The Restaurant Guys

The BanterThe Guys talk about their introduction to scotch then later single malts and how it impacted them. Francis discloses an error in judgment that involved Scotch. The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys share a dram with Master Distiller of Glendronach, Dr. Rachel Barrie prior to a scotch dinner at their restaurant. Listen if you want to know how a saxophone, brambles and the ghost of a Spanish lady relate to Glendronach. The Inside TrackThe Guys have Rachel in their restaurant for a Glendronach scotch dinner so they decided to record their conversation. They immediately bonded over their love of enjoying spirits out of a wine glass!“I love this so much. You've got no idea how much I love this because I was trying to convince people exactly what you do. You guys are the best! In my 32 years making whiskey. No one else has brought out a wine glass. This is just complete synchronicity. It's just blowing my mind right now!” Dr. Rachel Barrie on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2024BioDr. Rachel Barrie has been making whisky for decades at developing brands such as Glenmorangie, Bowmore, Laphroig and currently Glendronach, Glenglassaugh and BenRiach. In 2003 she became the first woman to be a master blender. Rachel has worked for the Scotch Whisky Research Institute and distilleries from all the regions of Scotland. She holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Edinburgh, and has been inducted as a Keeper of the Quaich. Accolades include being voted Master Blender of the Year, receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award and becoming the first lady of Scotch inducted into the Whisky Hall of Fame. InfoGlendronach Distilleryhttps://www.glendronachdistillery.com/The Jancis Robison One Glasshttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/wines/Jancis-Robinson-and-Richard-Brendon-The-Only-Wine-Glass-You-Need-2-Pack-w2237758aoThe NJ Wine & Food Festival @ Crystal Springs May 1-3The Restaurant Guys will be podcasting from there May 2. Come see us!https://shop.crystalgolfresort.com/collections/14th-annual-new-jersey-wine-food-festivalOur 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.com

This is a Vintage Selection from 2005The BanterThe Guys talk about what December means for retail and restaurants along with managing family feasts. The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys host writer and iconic consumer wine educator Kevin Zraly. Kevin talks about the best ways to teach consumers, how to find value and what is the most important thing to consider when selecting a wine. The Inside Track The Guys use Kevin’s book as a primer for their employees and Francis has taken his course. Kevin wrote Francis letters of introduction that he took with him to visit wineries all over the world!(On how people enjoy wine)Kevin: Think of it as sex. The whole thing is that people are doing it, but they're not sure they're doing it correctly.So it's the same thing with wine. Francis: Well, I'm fairly sure that I'm doing both of those things correctly.-Kevn Zraly on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2005BioKevin Zraly is an award-winning wine writer and one of the world's foremost wine educators. Kevin has been teaching wine for over 50 years.  He has written eight books about wine and food, including his annually updated Windows on the World Complete Wine Course, which has sold more than four million copies - making it the number one wine book in the United States.  In 1976, famed restaurateur Joe Baum hired Kevin to "Create the biggest and best wine list New York has ever seen" for Windows of the World, located in New York City's World Trade Center.  Not only did Kevin create an award-winning wine list, he also started what became the most well-known wine education program in the world – the Windows on the World Wine School.  The school continued uninterrupted for 25 years until the tragic destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.  Eventually, Kevin relaunched the school in the Marriott Marquis Hotel and it ran successfully until 2016. Kevin then continued teaching his Advanced and Master classes in various locations in New York City. Since the pandemic, Kevin has continued his wine school virtually by partnering with Wine.com. Kevin is the youngest person to receive the James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award (2011).InfoKevin’s Websitehttps://www.kevinzraly.com/The NJ Wine & Food Festival @ Crystal Springs May 1-3The Restaurant Guys will be podcasting from there May 2. Come see us!https://shop.crystalgolfresort.com/collections/14th-annual-new-jersey-wine-food-festivalOur 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.com

The BanterThe Guys make “scents” out of the smells some companies use to entice you into their establishments. The Guys do it the old fashioned way.The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys welcome Josh Noel who recently penned Malort: The Redemption of a Revered & Reviled Spirit. Hear how Malört’s devoted supporters fought for its independence and prosperity. It’s a David and Goliath story you won’t want to miss!The Inside TrackThe Guys have been mystified by Malört for a long time and Josh’s book had them marveling at the (eventual) success of this “evil spirit”(On liquor executive George Brody’s marketing strategy for Malört)Josh: He initially tries to position it as a very high end product, something you need to learn to savor. The first time you taste it, maybe it doesn't quite click for you, but sit with it and soon you'll understand the elegance. That did not work for Malört. So he pivoted quickly to what you were saying, which is, are you man enough? Literally, are you man enough to drink this?Francis: I'm not, by the way, I'm definitely not!-Josh Noel on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2024BioJosh Noel, food and beverage journalist, had a decades-long tenure at the Chicago Tribune in addition to contributions to This American Life, the New York Times, and other publications. He has authored two books Barrel-Aged Stout and Selling Out, followed by the forthcoming Malört: Redemption of a Revered & Reviled Spirit.InfoJosh’s Websitehttps://www.joshnoel.net/Check Out #malortfaceThe NJ Wine & Food Festival @ Crystal Springs May 1-3The Restaurant Guys will be podcasting from there May 2. Come see us!https://shop.crystalgolfresort.com/collections/14th-annual-new-jersey-wine-food-festivalOur 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.com

This is a Vintage selection from 2007.The BanterThe Guys discuss Francis’ upcoming trip to the land of  prairie butter and why you want to know how to use it. The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys welcome famed food writer and television personality Andrew Zimmern. He tells some wild tales of the foods and animals he has encountered, but the scariest story of all took place in Dai’s House of Unique Stink. The Inside ScoopThe Guys get a kick out of Andrew’s brazen culinary adventures and his television antics.“When the first line in the recipe is quarter your moose head and boil it in four gallons of water, you've got an interesting recipe,” Andrew Zimmern on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2007BioAndrew Zimmern is a chef, food writer, radio show host, author, and host of award-winning television series Bizarre Food franchise among others. He is a four-time James Beard Award winner for his television shows. He has received many Emmy nominations and won for The Zimmern List.He is the author of several books for all ages about bizarre foods as well as an adventure book for middle school students.  Currently, Andrew is on The Outdoor Channel’s series, Field to Fire.InfoAndrew’s Websitehttps://andrewzimmern.com/The NJ Wine & Food Festival @ Crystal Springs May 1-3The Restaurant Guys will be podcasting from there May 2. Come see us!https://shop.crystalgolfresort.com/collections/14th-annual-new-jersey-wine-food-festivalOur 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.com

The BanterThe Guys talk about what Robert Simonson calls “the cold switcheroo” and what’s next in the world of martini. The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys get two Corisons on one show! They catch up with Cathy Corison and her daughter Grace Corison Martin who will, perhaps along with her sister, take over the winery one day. They discuss the challenging past, bright present and brilliant future of Corison Wines. The Inside TrackThey have been avid fans of Cathy Corison’s wines (Corison Winery) and they have hosted wine dinners at their places with Cathy and she has hosted them when they visit in California. On the idea of her daughters eventually taking the reins at the winery, Cathy says,“I’m just so grateful to know that it's going to go forward after me because we're farmers.  It's a very long term business.  And in fact, the wines I'm making today are still going to be on the youthful side when I'm gone. So just to know that it's going to go forward is, is very, very gratifying,” Cathy Corison on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2024BioCathy Corison’s winemaking journey began nearly 50 years ago when she took a wine appreciation course. Two years later she graduated, and two days after that, arrived in the Napa Valley, bent on making wine. A master’s degree in Enology at UC Davis followed. She made wine at Chappellet Vineyard for the 1980’s. In 1987, toward the end of her tenure at Chappellet, there was a wine inside her that she needed to make and she began to buy grapes and barrels. Using other wineries’ facilities, she was able to create the wine of her own.She founded her own winery, Corison Winery, in 1987. The winery is located in St. Helena, California in a barn built by Corison's husband, William Martin. They have two daughters, Grace and Rose, who are poised to take the reins in the future. Grace Corison Martin earned a BFA in Acting from Syracuse University and then worked in restaurants in NYC. Since moving back to the Napa Valley, Grace completed her Winemaking Certificate at UC Davis, and her Level 3 WSET.InfoCorison Wineryhttps://www.corison.com/See the Kronos table!https://www.corison.com/about/The NJ Wine & Food Festival @ Crystal Springs May 1-3The Restaurant Guys will be podcasting from there May 2. Come see us!https://shop.crystalgolfresort.com/collections/14th-annual-new-jersey-wine-food-festivalOur 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.com

This is a Vintage Selection from 2010The BanterThe Guys are horrified to hear about red bees…and it’s not because of their sting.The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys are long-time fans of Lidia Bastianich’s restaurants and her retail phenomenon Eataly. They are eager to talk about her new book and bridging cultural divides with food. Listen to her mission to keep hearts and bellies full. The Inside Track The Guys grew up with a strong sense of cultural heritage and appreciate Lidia’s desire to share hers with the world.“I am blessed with two of the biggest cultures, the most beautiful cultures in the world, the Italian and the American.  And  I was given the opportunity to pull them together. I did it through food,” Lidia Bastianich on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2010BioLidia Bastianich immigrated from Italy when she was 12. She opened two restaurants in Queens during the 1970s which were very successful. In 1981, she sold those and purchased a brownstone in Manhattan which would be home to Felidia. In 2005 she opened Del Posto to great acclaim. Currently, she has Lidia Kansas City and Becco in New York, New York. In 2010, she was integral in the opening of the first Eataly in Manhattan, NY. She has had several television series including Lidia’s Italian Table, Lidia's Family Table, Lidia's Italy, Lidia's Italy in America, and Lidia's Kitchen as well as numerous specials and guest appearances. She has authored more than a dozen books.She has received numerous awards and honors including many James Beard Foundation awards for Best Chef in New York, Best Outstanding Chef, Best Cooking Show, Outstanding Documentary.InfoLidia’s Italyhttps://lidiasitaly.com/Lidia’s BookNona Tell Me a StoryThe NJ Wine & Food Festival @ Crystal Springs May 1-3The Restaurant Guys will be podcasting from there May 2. Come see us!https://shop.crystalgolfresort.com/collections/14th-annual-new-jersey-wine-food-festivalOur 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.com

The BanterThe Guys recount some troubling restaurant stories involving drought, flood, snow and nine foot flames!The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys meet Ellen Yin, a successful restaurateur out of Philadelphia. They all have been running restaurants for decades and discuss the joys of retaining key employees and the benefits of a pool house as well as the challenge of not being a chef. Ellen shares about her newest venture a.kitchen+bar in Washington, DC and the excitement of learning the culture of a new city. The Inside TrackThe Guys have been taken by Philadephia’s post-pandemic food scene. This is what Ellen has to say.“Well, having been in it for twenty some years, I'd like to think that it's been a great food city, but only recently has it been publicly confirmed to be a great food city,” Ellen Yin on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2024BioEllen Yin, a graduate of the Wharton School for Business at the University of Pennsylvania, opened her first restaurant, Fork, in Philadelphia in 1997. She is founder and co-owner of High Street Hospitality Group which operates some of the most celebrated restaurants in Philadelphia. In addition to Fork, they operate a.kitchen+bar, High Street, High Street Bakery, The Wonton Project and recently opened a.kitchen+bar in Washington, DC. In 2023, she was awarded Outstanding Restaurateur by the James Beard Foundation. Yin was honored with Philadelphia Business Journal’s: Women of Distinction award in 2020. Her restaurant Fork was named one of the most influential restaurants of the 1990s. InfoEllen Yin’s Restaurant Group High Street Hospitalityhttps://highsthospitality.com/Eli Kulp’s Podcasthttps://www.chefradiopodcast.com/The NJ Wine & Food Festival @ Crystal Springs May 1-3The Restaurant Guys will be podcasting from there May 2. Come see us!https://shop.crystalgolfresort.com/collections/14th-annual-new-jersey-wine-food-festivalOur 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.com

The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys were so taken with the stories behind a book by Susan McKenna Grant that they took a detour while at an Italian wine festival to stay at her beautiful property that she is restoring, La Petraia. This interview in this episode was recorded on location at Radda in Chianti at the farm (you can hear the pigs snorting) interspersed commentary from The Guys after they arrived home. The amount and variety of products acquired from that farm is amazing!The Inside TrackThe Restaurant Guys Podcast was Susan’s soundtrack as she lovingly restored La Patraia. After she wrote her book Piano, Piano, Pieno , she sent it to them and they just had to have her on the show. A few years later, they went to see her and stayed at the gorgeous La Petraia. “We've got old maps of the property from a couple of hundred years ago and you can look at those maps and see that it's still exactly the same today as it was then. There's the same amount of field and there's the same amount of forest. The house is the same size. It's just the way it is,” Susan Grant McKenna on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2010 BioSusan McKenna Grant spent several years traveling in Europe and studying cooking, pastry, and artisan bread baking. She attended the Cordon Bleu and Ecole Lenôtre in Paris, the San Francisco Baking Institute, the Ecole Française de Boulangerie d’Aurillac in the Auvergne region of France and the Boscolo Etoile Academy in Italy.In 2001, Susan and her husband, Michael, purchased La Petraia in the Chianti Classico region of Tuscany in Italy. The couple spent fifteen years restoring La Petraia to its origins as a sustainable, mixed working farm. The couple also operated a luxury agriturismo, which included four guest rooms, a restaurant and cooking school. Petraia was the inspiration for Susan’s two award winning cookbooks.Susan currently resides in Switzerland where she continues to write about food and sustainable foodways.InfoSusan Leaves La Petraia (click for photos of the property)https://www.susanmckennagrant.com/2015/11/14/farewell-la-petraia/Susan’s Bookshttps://www.susanmckennagrant.com/The NJ Wine & Food Festival @ Crystal Springs May 1-3The Restaurant Guys will be podcasting from there May 2. Come see us!https://shop.crystalgolfresort.com/collections/14th-annual-new-jersey-wine-food-festivalOur 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.com

The BanterThe Guys express what they look for in a dinner party host and what to do as a guest….and they hope you invite them over.The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys welcome Tom Colicchio back on the show after 18 years! Giving some insights from his book Why I Cook, Tom tells stories from his early years, how he ended up where he is and shares some behind the scenes tea from Top Chef. The Inside TrackThe Guys understand the NJ culture Tom experienced while growing up and one of them had the same first boss! Several years later, he returned to 40 Main with aspirations.  “So Jerry and I were ambitious. We didn't want 40 Main just to be a great restaurant in Milburn. We wanted it to be a great restaurant period,” Tom Colicchio from his book on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2024BioTom Colicchio got his start in suburban New Jersey restaurants with stints in NYC and abroad.  In July 1994, Colicchio and his partner Danny Meyer opened the Gramercy Tavern in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of Manhattan. It was voted Most Popular Restaurant in New York City by the Zagat Survey in 2003 and 2005. In spring 2001, he opened the first Craft restaurant one block south of Gramercy Tavern. Craftsteak and ‘wichcraft followed.Tom won the 2010 Outstanding Chef award from the James Beard Foundation.He has written three cookbooks and just released his memoir and cookbook Why I Cook.Tom has been involved with Top Chef since its beginning in 2006, where he has served as head judge. He won an Emmy Award in 2010 for Outstanding Reality-Competition Programming as an executive producer of Top Chef, on which he appears.InfoAbout Tom and His Book Why I Cookhttps://www.tomcolicchio.com/The NJ Wine & Food Festival @ Crystal Springs May 1-3The Restaurant Guys will be podcasting from there May 2. Come see us!https://shop.crystalgolfresort.com/collections/14th-annual-new-jersey-wine-food-festivalOur 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.com

This is a Vintage Episode from 2006 (where they tell a story that they later re-told on the Curtis Duffy 2024 episode about the worst food they’ve ever served)The BanterThe Guys discuss a recent article correlating hamburger consumption and childhood asthma as well as when gloves are more hygienic….and less so. The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys call on Cathy Corison, owner and winemaker at Corison Winery. They talk about the “miracle” of seeing more women in the wine business and the numerous obstacles Cathy had to get through to get to where she is today–making outstanding wines in her own style. The Inside TrackThe Guys have been fans of Cathy’s wines even when the press was not. When asked whether she cared about the points her wine receives, here’s what she had to say.“So the answer is no, I don't. And if I cared about that, I wouldn't be as stubborn as I've been to make a wine that is still elegant,”Cathy Corison on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2006  BioCathy Corison’s winemaking journey began nearly 50 years ago when she took a wine appreciation course. Two years later she graduated, and two days after that, arrived in the Napa Valley, bent on making wine. A master’s degree in Enology at UC Davis followed. She made wine at Chappellet Vineyard for the 1980’s. In 1987  she began to buy grapes and barrels. Using other wineries’ facilities, she was able to create the wine of her own.She founded her own winery, Corison Winery, in 1987. Corison Winery makes primarily cabernet wines and produces 2,500 cases a year.She was named San Francisco Chronicle Winemaker of the Year 2011InfoCorison Wineryhttps://www.corison.com/Corison Wines at Stage Left Wine Shop, NJhttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/websearch_results.html?kw=corisonCurrent article linking asthma and hamburgerhttps://theconversation.com/how-burgers-and-chips-for-lunch-can-worsen-your-asthma-that-afternoon-206402The NJ Wine & Food Festival @ Crystal Springs May 1-3The Restaurant Guys will be podcasting from there May 2. Come see us!https://shop.crystalgolfresort.com/collections/14th-annual-new-jersey-wine-food-festivalOur 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.com