in 2011 for TV Food Personality/Host. InfoAlton Brown Livehttps://www.altonbrownlive.com/Alton Brown (check out his 2025 book tour)https://altonbrown.com/book-tour-2025/Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regularhttps://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/Magyar Bankhttps://www.magbank.com/Stage Left Wine Shophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/Our PlacesStage Left Steakhttps://www.stageleft.com/Catherine Lombardi Restauranthttps://www.catherinelombardi.com/Stage Left Wineshophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/Reach Out to The Guys!TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.comFollow us on Instagram @restaurantguyspodcast

This is a Vintage Selection from 2005The BanterThe Guys answer a listener’s question about foie gras and give a major beer manufacturer some advice.The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys talk to Scott Conant, chef of L'Impero and Alto about Italian and Italian-American food and why some have difficulty accepting it as high cuisine. The Inside TrackThe Guys had a wonderful meal at Alto and were glad to get a chance to discuss Scott’s heritage and inspiration for his interpretation of Italian cuisine.“I think it's important to understand the emotion behind Italian food at the same time. It's the honesty of the cuisine, the integrity of the cuisine, and the soulfulness of the product and the extraction of flavor. So, those are the catchphrases that I try to live by,” Scott Conant on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2005BioWhile at the Culinary Institute of America, Scott interned at the restaurant San Domenico in NYC.In September 2002, Scott opened L'Impero in NYC. Within weeks, the restaurant received a rave three-star review from The New York Times. Food & Wine went on to name him one of America's "Best New Chefs" in 2004.Following L'Impero, Scott opened Alto. After leaving those he opened Scarpetta (Manhattan, 2008), Cellaio (Monticello, 2018) and then The Americano (Atlanta, 2022).Since 2007 he has been a judge on numerous cooking shows such as Chopped and Beat Bobby Flay. His newest Food Network competition show, House of Knives, debuts March 2025. He is the author of four cookbooks.LinksHouse of Knives on Food Networkhttps://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/house-of-knives/articles/house-of-knives-announcement-food-networkScott Conanthttps://www.scottconant.com/Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regularhttps://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/Magyar Bankhttps://www.magbank.com/Stage Left Wine Shophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/Our PlacesStage Left Steakhttps://www.stageleft.com/Catherine Lombardi Restauranthttps://www.catherinelombardi.com/Stage Left Wineshophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/Reach Out to The Guys!TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.comFollow us on Instagram @restaurantguyspodcast

The BanterThe Guys learn a new term for a long-standing practice: zebra-striping. Do you zebra stripe??The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys are thrilled to host Lance Geiger, The History Guy. He has a prolific YouTube channel as well as a podcast where he presents history in bite-sized chunks. Lance tells stories about mustard, the banana trade and even poisonings. Listen to Lance! He could save your life. The Inside TrackThe Guys have watched many of The History Guy episodes on numerous topics. They talk with Lance about his motivation for his varied channel.“Part of it is because to really understand the present, we need to understand the past and try to remember accurately rather than this kind of constant process of rewriting the past to match our present.But part of it is just because it's a good story. It's fun. It's a channel that's intended to entertain you because I think history sometimes tells better stories than Hollywood does,” Lance Geiger, The History Guy on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2025BioLance Geiger earned a college degree in history while working summers at Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota and Fort Necessity National Battlefield in Pennsylvania. Then he attended graduate school for speech communication and began teaching at Northern Arizona University.He started The History Guy channel in 2017 after being laid off from his job in insurance. By 2018 it had exploded amassing millions of views and thousands of followers. The channel currently has over a thousand videos and 1.5 million subscribers.InfoThe History Guy on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/c/TheHistoryGuyChannel/videosThe Tie Barhttps://www.thetiebar.com/Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regularhttps://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/Magyar Bankhttps://www.magbank.com/Stage Left Wine Shophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/Our PlacesStage Left Steakhttps://www.stageleft.com/Catherine Lombardi Restauranthttps://www.catherinelombardi.com/Stage Left Wineshophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/Reach Out to The Guys!TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.comFollow us on Instagram @restaurantguyspodcast