The Restaurant Guys

The BanterThe Guys discuss keys to having a great restaurant experience. Find out what happens when one is missing.The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys host ground-breaking (literally) wine guy Michael Juergens who has championed wine-making in Bhutan. Hear the story of how that has come to fruition as well as the future and impact of Bhutanese wines.  They also discuss his edgy book and the “right” way to experience wine. The Inside TrackThe Guys met Michael through a long-time college friend of theirs and co-worker of Michael’s. After spending some time together hearing about his exciting project, they knew they had to have him on the show!This how Michael describes our profound relationship with wine.“I believe that wine is an intrinsic part of the human experience. It's wired into our DNA,” Michael Juergens on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2025BioMicheal Juergens is prominently known as a Senior Partner at Deloitte Consulting, running the “Wine Solutions Practice.” He is a certified sommelier, a certified wine specialist and is on the way to becoming a Master of Wine. He and his wife Ann Cross created Bhutan Wine Company in 2017, and planted the first vines ever to be planted in the Kingdom of Bhutan in 2019.  He has written eight books about wine under the pen name Micheal Amon and publishes a weekly newsletter Drinking and Knowing Things. InfoMichael’s Site                                                  https://www.drinkingandknowingthings.com/Bhutan Wine Company                                                                  https://www.bhutanwine.com/His Books (Under Michael Amon)        https://www.drinkingandknowingthings.com/who-am-iOur 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 2005The BanterThe Guys colorfully mock the snobbery of the authors of a travel guide. The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys talk with the Caviar Queen, Deborah Keane of Tsar Nicoulai Caviar about the caviar situation in the world and in the U.S. You’ll be getting out your mother-of-pearl spoon by the end of the episode!The Inside TrackThe Guys met Deborah at an event where she was serving Tsar Nicoulai. They liked it so much that they began serving it in their restaurants.“ I think you start with the restaurants and chefs because the chefs are always looking for something new, trying to improve and… looking for better alternatives and really paying attention to the planet and organic farming and higher quality products,” Deborah Keane on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2005BioDeborah Keane, dubbed the “Caviar Queen”,  built a complete, vertically integrated spawning-to-serving enterprise and is a leading pioneer in sustainable fish farming. She is the first female owned and operated caviar company in the world and the first female fish farm owner in the state of California, California Caviar Company. She is on the cutting edge again harvesting caviar using a no-kill method.InfoTsar Nicoulai Caviar https://tsarnicoulai.com/California Caviar (Deborah’s current company)https://californiacaviar.com/No-Kill Caviar, Deborah Keane https://news.northeastern.edu/2021/08/10/the-caviar-industry-was-in-trouble-this-former-nursing-student-is-saving-it/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 elements of a great restaurant: excellent food, good atmosphere and discretion.The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys welcome acclaimed chef from Eleven Madison Park, Daniel Humm, to the show to discuss his new cookbook and how EMP does things a bit differently than other places to create a unique dining experience. The Inside TrackThe Guys have had the great pleasure of eating at Eleven Madison Park and are thrilled to chat with Daniel Humm. Their restaurants have some differences, but Daniel sums up the similarities like this.“You can have great food, great wine, but in the end, we are in the people business. You need to have great people.  The people need to be happy and that's it,” Daniel Humm on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2011BioDaniel Humm was born in Switzerland in 1979. In 2003, he moved to the United States to become the executive chef at Campton Place in San Francisco. Three years later, he moved to New York to become the executive chef at Eleven Madison Park, and in 2011 he and his business partner Will Guidara purchased the restaurant from Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group. The following year also opened the critically acclaimed NoMad New York. In 2018 Humm and Guidara opened NoMad Los Angeles. Humm opened Davies and Brook, his first restaurant outside the US at London's historic Claridge's. In 2021, he reopened Eleven Madison Park with a completely plant-based menu. Eleven Madison Park became the first and only plant-based restaurant in Michelin Guide history to receive a three-star rating in October 2022. The restaurant again received a three-Michelin-star rating in 2023. In the fall of 2024, Daniel opened Clemente Bar, a bar and dining hotspot, on the second story of Eleven Madison Park.He is the owner of Daniel Humm Hospitality group and the author of five books.InfoDaniel Humm Hospitalityhttps://www.hummhospitality.com/Daniel’s First EMP CookbookEleven Madison Park: The Cookbook by Daniel Humm and Will Guidaraby Daniel Humm, Will Guidara, Francesco Tonelli (Photographer)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 do a taste test of a product that was released and then repealed. Find out when sugar is a preferred ingredient.The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys welcome Brian Miller to New Jersey! Brian is known in NYC for being a tiki pirate captain bartender. Now he’s heading up a bar in a 300 year old inn. Hear about what’s old, what’s new and what’s next!The Inside TrackThe Guys have had the privilege of enjoying Brian’s personality and beverages. They’ve become friends sharing their love of hospitality and showing that over the bar through conversation and great drinks.“I think even as bartenders in general, every place that I've worked, we want to leave a legacy one day. I would hope some of my cocktails are in a book, but you want to take care of people first and foremost. It's not about me. It's about the guests and their experience and making sure that they have good cocktails,” Brian Miller 2024 on The Restaurant Guys PodcastBioBrian Miller worked the bar scene in New York City for several years before being on Audrey Saunder’s opening staff at Pegu Club.  He then worked for Phil Ward at Death & Company. After Brian took the reins as head bartender, Death & Company won Spirited Awards “Best American Cocktail Bar” and “World’s Best Cocktail Menu” at Tales of the Cocktail in 2010. That same year, Brian was nominated for Spirited Award “International Bartender of the Year.” He was a partner and ran the bar program at The Polynesian, New York City.He is currently the bar manager at the historic and newly re-opened Stockton Inn in Stockton, NJ. InfoBrian Millerhttps://www.instagram.com/brian.effing.miller/Stockton Innhttps://www.stocktoninn.com/Hampden Rum Pack @ Stage Left Wine Shophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/spirits/The-Hampden-Estate-Distillery-Eight-Marks-Collection-Ex-Bourbon-Barrels-w6946671y9Our 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 what a world-renowned owner did when crowds infiltrated his speakeasy.The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys speak with Andrew Carmellini, acclaimed  chef and author of Urban Italian, a cookbook he created with his wife in his home kitchen in Manhattan. Andrew shares some stories and favorite dishes including an ingredient some Americans might find unusual with pasta.The Inside TrackThe Guys talk with Andrew about what’s next for him. This was just before he was approached by Robert DeNiro to open Locanda Verde in the Greenwich Hotel in NYC. Here’s what he had to say about cooking Italian. “A lot of my best customers would come up to me and the things they were loving the most and coming back and requesting were a lot of the Italian stuff. So when I went out on my own as a chef, I really wanted to do Italian cooking because it really made people happy, my Italian food,” Andrew Carmellini on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2008BioAndrew Carmellini began his cooking career at age 14 in his hometown of Seven Hills, Ohio. Carmellini worked at restaurants in Europe, including Valentino Marcatili's two-star Michelin restaurant San Domenico. In New York, he spent four years on Gray Kunz's New York Times four-star team at Lespinasse and served as sous chef at Le Cirque.Andrew worked as chef de cuisine at Café Boulud, where he earned three stars from The New York Times, won The James Beard Foundation's Best New Chef and Best Chef: New York awards and was named to Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs roster. As chef at A Voce, he earned a three-star New York Times review and a Michelin star.In 2009, he opened Locanda Verde, a Tribeca Italian taverna, in Robert de Niro’s Greenwich Hotel with partners Luke Ostrom and Josh Pickard.With his wife, Gwen Hyman, Andrew is the author of two books of recipes and stories: Urban Italian, and American Flavor.InfoAndrew Carmellinihttps://www.andrewcarmellini.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 20th anniversary of the wine film Sideways and its impact on the industry. The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys talk with chef and television personality Judy Joo. Judy strives to make Korean food accessible and educates the naive on the wonders of the cuisine. and marvels at its metamorphosis.  The Inside TrackThe Guys get acquainted with Judy and find they all share a passion for their life’s work.“Just like with you guys, if you're in this industry it's absolutely crazy! You have to inherently love it cause it's tough. It's really tough,” Judy Joo on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2024BioJudy Joo grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Columbia University. After some time in banking, she switched careers and attended The French Culinary Institute for Pastry Arts. Later, she moved to London where she worked at several of Gordon Ramsey’s restaurants. In 2015, Joo opened up her own restaurant in London called Jinjuu in Soho, London, which expanded to three locations. She left the Jinjuu brand in 2019 and then opened a fast casual concept, Seoul Bird in 2020 in London. In 2021 she opened another location in Canary Wharf and then in the Aria Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas in 2022 and in Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York in 2023.Joo was one of the four Iron Chefs on the cooking show Iron Chef UK, making her the first female Iron Chef in the United Kingdom and the second globally. She was a resident judge on season four of the Food Network show The Next Iron Chef, and Kitchen Inferno. She hosted Korean Food Made Simple. InfoJudy Joohttps://www.judyjoo.com/Judy’s latest book (available for pre-order)K-Quick: Korean Food in 30 Minutes or LessJudy Joo’s home kitchenhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1ADfkG4yrMThe New Zoo Review (TV show from Mark’s childhood)https://youtu.be/dwJQ6G7Z_II?feature=sharedOur 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 Vintage episode from 2005The BanterThe Guys talk about restaurant reality shows and how they are not grounded in reality.The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys welcome Deborah Koons Garcia, widow of Jerry Garcia and creator of the documentary The Future of Food. This is part two where they discuss more of the concerns of genetically engineered products, herbicide overuse and they wonder if some of the critters its killing is us. The Inside TrackThe Guys had so much to talk with Deborah in the previous show that they spontaneously invited her back to be on again. Their conversation went to food access and what we can do to help provide to those in areas of need. “ They need healthy soils, they need roads, they need infrastructure so they can get their crop out, they need stable markets. There's all kinds of things they need, but the patented seed from a corporation that is to be used with a chemical…how are they going to afford to buy Roundup?” Deborah Koons Garcia on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2005BioDeborah Koons Garcia has a Master of Fine Arts from The San Francisco Art Institute.  She owns her own production company in the Bay Area of California. Later in her career, she focused primarily on films about agriculture and the food system.Her film The Future of Food won awards from the Women Film Critics Circle and the Ashland Film Festival. In 2011, Symphony of the Soil, was released and was designated a Critics’ Pick by the New York Times and was shown at the United Nations on World Soil Day.InfoDeborah’s filmhttps://thefutureoffood.com/Center for Food Safetyhttps://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/The Meatrixhttps://www.themeatrix.com/Current info about GMOhttps://www.nongmoproject.org/GMO Labeling Timeline (up to 2020)https://agrisk.umd.edu/post/gmo-labeling-timeline-what-happened-and-why-part-iOur 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 methods of popping corn and health benefits of doing it the old-fashioned way. The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys sit down with Phoebe Damrosch, first female captain at Per Se and author of Service Included: Four-Star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter. Phoebe shares service tips and intel gathered from the art of observing the guests. She broke barriers and fell in love. Listen!The Inside TrackThe Guys had the pleasure of serving Phoebe and her husband André Mack at their restaurant. This is how Phoebe justifies the expense of dining out at top tier restaurants. ”It's an expensive meal, but I think of it more as travel or entertainment. Like, you'd buy a plane ticket or you'd buy an expensive concert ticket. It's an experience. You're paying for a memory and not just for calories,” Phoebe Damrosch on The Restaurant Guys 2007BioPhoebe Damrosch completed her Bachelor’s degree at Barnard College and while working on her Master’s at Sarah Lawrence College, she got a job at the renowned Per Se in New York City. She rose through the ranks to become a captain. While working there, she wrote Service Included: Four-Star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter InfoPhoebe’s BookService Included: Four-Star Secrets of an Eavesdropping WaiterOur 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 decide to taste some non-alcoholic wines. Pleasure or punishment?The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys welcome old friend André Hueston Mack, sommelier, winemaker, graphic artist and more! You may know of some of his accomplishments, but he will probably reveal more ventures that will surprise you. The Inside TrackThe Guys have known André for years and tell of an amusing run in with him and how he helped the re-launch of the podcast. André describes coming across the podcast in the mid-aughts.“I was an early adopter of technology and I was looking at podcasts. And so I see these guys that call The Restaurant Guys. I'm like, who the f*** are these guys? Right? So I'm starting to listen through and one episode you guys are talking about Gravner.I'm like, okay, these m-fers are serious! And I started listening to the show,” André Mack on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2024BioAndré Mack is a wine educator who has hosted seminars and led panel discussions at top industry gatherings across the United States, including Aspen Food & Wine Classic and Newport Mansions Wine and Food Festival.He was a sommelier at Thomas Keller’s renowned French Laundry before helping open Chef Keller’s three-Michelin-starred Per Se as head sommelier.André now produces wine in Oregon’s Willamette Valley under his own label, Maison Noir, sold all over the world.A self-taught graphic designer, André designs all of the labels as well as a t-shirt line for Maison Noir. Most recently, he authored and illustrated Small Thyme Cooks, the world’s first culinary coloring and activity book.InfoAndré  Mackhttps://www.andrehmack.com/André  Mack on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/@andremack7643Spring in a Bottle NAhttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/noalcohol/Wolffer-Estate-Vineyard-Spring-In-A-Bottle-Non-Alcoholic-Sparkling-Rose-Wine-w6962013taSellbach Oster Funkelwurz NAhttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/wines/Selbach-Funkelwurz-Alcohol-Free-w3090628afOur 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 chef trend to put inedible items on the plate. Spoiler: it’s not a good idea.The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys are thrilled to meet Gael Greene, restaurant journalist and bon vivant! She coined the term “foodie.” Gael shares some of the details from 32 years as a food writer and beyond (including a few famous lovers). The Inside TrackThe Guys didn’t know Gael before this show, but they got along so well they ended up dining out with her! Like them, she never wants the party to stop. “ I firmly believe that on my deathbed I will still be doing this and my last words will be, ‘Bring on dessert’,” Gael Greene on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2006 BioGael Greene Greene became food reporter at New York soon after its launch, in fall 1968 as the magazine's "insatiable critic" until 2000. She began her own website, InsatiableCritic.com, but continued as a columnist until 2008. In 2006, she released Insatiable: Tales from a Life of Delicious Excess,  Her other books include Delicious Sex; Bite: A New York Restaurant Strategy for Hedonists, Masochists, Selective Penny Pinchers and the Upwardly Mobile and Sex and the College Girl.In 1981 she co-founded Citymeals-on-Wheels, along with James Beard, to help fund weekend and holiday meals for homebound elderly people in New York City. Greene received many awards for her work with Citymeals and in 1992 was honored as Humanitarian of the Year by the James Beard Foundation. She was the winner of the International Association of Cooking Professionals' magazine writing award (2000) and a Silver Spoon from Food Arts magazine.InfoGael’s book:Insatiable: Tales from a Life of Delicious ExcessGael’s websitehttp://insatiable-critic.com/Default.aspx 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