The Restaurant Guys

The BanterThe Guys discuss the movement in the wine industry to market wine as a lifestyle product. Do folks want to choose wine based on what’s on the bottle or what’s in the bottle?The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys chat with Max Tucci, third-generation restaurateur of the iconic Delmonico's in New York. They delve into the rich history of Delmonico's, discussing its significance from the Gilded Age to today and the culinary innovations that originated there. Max shares touching stories about his family's legacy and the importance of hospitality which he carries into his new venture Tucci.The Inside TrackThe Guys and Max, all seasoned restaurateurs, understand that while there are many moving pieces in a dining experience, there is really only one thing that matters.“Here's one thing, and you guys get it. At the end of the day, people aren't gonna remember the music. They're not gonna remember if the cocktail was perfectly chilled. They're not gonna remember if this steak was medium rare, but they're gonna remember how they were treated,” Max Tucci on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2025BioMax Tucci is an award-winning producer, host, and author, best known for carrying forward the legacy of New York City’s iconic Delmonico’s restaurant. Max is also the author of The Delmonico Way: Sublime Entertaining and Legendary Recipes from the Restaurant that Made New York. His podcast, Max & Friends, began as a radio show in 2008 and became a podcast. It’s currently on hiatus.InfoMax Tucci (find his restaurants, book and show)https://thedelmonicoway.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

This is a Vintage Selection from 2008The BanterThe Guys talk about a civilized way to get groomsmen looking good for the wedding that doesn’t involve a trip to the spa. The First ConversationThe Restaurant Guys hear from Kim Haasarud, author and mixologist, who gives advice on sangria. They talk about which wines work best, how to get the most out of the fruit and the best ways to implement it at a party. The Second ConversationThe Restaurant Guys talk with Jeanne Kelley about her experiences with urban gardening –complete with chickens and a goat! She shares her joy of composting, the best kitchen tool she’s ever used and a secret ingredient that’s one of The Guys’ favorites. BiosKim Haasarud is an award-winning mixologist, author, and founder of Liquid Architecture, a consulting firm known for crafting innovative cocktail programs. She is the author of the best-selling 101 Cocktails series and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Wine Enthusiast, and Cosmopolitan.Jeanne Kelley is a Los Angeles–based cookbook author, food writer specializing in seasonal, sustainable cooking. She trained at the esteemed École de Cuisine La Varenne in Paris.Jeanne is the author of several cookbooks, including Salad for Dinner, The Portable Feast, and Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes: A Backyard Garden-to-Table Cookbook.  Her work has been featured in publications such as Bon Appétit, Cooking Light, Fine Cooking, and Everyday with Rachael Ray. She also contributed to Williams Sonoma’s Holiday Baking collection. InfoKim Hassarudhttps://www.liquid-architecture.com/Jeanne Kelleyhttps://www.jeannekelleykitchen.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

BanterThe Guys talk about an unusual cooking appliance and how long is too long to keep snails in your pantry.The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys finally catch up with Robert LeBlanc, hotelier and restaurateur. They talk about camaraderie within the restaurant community and how that enhances the experience for all involved. The love of hospitality often goes back to their roots of family and experienced restaurateurs before them and that’s how they navigate the inevitable challenges of the industry. The Inside TrackThe Guys and Robert find common ground in how they lead their teams—training staff to share their own enthusiasm and create genuine connections with guests.Mark: As I said to the team yesterday, pick something that you are just absolutely passionate about and talk to the customers about that and tell it from your heart and tell it from who you are and tell it from your perspective of why you like it. Nothing's more powerful than that.Robert: We have a value built on that. It’s called, “Do cool shit and stay humble.”Robert LeBlanc on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2025BioRobert LeBlanc has built some of New Orleans’ favorite spots. His hospitality group, LeBlanc+Smith, is behind Sylvain, the French Quarter bistro; Barrel Proof, a whiskey bar; and The Chloe, an Uptown boutique hotel. He’s also opened The Celestine, a French Quarter stunner with the cocktail bar Peychaud’s, plus neighborhood hangouts like Anna’s and The Will & The Way—each with its own personality.InfoRobert’s grouphttps://www.leblancandsmith.com/Robert’s NOLA recshttps://www.chaisdelachaise.com/https://patoisnola.com/https://www.galatoires.com/https://www.arnaudsrestaurant.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

This is a Vintage Selection from 2012The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys talk with Barb Stuckey, taste expert, about the difference between taste and flavor. They discuss why you need to contemplate what you eat and use all five senses when you taste. Hear about Barb’s UNfocus tasting group that tested how impairment impacts your perception of food.The Inside TrackThe Guys and Barb discuss analyzing food the way we dissect wine. Barb: We do a lot of critical tasting of wine, yet we don't necessarily do the same of food. I thought that that was pretty odd given that only about 35% of the population in America drinks wine, but a hundred percent of us eat food.Francis: I would like to point out that that's our favorite 35%, but I get your point.Barb Stuckey on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2012BioBarb Stuckey is a leading food developer, taste expert, and author of Taste: Surprising Stories and Science About Why Food Tastes Good. As Chief New Product Strategy Officer at Mattson (the largest independent food and beverage innovation company in North America) she’s spent over two decades helping create the products that shape how we eat.Known as a “taste educator,” Stuckey translates the science of flavor into everyday language. Barb was instrumental in helping The San Francisco Cooking School integrate the science of taste into their curriculum by teaching the fundamentals of taste to each incoming class during the school’s 10 years in San Francisco. She spoke at the NextGen Restaurant Summit, gave a TED Talk on umami and has contributed articles about the food industry to Forbes.com.InfoBarb’s bookTaste: Surprising Stories and Science about Why Food Tastes Good By Barb StuckeyOur 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 Restaurant Guys are solo this show by listener request. You’ll hear great advice like never touch a waiter’s tray and guidance on the right number of martinis to have before a business dinner (Hint: It’s less than two if you haven’t had lunch.) From celebrity encounters to fur coats, these are a few quirky tales of life behind the scenes of fine dining.InfoBistro Huddy on IGhttps://www.instagram.com/drewtalbert/The Sussmanshttps://www.instagram.com/thesussmans/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 reconcile salumi and salami and talk about a high-end chocolate scandal.The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys are eager to speak with Natalie MacLean, renowned wine and food writer, to talk about pairing wines with summer foods, especially vegetables. She offers insightful advice on choosing wines for weddings and other gatherings.The Inside TrackThe Guys talk with Natalie about the beauty of toasts.“ I love making toasts because I think it just seals the celebration like the bow on the present. It's a symbol of unity. That's what toasting was in the old days. People would literally clink their glasses to make sure the wine spilled a little bit into each other's cup. Well, and they were also making sure they weren't poisoning each other. But that's another issue,” Natalie MacLean on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2007 BioNatalie is a wine writer and educator. She is the wine expert on CTV's The Social,  CTV News, and Breakfast Television.Natalie's first book Red, White and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass and her second book Unquenchable: A Tipsy Quest for the World's Best Bargain Wines were both selected as one of Amazon's Best Books of the Year. Her third book Wine Witch on Fire: Rising from the Ashes of Divorce, Defamation, and Drinking Too Much has become a National Bestseller.She was named the World's Best Drinks Writer at the World Food Media Awards, and has won four James Beard Foundation Journalism Awards  and the M.F.K. Fisher Award for Excellence in Culinary Writing from Les Dames d'Escoffier International.InfoNatalie’s site (find her books here)https://www.nataliemaclean.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 discuss changes in how vintage port is aging and then (somehow) pivot to mezcal. Like wine, agave spirits are tied to the land and the magicians who create it.The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys host the founders of Southern Smoke Foundation Chris Shepherd and Lindsey Brown to share the origins of the foundation and how it operates today. Southern Smoke supports hospitality workers and beyond by facilitating services for those in need. They host a festival with dozens of talented chefs, great music and even fly fishing.The Inside TrackThe Guys get the inside track on the Southern Smoke Festival. “It’s five hours of Heck, Yes!” Chris Shepherd on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2025BiosLindsey BrownLindsey Brown spent a decade as Director of Marketing and Public Relations for the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau.In 2015, she co-founded the Southern Smoke Foundation. The following year, she launched her own firm, Lindsey Brown Public Relations, which she led until she became Executive Director of the foundation in 2023.Chris ShepherdAfter nearly a decade working in the city’s high-end culinary scene, Chris Shepherd launched Underbelly, a restaurant concept designed to celebrate Houston’s uncelebrated cultures. He published his first cookbook Cook Like a Local in 2019, to highlight Houston’s food scene and the people behind it. Through his work, Chris has been honored with a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest, two James Beard nominations for Underbelly, and several “Best Of” list appearances in national publications. InfoSouthern Smoke Foundationhttps://southernsmoke.org/Eat Like a Local on YouTubehttps://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE9Pqq0sa8JN0SYXuL82IdCd7Ep_oTexE&feature=sharedSubscribe: 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 assert that in addition to the arts, one of the keys to revitalizing cities is al fresco dining…but close the doors if it’s sultry.The Conversation The Restaurant Guys gather intel from expert Ed Hamilton who spent time studying the spirit. Ed discusses the different processes, labeling and deceit in the rum market. Most importantly, Ed shares some of the best ways to enjoy rum. Cheers!The Inside TrackThe Guys have learned a great deal from Ed’s research; they are appreciative of his obsession…or should they say passion.Francis:  You have a kind of an obsession with rum. Why rum? Ed: Well, I would call it a passion, not an obsession.Mark: That's 'cause you haven't met you, Ed.Francis: All obsessed people called their obsessions passions.Ed: Yeah. And all my friends are characters except me. BioEd Hamilton is a leading authority on rum and the founder of the Ministry of Rum, a trusted resource for enthusiasts and professionals alike. A former merchant mariner turned rum advocate, Ed has spent decades traveling the Caribbean to document distilleries, traditions, and styles of rum. He is the author of several definitive books on the spirit.Ed has been instrumental in introducing authentic Caribbean rums to broader markets through his Hamilton Rum portfolio.  His Ministry of Rum Lost Voyage Rum was named Rum of the Year at the Bartenders Spirits Awards 2024. InfoEd’s site (a work in progress so check back!)http://www.ministryofrum.com/For recipes, emailTheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.comSubscribe: 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 ConversationThe Restaurant Guys are in-person with tiki expert Jeff “Beachbum” Berry and New Orleans restaurant royalty Dickie Brennan. Jeff walks us through his experience excavating true tiki recipes through research and observation (often taking notes on matchbook covers!). Then Dickie tells of his family history and how their restaurants shaped the food scene not only in New Orleans, but around the globe and were integral to establishing respected American cuisine. The Inside TrackThe Guys are big fans of both Jeff’s bar and Dickie’s family’s restaurants. They were thrilled to be at Latitude 29 in front of a LIVE audience hosted by “Bum” and joined by Dickie Brennan. The drinks flowed, stories unfolded and the good times rolled.BiosJeff Jeff “Beachbum” Berry is an author, bar owner, and cocktail historian known for his work documenting and reviving mid-20th-century tropical drink recipes. Bum's has written seven books and has played a major role in the tiki cocktail revival, earning him recognition from national publications and the cocktail community.In 2014, he opened Latitude 29 in New Orleans, a bar and restaurant dedicated to historically accurate tiki cocktails and Polynesian-inspired cuisine. Dickie Dickie Brennan is a third-generation New Orleans restaurateur. He is part of the esteemed Brennan family of New Orleans restaurateurs. He learned the foundations of cooking while working as a line cook at his family’s restaurants and travels to France, New York City, and Mexico.Dickie made a career in his family’s restaurant business, and continued with his own ventures as a restaurateur. Under Dickie Brennan & Company, he opened four New Orleans restaurants.InfoJeff “Beachbum” Berry’s sitehttps://beachbumberry.com/latitude29.htmlDickie Brennan’s sitehttps://www.frenchquarter-dining.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

 Hey there. I'm Francis Schott.And I'm Mark Pascal. We started the restaurant guys in 2005 on AM radio. Podcasts first appeared on iTunes a couple of months later. The Restaurant Guys podcast was born and it lasted for nine years. We were one of the first restaurant podcasts ever. We had about 600 conversations with the most interesting people in the food world at the time. After a 10 year break, we're back. we post compelling vintage selections from our archives along with brand new conversations with some of the most interesting people in food, wine, and the finer things in life.Enjoy the show. 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