The Restaurant Guys

Banter

Can you teach hospitality or are you just teaching people to fake it? Mark and Francis discuss scripted service, sincerity, and a restaurant’s apparently AI-generated emails that promised a personal welcome the dining room failed to deliver.

The Conversation

Paul MacDonald of the Lovers Bar at Philadelphia’s Friday Saturday Sunday joins the Guys to explain how a cocktail experiment became a decade-long exploration of flavor and proportion. His Fibonacci cocktails use five ingredients in a 1:1:2:3:5 ratio, but he’s quick to clarify that the formula represents just one corner of the bar’s broader cocktail program.

That experiment evolved into the Carousel: 21 bottles arranged in a fixed order, with five consecutive ingredients combined according to the ratio. Guests can spin for a drink or choose a combination that appeals to them (that’s not cheating!). Paul shares a favorite recipe, while the Guys explore why giving guests something to participate in makes a bar experience memorable.

They also discuss keeping regulars’ favorite drinks alongside new creations, a low-alcohol aperitif with the character of a stronger cocktail, and Philadelphia’s particular talent for serving exceptional food at a lively neighborhood bar. After the interview, Mark and Francis recap their Halloween pop-up, complete with a vampire sommelier, an overheated Sasquatch, and a smoke machine that didn’t delight every dinner guest.

Guest Bio

Paul MacDonald is the head bartender at the Lovers Bar at Philadelphia’s Michelin-starred Friday Saturday Sunday. His cocktail program includes the Carousel, an interactive menu built around 21 bottles and Fibonacci proportions. The Lovers Bar was a 2025 James Beard Award finalist for Outstanding Bar; Friday Saturday Sunday received the 2023 award for Outstanding Restaurant.Friday Saturday Sunday

Timestamps

00:00 — Can hospitality be taught—or faked?
12:00 — Paul MacDonald on what Fibonacci cocktails are and are not
14:00 — The five-ingredient experiment behind the formula
20:00 — How the cocktail Carousel works
24:00 — Friday Saturday Sunday and Philadelphia’s dinner-at-the-bar culture
30:00 — Vampires, Sasquatch, and the spooky bar

Paul’s Carousel Pick

Using ¼ ounce as one part:

• 1¼ ounces Becherovka
• ¾ ounce Oloroso sherry
• ½ ounce rhubarb liqueur
• ¼ ounce Barolo Chinato
• ¼ ounce Bols Genever

The recipe totals 3 ounces before dilution.

Info

The Lovers Bar and Carousel:
https://www.fridaysaturdaysunday.com/lovers-bar

Friday Saturday Sunday:
https://www.fridaysaturdaysunday.com/

Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regular

https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/

Magyar Bank

https://www.magbank.com/

Stage Left Wine Shop

https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/

Our Places

Stage Left Steak
https://www.stageleft.com/

Catherine Lombardi Restaurant
https://www.catherinelombardi.com/

Stage Left Wineshop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com//

Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

This is a Vintage episode from 2006.

Why This Episode Matters

• Learn when a shortcut saves effort without sacrificing the finished dish.
• Bring restaurant habits home: prepare ahead, clean as you go, and cook with more confidence.
• Hear Susan Spungen on finding her own voice after twelve years at Martha Stewart Living.

The Banter

A new restaurant in New Brunswick sends Mark and Francis back to the days when dinner service ended and the disco ball came down. They also explore how old restaurant menus can help researchers trace changes in the oceans by tracking seafood availability, prices, and tastes.

The Conversation

Susan Spungen, the founding food editor of Martha Stewart Living, joins the Guys to discuss her first solo cookbook, Recipes: A Collection for the Modern Cook. She describes stepping out from behind a major media company and making cooking approachable without stripping away the pleasure of doing it well. Her rule for shortcuts: the result still has to be something you’re proud of.

Organized by technique, her book helps cooks understand what they’re doing rather than simply follow instructions. Susan, Mark, and Francis discuss mise en place, planning ahead, and why getting the cleanup done early can matter as much as getting the chopping done.

They also cover knives, essential cookware, and the advantages of moving a pan from stovetop to oven. Susan recalls a mandoline mishap while filming with Martha; yet the cameras had to keep rolling. Afterward, the Guys remember their 1996 dinner celebrating the bicentennial of Amelia Simmons’s American Cookery.

Guest Bio

Susan Spungen is a cook, food stylist, recipe developer, and cookbook author. She was the founding food editor and editorial director of food at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Her books include Recipes: A Collection for the Modern Cook and Cookie Queen.

2026 Update

Susan’s new book, Cookie Queen, publishes November 3, 2026, with more than 80 cookie recipes. The book discussed in this 2006 interview is Recipes: A Collection for the Modern Cook.PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

Timestamps

00:00 — Disco balls and what old menus reveal
07:00 — Susan Spungen steps out on her own
12:00 — Permission to take a shortcut
16:00 — Restaurant preparation for the home kitchen
20:00 — Knife skills and caring for your tools
25:00 — Essential cookware and a mishap with Martha

Links

Susan Spungen:
https://www.susanspungen.com/

Cookie Queen:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/797830/cookie-queen-by-susan-spungen/

Oct 26-31 - Spooky Bar at Stage Left Steak

https://www.stageleft.com/event/spooky-bar-1026-1031/

Oct 27, Tuesday - Robert Simonson book signing cocktail party

More info - https://www.stageleft.com/events/

Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regular

https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/

Magyar Bank

https://www.magbank.com/

Stage Left Wine Shop

https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/

Our Places

Stage Left Steak
https://www.stageleft.com/

Catherine Lombardi Restaurant
https://www.catherinelombardi.com/

Stage Left Wineshop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com//

Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

Why This Episode Matters

• A great bartender needs more than recipes and a great cocktail doesn’t necessarily need more ingredients.
• Black and Filipino bartenders helped shape American drinking and preserve traditions that might otherwise have disappeared.
• The drinks that last are the ones other bartenders can actually make.

The Banter

Mark and Francis debate whether we’ve reached peak spritz, suggest leaving the soda out of an Aperol Spritz, and deliver an unfiltered verdict on Sarti Rosa. After the interview, a dirty-martini disagreement turns into an argument about olive brine, expensive gin, and who’s being too fancy.

The Conversation

Cocktail historian David Wondrich returns to discuss The Comic Book History of the Cocktail, illustrated by Dean Kotz. He shares the stories of Black bartenders, the Colored Mixologists Club, and the Filipino bartenders who helped keep tiki recipes alive, along with a mint julep far more elaborate than the bourbon-and-mint version most people know.

The Guys explore Jerry Thomas’s missing illustrated book, the cocktail world’s dark ages, and the revival they helped build. Wondrich explains why Mark, Francis, and New Brunswick earned a place in his account of the cocktail renaissance.

Then the conversation turns to today’s bars: the balance between technical skill and hospitality, making classic drinks with care, and cocktails so complicated that no one else can reproduce them. David makes the case for choosing ingredients thoughtfully and giving each drink a flavor that can actually shine.

The Guest

David Wondrich is a James Beard Award-winning author and cocktail historian whose books include Imbibe! and Punch. He is editor in chief of The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails and a founding partner of Beverage Alcohol Resource.

Timestamps

00:00 — Peak spritz and the Sarti Rosa debate
07:00 — David Wondrich and cocktail history in comic-book form
15:00 — The bartenders behind the history, from tiki to the mai tai
19:00 — Black bartenders and the Colored Mixologists Club
24:00 — Jerry Thomas and his missing cocktail book
28:00 — The cocktail dark ages and bartender evolution
36:00 — New Brunswick’s place in the cocktail renaissance
39:00 — Cocktail complexity, costs, and the return to classics
43:00 — Why some cocktails travel and others never will
48:00 — The Guys’ dirty-martini disagreement

Information

The Comic Book History of the Cocktail:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/675535/the-comic-book-history-of-the-cocktail-by-david-wondrich-illustrated-by-dean-kotz/

David Wondrich at Beverage Alcohol Resource:
https://beveragealcoholresource.com/who-we-are/who-we-are-dave/

Oct 26-31 - Spooky Bar at Stage Left Steak

https://www.stageleft.com/event/spooky-bar-1026-1031/

Oct 27, Tuesday - Robert Simonson book signing cocktail party

More info - https://www.stageleft.com/events/

Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regular

https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/

Magyar Bank

https://www.magbank.com/

Stage Left Wine Shop

https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/

Our Places

Stage Left Steak
https://www.stageleft.com/

Catherine Lombardi Restaurant
https://www.catherinelombardi.com/

Stage Left Wineshop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com//

Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

This is a Vintage episode from 2005.

Why This Episode Matters

• Earning three Michelin stars is a triumph. Keeping them brings financial commitments, public scrutiny, and relentless pressure.
• Rudolph Chelminski knew Bernard Loiseau for decades and offers a personal view of the ambition behind his extraordinary career.
• As they prepare to open Catherine Lombardi, Mark and Francis share their own concerns about expansion and protecting an established restaurant’s reputation.
• Recorded before Michelin’s first NYC guide, this conversation captures the Guys debating whether any New York restaurant would earn three stars.

The Banter

Francis catches jazz singer Jacqui Naylor at the Blue Note, and the Guys explain why they love going out during the week. Charlie Trotter’s canceled New York restaurant prompts a discussion about expansion, expense, scrutiny, and their own preparations to open Catherine Lombardi while maintaining standards at Stage Left.

The Conversation

What does it take to earn three Michelin stars and what does keeping them demand? Journalist Rudolph Chelminski joins Mark and Francis to discuss The Perfectionist: Life and Death in Haute Cuisine, his biography of French chef Bernard Loiseau. Having known Loiseau for decades, Chelminski shares the ambition, energy, and self-doubt behind his rise to the pinnacle of French dining.

From an apprenticeship with the Troisgros brothers to taking his restaurant company public, Loiseau built a remarkable career. The conversation explores exhaustion, public scrutiny, and the financial and personal pressures surrounding him before his death in 2003.

There’s also a discussion of professional service, finding value at lunch in great French restaurants, and the expense of maintaining an exceptional dining experience. Afterward, Mark and Francis make competing predictions about whether any New York restaurant will receive three stars when Michelin’s first NYC guide arrives. Mark’s prediction proves correct: Per Se receives three stars in Michelin’s inaugural New York City guide.

Guest Bio

Rudolph Chelminski is a journalist and author whose work has appeared in Life, Time, and The Atlantic Monthly. His books include The French at Table and The Perfectionist: Life and Death in Haute Cuisine.

Timestamps

00:00 — Jazz, Manhattans, and going out during the week
05:00 — Charlie Trotter, expansion, and opening Catherine Lombardi
07:00 — Bernard Loiseau and the pressure of public scrutiny
12:00 — Understanding Michelin’s star system
18:00 — Apprenticeship and the ambition to earn three stars
23:00 — Professional service, lunch bargains, and three-star expenses
29:00 — Michelin’s influence and predictions for New York City

Info

Rudolph’s book
The Perfectionist: Life and Death in Haute Cuisine

The Michelin Guide
https://guide.michelin.com/

Jacqui Naylor

https://jacquinaylor.com/wp/

Oct 23, Friday - Winemaker Dinner w/ Neri Capponi of Villa Calcinaia Winery

Oct 26-31 - Spooky Bar

Oct 27, Tuesday - Robert Simonson book signing cocktail party

More info - https://www.stageleft.com/events/

Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regular

https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/

Magyar Bank

https://www.magbank.com/

Stage Left Wine Shop

https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/

Our Places

Stage Left Steak
https://www.stageleft.com/

Catherine Lombardi Restaurant
https://www.catherinelombardi.com/

Stage Left Wineshop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com//

Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

Why This Episode Matters

• What it takes to reopen a restaurant after a fire shuts it down just three days into business.
• How a shared-space kitchen becomes a lesson in building one restaurant team.
• What went into training Jeremy Allen White for The Bear and that restaurant professionals find the show almost too real.
• Why the smallest service and design decisions can shape an entire dining experience.

Banter

Can airport pizza outperform a Chicago pizza restaurant? Francis and Mark compare deep-dish disappointments, Detroit-style discoveries, and a dropped cleaning rag that should have prompted more than an apology.

The Conversation

Recorded inside Gingie in Chicago, this conversation begins with the kitchen fire that closed Brian Lockwood’s new restaurant after just three days. Five months later, he reopened with a redesigned kitchen and a team that had weathered the interruption together. Brian explains how he approached the shutdown as a second chance, retained his leadership team, and reconsidered how a small kitchen could work better.

The discussion turns to Chicago’s restaurant community and Brian’s priorities: delicious food, a comfortable room, and guests having fun. With bartenders and cooks sharing tight quarters, Gingie puts its “one team one dream” philosophy into practice. Mark and Francis explore how that approach carries into leadership, accountability, and leaving the pot-throwing chef behind.

Brian also shares how a call from Will Guidara led to training Jeremy Allen White and consulting on The Bear, from cooking techniques and mannerisms to developing dishes. Back in the dining room, the Guys examine the details that make hospitality feel effortless: red order books that match the servers’ jackets, thoughtfully designed seating, and discreetly placed screens. Great service, they agree, should leave guests knowing they had a wonderful evening even if they can’t explain every reason why.

Guest Bio

Brian Lockwood is a chef partner with Boka Restaurant Group and the chef behind Gingie in Chicago’s River North neighborhood. His career includes The French Laundry, Frasca Food and Wine, NoMad New York, and Eleven Madison Park, where he served as chef de cuisine. He also worked as a culinary consultant on The Bear.

Timestamps

00:00 — Chicago pizza, Detroit-style discoveries, and a service mishap
04:30 — Brian Lockwood and Gingie’s opening-week fire
10:00 — Rethinking the kitchen and keeping the team together
13:00 — Delicious first: hospitality and Chicago’s restaurant community
19:00 — One team: cooks, bartenders, and better leadership
21:00 — Consulting on The Bear and training Jeremy Allen White
25:00 — The small details behind seemingly effortless service

Info

Gingie; Chicago, IL
https://www.gingiechicago.com/

Brian Lockwood
https://www.bokagrp.com/brian-lockwood

Oct 23, Friday - Winemaker Dinner w/ Neri Capponi of Villa Calcinaia Winery

Oct 26-31 - Spooky Bar

Oct 27, Tuesday - Robert Simonson book signing cocktail party

More info - https://www.stageleft.com/events/

Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regular

https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/

Magyar Bank

https://www.magbank.com/

Stage Left Wine Shop

https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/

Our Places

Stage Left Steak
https://www.stageleft.com/

Catherine Lombardi Restaurant
https://www.catherinelombardi.com/

Stage Left Wineshop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com//

Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

Why This Episode Matters

• Kyle Knall explains why Milwaukee offers the community support to build ambitious restaurants—and a life outside them.
• Jason Ryczek takes us inside Caviar Camp, from getting into tanks with sturgeon to selecting roe and serving it at Little’s Oyster Bar.
• Leonard Botello IV reveals what separates exceptional brisket from disappointing barbecue, including the importance of fire management, resting and learning to listen.
• These conversations celebrate the craft and hospitality behind memorable meals, all in support of Southern Smoke Foundation’s work helping food and beverage workers.

The Conversation

Back at Southern Smoke Festival in Houston, Mark and Francis welcome returning guest Kyle Knall of Milwaukee’s Birch and newly opened Cassis. Kyle describes his vision for an all-day French brasserie and the community enthusiasm that makes Milwaukee such a rewarding place to cook. They also discuss the city’s cocktail culture and its newest residents, drinks writer Robert Simonson and his wife, Mary Kate Murray.

Jason Ryczek of Little’s Oyster Bar offers a remarkably hands-on look at caviar production, including his annual visits to Caviar Camp with mentor Deborah Keane. He discusses selecting roe, using the rest of the sturgeon and developments in no-kill caviar. Back at the table, Jason explains his Southern approach to caviar service, complemented by hush puppies and potato dumplings.

Leonard Botello IV of Truth BBQ gets into the details that make great Texas barbecue: quality beef, steady fires, humidity and the crucial resting period. He describes the quiet overnight hours when the sounds of the pit tell him what needs attention, and why experience matters more than a rigid formula. Mark and Francis also share what made their visit to Truth so memorable, from the welcome their luggage received to outstanding brisket, warm hospitality and banana cake with an Old Fashioned.

The Guests

Kyle Knall — Chef and co-owner of Birch and Cassis in Milwaukee, where he and his wife and business partner, Meghan Knall, combine ambitious cooking with neighborhood hospitality.

Jason Ryczek — Chef of Little’s Oyster Bar in Houston, bringing a West Coast perspective to Gulf Coast seafood and a hands-on approach to caviar selection and service.

Leonard Botello IV — Owner and pitmaster of Truth BBQ in Brenham and Houston, known for his meticulous approach to Central Texas barbecue.

Timestamps

00:00 — Back in Houston for Southern Smoke
01:00 — Kyle Knall: Birch, Cassis and Milwaukee’s dining scene
05:00 — An all-day brasserie and the power of community support
10:00 — Jason Ryczek: Inside Caviar Camp
15:00 — Selecting roe and using the whole sturgeon
17:00 — Developments in no-kill caviar
19:00 — Caviar service with a Southern accent
20:00 — Oysters, Gulf seafood and a taste of place
25:00 — Leonard Botello IV: The welcome at Truth BBQ
30:00 — What makes Texas barbecue distinctive
32:00 — Listening to the pit and learning through experience
38:00 — Great brisket, proper resting and managing the fire

Info

Southern Smoke Foundation:https://www.southernsmoke.org/

Birch:https://www.birchonpleasant.com/

Cassis:https://www.cassismke.com/

Little’s Oyster Bar:https://littlesoysterbar.com/

Truth BBQ:https://truthbbq.com/

Stage Left events, including the Robert Simonson book signing:https://www.stageleft.com/events/

Oct 23, Friday - Winemaker Dinner w/ Neri Capponi of Villa Calcinaia Winery

Oct 26-31 - Spooky Bar

Oct 27, Tuesday - Robert Simonson book signing cocktail party

More info - https://www.stageleft.com/events/

Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regular

https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/

Magyar Bank

https://www.magbank.com/

Stage Left Wine Shop

https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/

Our Places

Stage Left Steak
https://www.stageleft.com/

Catherine Lombardi Restaurant
https://www.catherinelombardi.com/

Stage Left Wineshop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com//

Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

Why This Episode Matters

• Can restaurants offer exceptional food and hospitality while giving their employees a better life? These owners explain how they’re doing it.
• Birdie’s challenges the traditional fine dining model with counter service, a serious wine program and meaningful employee benefits.
• Shuai Wang shares how Top Chef helped him rediscover his inspiration through collaboration with other chefs.
• Ayu Bakehouse teaches employees the business skills to pursue their own ideas—and pays them to learn.

The Conversation

Recorded at Southern Smoke Festival in Houston, these conversations explore what makes a restaurant worth working in, visiting and keeping alive. Benjy Mason discusses his journey from nonprofit founder to Houston hospitality operator, building neighborhood gathering places and earning employees’ trust. Arjav Ezekiel and Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel explain how Birdie’s in Austin combines counter service with thoughtful hospitality, seasonal tasting menus and a business model that supports both its owners and its team.

Shuai and Corrie Wang talk about weathering a pandemic, a restaurant fire and the pressures of ownership while continuing to find joy in their work. Shuai describes how Top Chef renewed his enthusiasm for cooking, and they share the inspiration behind King BBQ’s blend of Chinatown and Carolina barbecue. There’s also the amaro shakerato that stopped Mark and Francis in their tracks. Lastly they touch on Corrie’s other life as a novelist.

Samantha Weiss of New Orleans’ Ayu Bakehouse brings croissant king cakes, savory Boudin Boys and the unforgettable “challigator” to the conversation. She explains how Ayu Schoolhouse helps employees develop business plans and test their concepts through pop-ups, along with the practical reasons for using Goldbelly to ship king cakes. Throughout the episode, Southern Smoke’s mission gives these conversations a shared purpose: taking care of the people who make hospitality possible.

The Guests

Benjy Mason — Houston hospitality entrepreneur behind neighborhood destinations including Johnny’s Gold Brick, Winnie’s, Starduster Lounge and Shredders Pizza.

Arjav Ezekiel and Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel — Married co-owners of Birdie’s in Austin, combining Arjav’s wine and hospitality expertise with Tracy’s seasonal cooking.

Shuai and Corrie Wang — Married restaurateurs behind Jackrabbit Filly and King BBQ in North Charleston. Shuai is a chef and Top Chef alumnus; Corrie is also the author of The Takedown and City of Beasts.

Samantha Weiss — Co-owner of Ayu Bakehouse in New Orleans with Kelly Jacques, bringing a background in financial services and pastry to the bakery and its employee education program.

Timestamps

0:00:00 — Southern Smoke and an industry taking care of its own
0:03:00 — Benjy Mason: Neighborhood places and community
0:06:00 — From nonprofit work to restaurant kitchens
0:13:00 — Building a workplace based on trust
0:18:00 — Arjav and Tracy: Rethinking restaurants at Birdie’s
0:21:00 — Counter service, wine in line and real hospitality
0:33:00 — Seasonal menus and a different kind of tasting menu
0:38:00 — Shuai and Corrie Wang: Restaurants, resilience and shakeratos
0:41:00 — Finding fresh inspiration on Top Chef
0:45:00 — Chinatown meets Carolina barbecue at King BBQ
0:48:00 — Samantha Weiss: King cakes, Boudin Boys and challigators
0:54:00 — Ayu Schoolhouse and helping employees become entrepreneurs
0:58:00 — Shipping king cakes with Goldbelly
1:00:00 — What’s coming in Vol. 2

Info

Southern Smoke Foundation:https://www.southernsmoke.org/

Benjy Mason’s Houston restaurants:https://www.southernsmoke.org/chef/benjy-mason/

Birdie’s:https://www.birdiesaustin.com/

Jackrabbit Filly:https://www.jackrabbitfilly.com/

King BBQ:https://eatkingbbq.com/

Corrie Wang’s books:https://www.corriewang.com/

Ayu Bakehouse:https://www.ayubakehouse.com/

Oct 23, Friday - Winemaker Dinner w/ Neri Capponi of Villa Calcinaia Winery

Oct 26-31 - Spooky Bar

Oct 27, Tuesday - Robert Simonson book signing cocktail party

More info - https://www.stageleft.com/events/

Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regular

https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/

Magyar Bank

https://www.magbank.com/

Stage Left Wine Shop

https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/

Our Places

Stage Left Steak
https://www.stageleft.com/

Catherine Lombardi Restaurant
https://www.catherinelombardi.com/

Stage Left Wineshop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com//

Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

This is a Vintage episode from 2010.

Why This Episode Matters

• Greg Boehm explains how obscure pre-Prohibition cocktail books became useful again as ingredients and serious bartending returned.
• He shares how Mud Puddle Books reproduced historic cocktail books in painstaking detail — right down to the paper, binding and gold stamping.
• The conversation captures an important moment in the rise of Japanese bartending in the U.S., including Kazuo Uyeda, the Hard Shake and the English-language release of Cocktail Technique.
• Boehm also opens up his remarkable 2,800-volume cocktail collection to bartenders, writers and researchers.

Banter

Mark and Francis make the case that if you're going to eat a doughnut or a donut, it had better be worth it.

The Conversation

Greg Boehm joins The Restaurant Guys to discuss Mud Puddle Books and the revival of historic cocktail literature. He explains how once-obscure bartending manuals became valuable resources during the cocktail renaissance and why he began reproducing classics by Jerry Thomas and Harry Johnson.

The conversation turns to Japanese bartending traditions, from specialized bar tools to precise stirring, shaking and ice techniques. Boehm also previews the English-language release of Kazuo Uyeda’s Cocktail Technique and its potential influence on American bartenders.

Guest Bio

Greg Boehm is a publisher, cocktail-book collector and the founder of Mud Puddle Books and Cocktail Kingdom. His collection of thousands of historic cocktail books became both the source for meticulously reproduced editions and a working research library for bartenders, writers and cocktail historians.

Timestamps

00:00 — Donuts worth the calories
07:55 — Greg Boehm and the lost literature of cocktails
10:30 — When antique cocktail books became useful again
12:00 — Choosing which of 2,800 books to reproduce
16:00 — Japanese bar tools and Cocktail Kingdom
18:00 — Angel's Share, Kazuo Uyeda and the Hard Shake
20:35 — Preserving and sharing cocktail history

Info

Cocktail Kingdom
https://cocktailkingdom.com/

Oct 23, Friday - Winemaker Dinner w/ Neri Capponi of Villa Calcinaia Winery

Oct 26-31 - Spooky Bar

Oct 27, Tuesday - Robert Simonson book signing cocktail party

More info - https://www.stageleft.com/events/

Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regular

https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/

Magyar Bank

https://www.magbank.com/

Stage Left Wine Shop

https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/

Our Places

Stage Left Steak
https://www.stageleft.com/

Catherine Lombardi Restaurant
https://www.catherinelombardi.com/

Stage Left Wineshop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com//

Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

Why This Episode Matters

• Kenta Goto explains why the first sip of a cocktail is like a job interview: you get one chance to make the right impression, so every detail from ice and dilution to the order of operations matters.
• Noah Rothbaum makes the case that cocktail recipes have changed far less than cocktail culture itself, and that The Goto Bartender’s Guide fills in the technical information most recipes leave out.
• The conversation traces Kenta’s path from Tokyo to New York, his formative years at Pegu Club with Audrey Saunders, and the philosophy of precision and hospitality that eventually became Bar Goto.

Banter

Fall has arrived, which means Autumn Leaves cocktails, Spooky Bar and a Robert Simonson book launch at Stage Left. Mark is also counting down to Italy; Francis is counting down to Mark being in Italy.

The Conversation

Kenta Goto and Noah Rothbaum join The Guys on the release day of The Goto Bartender’s Guide. The collaboration grew out of years of friendship that began at Pegu Club and later included traveling together to teach seminars on omotenashi, or Japanese hospitality. Noah says what intrigued him was Kenta’s habit of questioning assumptions bartenders have accepted for generations: not just inventing new drinks, but reconsidering how cocktails are actually made.

Kenta traces his unlikely route into bartending from moving from Japan to New York, studying fashion, drifting through jobs and finally recognizing how much he had loved helping in his mother’s restaurant. A visit to Pegu Club changed his trajectory, and an anonymous Craigslist ad eventually led to an interview with Audrey Saunders. Her second interview was a surprise visit to watch him work, followed by an on-the-spot request for a gin sour along with a question he couldn’t answer: which gin did he use, and why?

From there, the discussion gets deeply practical. Kenta and Noah explain why shaker size, ice type, proof, dilution, stirring time and even the order ingredients enter a mixing glass can change a drink. The book translates those instincts into usable numbers, including different shake and stir counts for different ice and proof levels, while still treating them as guidelines rather than absolutes. They also explain why specifying a spirit brand matters, why teaspoons can sometimes be more useful than jiggers, and how they chose the book’s 100 recipes from classics to Kenta’s own greatest hits.

Guest Bios

Kenta Goto is the Tokyo-born bartender and owner of Bar Goto in Manhattan and Bar Goto Niban in Brooklyn. After seven years at the influential Pegu Club, he opened Bar Goto in 2015. He has been named U.S. Bartender of the Year at Tales of the Cocktail and is known for combining exacting cocktail technique with Japanese hospitality.

Noah Rothbaum is a James Beard Award-winning drinks writer, author of The Whiskey Bible: The Art of American Whiskey, and an editor of The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails. He and Goto are co-authors of The Goto Bartender’s Guide.

Timestamps

00:00 — Fall cocktails, Spooky Bar and Mark’s Italy escape
06:30 — Kenta Goto & Noah Rothbaum: Why another cocktail book?
11:30 — Kenta’s path from Tokyo to New York bartending
15:30 — Pegu Club, Audrey Saunders and the interview that changed Kenta’s career
20:00 — Noah on Kenta’s approach and what cocktail recipes have been missing
25:00 — Precision in practice: ice, dilution, shake counts and consistency
31:30 — Noah on jiggers, teaspoons and making precision accessible at home
34:00 — Proof, brand specificity and why substitutions change a drink
38:30 — Noah & Kenta on choosing the book’s 100 cocktails

Info

The Goto Bartender’s Guide
by Kenta Goto and Noah Rothbaum

Oct 23, Friday - Winemaker Dinner w/ Neri Capponi of Villa Calcinaia Winery

Oct 26-31 - Spooky Bar

Oct 27, Tuesday - Robert Simonson book signing cocktail party

More info - https://www.stageleft.com/events/

Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regular

https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/

Magyar Bank

https://www.magbank.com/

Stage Left Wine Shop

https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/

Our Places

Stage Left Steak
https://www.stageleft.com/

Catherine Lombardi Restaurant
https://www.catherinelombardi.com/

Stage Left Wineshop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com//

Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

Recorded on location at the Martini Expo in Chicago.

Why This Episode Matters

• Colin Asare-Appiah takes The Guys inside Ajabu, the cocktail and spirits festival connecting bartenders across Africa and the wider cocktail world, and discusses Black Mixcellence and the Black voices too often missing from cocktail history.
• François Monti explains why vermouth deserves far more respect than the neglected bottle at the back of the bar and how Madrid’s cocktail culture changed the way he thought about both vermouth and the martini.
• Ryan Maybee traces the unlikely revival of J. Rieger & Co., from a pre-Prohibition Kansas City whiskey brand to a modern distillery and hospitality destination, and explains why their American gin deliberately looks to classic London dry tradition.

The Conversation

Colin Asare-Appiah talks about co-founding Ajabu, created to spotlight the ingredients, bartenders and rapidly developing cocktail cultures across the African continent. The conversation turns to his book Black Mixcellence, the importance of recovering Black contributions to cocktail history, the enduring legacy of Tom Bullock and the Pornstar Martini created by his late friend Douglas Ankrah. Colin also explains why he sees the martini as a timeless drink—and why his choice between gin and vodka depends on what’s on the table.

Belgian-born, Madrid-based writer François Monti joins The Guys for a deep dive into vermouth. He explains Spain’s culture of drinking vermouth on its own, his journey from Belgian beer to cocktails, and Madrid’s long history of serious cocktail bars. The conversation eventually becomes unexpectedly personal when Mark explains why he disliked his early martinis: old vermouth or virtually no vermouth at all, and the fresh bottle that finally convinced him that vermouth could be delicious.

Ryan Maybee tells the story of discovering the forgotten J. Rieger & Co. whiskey brand while researching the history of a Kansas City hotel and ultimately helping bring it back to life. He recalls the visit to Milk & Honey that changed his career, describes the easygoing Midwestern hospitality he brought to Manifesto, and explains the historical use of sherry in Kansas City whiskey. The Guys taste Rieger Gin before Ryan discusses the freedom of American gin, why his own version deliberately embraces London dry tradition, and the classic martini experience that showed him just how much presentation matters.

Guest Bios

Colin Asare-Appiah is a Ghana-born, London-raised bartender, drinks industry veteran and co-founder of the Ajabu Cocktail and Spirits Festival in South Africa. He is co-author of Black Mixcellence: A Comprehensive Guide to Black Mixology.

François Monti is a Belgian-born spirits and cocktail writer based in Madrid. His work has appeared in publications including Punch, and he is the author of 101 Cocktails to Try Before You Die.

Ryan Maybee is a bartender, restaurateur and co-founder of J. Rieger & Co. in Kansas City. He previously opened Manifesto and has played a significant role in the development of Kansas City’s modern cocktail culture.

Timestamps

00:00 — Back at the Martini Expo: three more conversations from Chicago
02:30 — Colin Asare-Appiah and the Ajabu cocktail experience
09:30 — Black Mixcellence, Tom Bullock and recovering Black cocktail history
17:00 — The Pornstar Martini, the cocktail canon and Colin’s martini philosophy
22:30 — François Monti: from Belgian beer to Madrid cocktail culture
28:30 — Why vermouth is more than a martini ingredient
34:00 — François’ martini revelation—and Mark’s problem with bad vermouth
39:00 — Ryan Maybee: resurrecting J. Rieger & Co.
50:30 — American gin, London dry tradition and Ryan’s martini moment

Info

Martini Expo

Colin Asare-Appiah — Ajabu Cocktail and Spirits Festival
Book: Black Mixcellence: A Comprehensive Guide to Black Mixology

François Monti — 101 Cocktails to Try Before You Die
Writing: Bottoms Up

Ryan Maybee — J. Rieger & Co., Kansas City, MO

Oct 23, Friday - Winemaker Dinner w/ Neri Capponi of Villa Calcinaia Winery

Oct 26-31 - Spooky Bar

Oct 27, Tuesday - Robert Simonson book signing cocktail party

More info - https://www.stageleft.com/events/

Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regular

https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/

Magyar Bank

https://www.magbank.com/

Stage Left Wine Shop

https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/

Our Places

Stage Left Steak
https://www.stageleft.com/

Catherine Lombardi Restaurant
https://www.catherinelombardi.com/

Stage Left Wineshop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com//

Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

Recorded on location at the Martini Expo in Chicago.

Why This Episode Matters

• Toby Maloney looks back at the first wave of the modern cocktail renaissance from Milk & Honey to The Violet Hour and explains why great ice, precise dilution and serious technique still have to serve hospitality.
• Jackson Cannon recalls bringing serious cocktails into a high-volume Boston restaurant at Eastern Standard, building a team around consistency and collaboration, and why, after all the technique and innovation, the guest still matters most.
• Federico Lombardi, formerly of Barcelona’s Paradiso and now working in the U.S., compares European and American cocktail cultures and explains the lesson that taught him why temperature, dilution and precision make the martini such an exacting drink.
• Dan Smith takes The Guys inside Chicago’s Queen Mary Tavern, where a 1940s neighborhood bar became an elegant cocktail destination without losing its soul and explains why, when every small detail of a martini comes together, “it is perfection.”

Banter

Before heading into the Expo, The Guys compare notes on their very compact Chicago hotel rooms and discover that the Moxy apparently shares Stage Left’s taste in wallpaper: monkeys smoking cigars and drinking vodka.

The Conversation

Toby Maloney goes back to the beginnings of the modern craft-cocktail movement, including becoming the first bartender hired at Milk & Honey and later helping establish The Violet Hour in Chicago. He and The Guys geek out over metal-on-metal shakers, why experienced bartenders can hear the quality and quantity of ice in a tin, and how dilution changes a drink. Toby also reflects on The Violet Hour’s influence, the danger of cocktail expertise becoming pretentious, and his newer project, The Elbow Room in Vancouver, Washington. Then he explains his unusual martini built around vermouth-and-sherry granita topped with frozen gin.

Jackson Cannon joins the conversation to talk about opening Eastern Standard in Boston in 2005, when serious cocktails were still largely disconnected from serious restaurant dining. He recalls the self-taught first generation of the cocktail revival, building consistency across a large bar team and creating buy-in rather than simply dictating technique. Looking at where cocktail culture has gone since, Cannon argues that technique and creativity aren't enough to sustain a career behind the bar. What matters most is still the guest: as he puts it, borrowing from Julia Child, “It’s not what’s on the table, it’s what’s on the chairs.”

Federico Lombardi compares the cocktail cultures of Italy, Spain and the United States, talks about creating drinks through the lens of chefs and food, and recalls the training that made him understand the martini as a drink in which every detail has to be right.

Finally, Dan Smith explains how old movies first made him curious about cocktail culture, how The Violet Hour turned that curiosity into a career, and how a Polish neighborhood tavern sealed up for four decades became Queen Mary Tavern. He gets into the judicious use of salt in cocktails, the gin-and-rum Navy Strength Old Fashioned, and the Violet Hour martini that showed him what happens when dilution, bitters, temperature and technique all land exactly where they should.

Guest Bios

Toby Maloney is a bartender, author and longtime figure in the American craft-cocktail movement. He was the first bartender hired at Milk & Honey and later helped open Chicago’s influential Violet Hour. He is the author of The Bartender’s Manifesto and The Classic Cocktail Sessions and is now involved with The Elbow Room in Vancouver, Washington.

Jackson Cannon helped shape Boston’s modern cocktail culture as the longtime bar director at Eastern Standard, which opened in 2005 with serious cocktails integrated into a large, full-service restaurant. He later partnered in The Hawthorne and became an influential mentor to a generation of Boston bartenders.

Federico Lombardi is an Italian bartender who worked at Paradiso in Barcelona when it reached No. 1 on The World’s 50 Best Bars list. He has since moved to the United States and works behind the bar at Dante in New York.

Dan Smith is managing partner of Queen Mary Tavern in Chicago’s Ukrainian Village. His approach combines serious cocktail technique with the warmth and accessibility of a neighborhood tavern.

Timestamps

00:00 — Chicago, Martini Expo and the Moxy Hotel
03:45 — Toby Maloney: Milk & Honey, The Violet Hour and hearing the ice
14:30 — The Elbow Room, free pouring and Toby’s vermouth-granita martini
24:45 — Jackson Cannon: bringing craft cocktails to Boston
31:00 — Building bartenders, cocktail culture and hospitality
34:45 — Federico Lombardi: Europe vs. America and his martini lesson
42:45 — Dan Smith: The Violet Hour and the story of Queen Mary Tavern
54:00 — Navy Strength Old Fashioned and Dan’s perfect martini moment

Info

Martini Expo — https://www.martiniexpo.com/

Toby Maloney — The Elbow Room, Vancouver, WA
Books: The Bartender’s Manifesto; The Classic Cocktail Sessions

Jackson Cannon — Eastern Standard; The Hawthorne

Federico Lombardi — Paradiso, Barcelona; Dante, New York City

Dan Smith — Queen Mary Tavern, Chicago

Oct 23, Friday - Winemaker Dinner w/ Neri Capponi of Villa Calcinaia Winery

Oct 26-31 - Spooky Bar

Oct 27, Tuesday - Robert Simonson book signing cocktail party

More info - https://www.stageleft.com/events/

Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regular

https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/

Magyar Bank

https://www.magbank.com/

Stage Left Wine Shop

https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/

Our Places

Stage Left Steak
https://www.stageleft.com/

Catherine Lombardi Restaurant
https://www.catherinelombardi.com/

Stage Left Wineshop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com//

Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

This is a Vintage episode from 2006.

Why This Episode Matters

• Rick Tramonto makes the case for fine dining that is polished and precise without being stiff or intimidating.
• The Guys tackle an enduring hospitality dilemma: when does accommodating one guest diminish the experience for everyone else?
• Tramonto reflects on restaurants as a place for nontraditional careers, mentorship and finding a sense of belonging.
• The conversation ends with the importance of cooking, family and gathering around the table.

Banter

Mark and Francis discuss a 2006 proposal to block cell-phone signals in movie theaters—and whether restaurants should do the same. That leads to the story of guests who opened a laptop in the Catherine Lombardi dining room and started watching a movie with the sound on.

The Conversation

Rick Tramonto joins the cell-phone debate from the perspective of Tru, where the philosophy was to cherish the customer and say yes whenever possible—until one guest’s behavior began interfering with everyone else’s experience. From there, he explains his approach to fine dining: maintain impeccable technical standards, but lose the stiffness, read the table and make people feel comfortable.

The conversation broadens into why restaurants attract people who take unconventional paths. Tramonto talks about cooking as a combination of art, science, craft and business, and about the responsibility chefs and operators have to mentor young people drawn to the intensity of restaurant life. He closes with the importance of home cooking, family meals and keeping people gathered around the table.

Guest Bio

Rick Tramonto is an acclaimed chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. At the time of this 2006 conversation, he was chef-partner of Chicago’s celebrated Tru restaurant and one of the leading figures in American fine dining.

Timestamps

00:00 Vintage introduction
01:00 Cell phones and dining-room etiquette
08:00 Rick Tramonto joins: when hospitality has to say no
14:00 Taking the intimidation out of fine dining
18:00 Restaurants as a path for nontraditional learners
22:00 Mentorship and restaurant culture
25:00 Family, home cooking and gathering around the table

Info

More about Rick

https://tramontocuisine.com/

Oct 23, Friday - Winemaker Dinner w/ Neri Capponi of Villa Calcinaia Winery

Oct 26-31 - Spooky Bar

Oct 27, Tuesday - Robert Simonson book signing cocktail party

More info - https://www.stageleft.com/events/

Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regular

https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/

Magyar Bank

https://www.magbank.com/

Stage Left Wine Shop

https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/

Our Places

Stage Left Steak
https://www.stageleft.com/

Catherine Lombardi Restaurant
https://www.catherinelombardi.com/

Stage Left Wineshop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com//

Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

Recorded on location at Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio in Chicago

Why This Episode Matters

• Grueneberg explains why being willing to step down in title to keep learning can be one of the smartest career moves in hospitality.
• Monteverde turns pasta production into part of the dining-room experience with its open pastificio, including filled pasta made to order.
• The restaurant’s batteria of balsamic barrels isn’t just decoration: Grueneberg sees the continuously aging, fermenting vinegar as part of Monteverde’s living soul.
• She also shares what comes next: Trattoria Lo So, Monteverde’s forthcoming second restaurant in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood, with longtime Monteverde chef Bailey Sullivan leading the kitchen.

The Conversation

Grueneberg traces the path from Brennan’s of Houston to Chicago, where she deliberately went back to garde manger at Spiaggia because she wanted to learn Italian cooking. She and The Guys talk about the value (and ego check) of taking a lower position in order to learn from the right people, as well as what Chicago’s restaurant culture gave her that she was looking for at that stage of her career.

At Monteverde, that education shows up in both the food and the room. Grueneberg wanted guests to feel what she calls “calm chaos”: a restaurant alive with music, smells, movement and pasta being made in full view. She explains why the pastificio was brought out of the prep kitchen and put onstage, how Monteverde handles both extruded and filled pastas, and why its seven-barrel balsamic batteria has become part of the restaurant’s identity.

The conversation moves into Grueneberg’s approach to Italian cooking “a traditional heart with a modern hand” from pork neck ragù to cacio whey pepe, and how traveling through Italy gave her permission to respect tradition without simply reproducing it. She also breaks news about Trattoria Lo So, her team’s next Chicago restaurant. Then, after dinner, Mark and Francis return to the microphones to report on whether Monteverde lived up to everything they had just heard. Spoiler: Mark finds a meatball worthy of discussion, which is not a low bar.

Guest Bio

Sarah Grueneberg is the chef and co-owner of Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio in Chicago’s West Loop. She previously spent eight years at Spiaggia, rising to executive chef during a period when the restaurant earned one Michelin star for three consecutive years, and is a James Beard Award winner for Best Chef: Great Lakes. Her cooking combines Italian traditions with influences from her Texas upbringing, travels and training.

Grueneberg and her Monteverde partners are preparing to open Trattoria Lo So in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood in early 2027. Bailey Sullivan will lead the kitchen as executive chef, with Grueneberg serving as creative director.

Timestamps

00:00 The Restaurant Guys arrive in Chicago and head to Monteverde
01:30 Sarah Grueneberg’s path from Houston to Spiaggia; taking a step backward to learn
08:00 — Chicago hospitality, “Midwestern nice” and building a restaurant team
14:00 — Creating Monteverde’s “calm chaos”
18:30 — The pastificio: fresh pasta, filled pasta and making it to order
21:00 — Monteverde’s balsamic batteria and how traditional balsamic is made
28:00 — Grueneberg’s approach to Italian cooking “Traditional heart, modern hand”
33:00 — The Italy trip that changed her career
37:00 — Sarah’s new Trattoria Lo So and what comes next
39:00 — After dinner: The Guys review Monteverde, from meatballs to agnolotti

Info

Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio https://monteverdechicago.com/

Trattoria Lo So Bucktown, Chicago; expected to open in early 2027

Oct 23, Friday - Winemaker Dinner w/ Neri Capponi of Villa Calcinaia Winery

Oct 26-31 - Spooky Bar

Oct 27, Tuesday - Robert Simonson book signing cocktail party

More info - https://www.stageleft.com/events/

Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regular

https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/

Magyar Bank

https://www.magbank.com/

Stage Left Wine Shop

https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/

Our Places

Stage Left Steak
https://www.stageleft.com/

Catherine Lombardi Restaurant
https://www.catherinelombardi.com/

Stage Left Wineshop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com//

Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

This is a Vintage episode from 2007.

Why This Episode Matters

• Father Greg Boyle explains how Homeboy Industries uses jobs, training and support to help former gang members build different lives.
• Rival gang members work side by side — and Boyle describes what happens when people who once saw each other as enemies begin to know one another.
• The conversation gets at something restaurants can do particularly well: teach skills, create pride in work and offer a path that doesn’t require a traditional academic route.
• Boyle makes the case for employment as intervention in one unforgettable line: “Nothing stops a bullet like a job.”

The Conversation

Father Greg Boyle joins The Restaurant Guys to talk about Homeboy Industries, the Los Angeles organization he founded to help people leave gang life through employment, training and support. He explains how former rivals learn to work side by side, and how services such as tattoo removal and mental-health care grew out of the needs of the people coming through the program.

The conversation turns to the role of food and restaurants in that work. Boyle describes the pride that comes from making something tangible at Homeboy Bakery and Homegirl Cafe, while Francis reflects on restaurants as places where people can learn by doing, build skills and create a career without following a traditional academic path.

Boyle also talks about replacing hopelessness with the possibility of a future for people who have often been “planning their funerals and not their futures” and why, as Homeboy puts it, “nothing stops a bullet like a job.”

Guest Bio

Father Greg Boyle is the founder of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles. In this 2007 conversation, he discusses the organization’s work creating employment, training and support for former gang members through ventures including Homeboy Bakery and Homegirl Cafe.

Timestamps

00:00 Father Greg Boyle of Homeboy Industries
02:20 Rival gang members working side by side
04:00 Tattoo removal, food and the dignity of creating something
08:30 Learning the basic skills of work
13:00 Restaurants, apprenticeship and planning futures instead of funerals
16:00 “Nothing stops a bullet like a job”
22:30 The Guys on good causes, good food and why quality still matters

More Information

Homeboy Industries https://homeboyindustries.org/

Elijah’s Promise School https://elijahspromise.org/promise-culinary/

Father Boyle’s book
G-Dog and the Homeboys: Father Greg Boyle and the Gangs of East Los Angeles
by Celeste Fremon (Author), Tom Brokaw (Introduction)

Oct 23, Friday - Winemaker Dinner w/ Neri Capponi of Villa Calcinaia Winery

Oct 26-31 - Spooky Bar

Oct 27, Tuesday - Robert Simonson book signing cocktail party

More info - https://www.stageleft.com/events/

Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regular

https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/

Magyar Bank

https://www.magbank.com/

Stage Left Wine Shop

https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/

Our Places

Stage Left Steak
https://www.stageleft.com/

Catherine Lombardi Restaurant
https://www.catherinelombardi.com/

Stage Left Wineshop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com//

Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

Why This Episode Matters

• Til Death The Speakeasy is literally hidden beneath a working funeral home outside Kansas City and unlike most modern “speakeasies,” it really isn’t generally open to the public.
• The room comes complete with a casket bar, an urn used to smoke cocktails, mysterious doors and at least one unexplained doorbell incident.
• The basement’s secret-drinking history predates its current owners: decades ago it reportedly served as a discreet drinking club for local Southern Baptists.
• What started as a cocktail obsession became a charitable passion project, raising money for organizations including Veterans Community Project and inspiring Til Death’s cocktail education program.

Banter

Before heading underground, Mark and Francis find an object lesson in how not to communicate hospitality: a neighborhood restaurant whose storefront has slowly accumulated signs telling customers what NOT to do. As Francis puts it, the whole storefront seems to say: “Go away! Don’t do this! You’re all wrong!"

The Conversation

Andrew Loos and Phil Worden join The Guys from Til Death The Speakeasy, a private Prohibition-inspired cocktail room beneath a working funeral home near Kansas City.

They explain how home bartending, Sasha Petraske’s cocktail movement and Kansas City’s bar scene inspired them to transform a forgotten basement into a genuinely secret speakeasy. Guests enter through the funeral home before descending through a series of doors which naturally leads Francis to start planning his own funeral and cocktail party there.

Andrew and Phil also share the stranger side of Til Death: an unplugged doorbell that mysteriously rang after an event, cocktails smoked in an urn and served on a casket, and the basement’s earlier life as a secret drinking spot.

Beyond the novelty, Til Death has become a vehicle for giving back. Andrew and Phil discuss their work with Veterans Community Project, along with other charitable events, and explain how Til Death The Academy teaches cocktail enthusiasts to become more knowledgeable bar patrons.

Guest Bio

Andrew Loos and Phil Worden are the team behind Til Death The Speakeasy. Together with their families, they run cocktail events, Til Death The Academy and charity fundraisers beneath Andrew’s working funeral home.

Timestamps

00:00 The restaurant storefront that says “Go away”
05:45 Inside Til Death: a speakeasy beneath a working funeral home
13:00 Francis plans his own speakeasy funeral
15:00 Ghosts, an urn smoker and the basement’s secret drinking history
25:00 Turning cocktails into a charitable passion project
29:00 Veterans Community Project and the tiny-home model
37:00 Til Death The Academy

Info

Veteran’s Community Project

https://vcp.org/

Til Death

https://tildeathkc.com/

Oct 23, Friday - Winemaker Dinner w/ Neri Capponi of Villa Calcinaia Winery

Oct 26-31 - Spooky Bar

Oct 27, Tuesday - Robert Simonson book signing cocktail party

More info - https://www.stageleft.com/events/

Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regular

https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/

Magyar Bank

https://www.magbank.com/

Stage Left Wine Shop

https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/

Our Places

Stage Left Steak
https://www.stageleft.com/

Catherine Lombardi Restaurant
https://www.catherinelombardi.com/

Stage Left Wineshop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com//

Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

This is a Vintage episode from 2006.

Why This Episode Matters

• Long before sustainable seafood became a mainstream restaurant conversation, Rick Moonen was pushing chefs and diners to think about where their fish came from and how it was caught.
• Moonen explains why cooking fish requires precision and why buying the freshest fish often means abandoning your shopping list and letting the market decide dinner.
• From beluga caviar to Chilean sea bass, the conversation shows how quickly popularity can put pressure on a species.
• And because this is The Restaurant Guys, a serious discussion about ocean conservation eventually leads to foie-gras potatoes and steaks stuffed with oysters.

Banter

Mark and Francis consider the economics of extraordinarily expensive restaurants and why a casino might happily operate one without worrying much about the restaurant itself making money.

Naturally, this gives them an idea: put slot machines downstairs at their own restaurant.

There is, unfortunately, the small matter of getting arrested.

The Conversation

Rick Moonen joins The Guys shortly after making the move from New York to Las Vegas, where RM Seafood at Mandalay Bay represented the biggest opportunity of his career.

They talk about why seafood can be unforgiving to cook, Moonen's effort to make home cooks more comfortable preparing fish, and how to shop for seafood by looking at what's freshest rather than arriving at the market with a fixed plan.

Then the conversation turns to sustainability. Moonen discusses the pressure on sturgeon and caviar, the enormous popularity of Chilean sea bass, and the responsibility chefs have when deciding what goes on their menus. His message extends to diners, too: ask where your seafood came from, ask how it was caught, and don't assume one person's choices don't matter.

Finally, the conversation returns to the friendship between Moonen, Mark and Francis through their years in the Red Meat Club including one memorable cookout featuring potatoes cooked in foie gras fat and carpetbagger steaks stuffed with oysters.

Guest Bio

Rick Moonen is a chef best known for his work at The Water Club, Oceana and RM Seafood, as well as his longtime advocacy for responsible seafood sourcing. In this 2006 conversation, he was also working on his cookbook Seafood Without a Doubt.

Timestamps

0:00 The price of luxury dining
5:30 Rick joins: leaving New York for Mandalay Bay
9:00 Why cooking fish intimidates home cooks
13:00 How to buy fresh fish and cook what's in the market
15:30 Sustainable seafood, caviar and Chilean sea bass
21:20 The Red Meat Club, responsible sourcing and an upscale cookout

Info & Links

• Rick’s book Seafood Without a Doubt
• Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals-the-ocean/how-to-choose-sustainable-seafood/seafood-guides
• Perry's Restaurants — Rick Moonen currently serves as Master Development Chef

Oct 23, Friday - Winemaker Dinner w/ Neri Capponi of Villa Calcinaia Winery

Oct 26-31 - Spooky Bar

Oct 27, Tuesday - Robert Simonson book signing cocktail party

More info - https://www.stageleft.com/events/

Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regular

https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/

Magyar Bank

https://www.magbank.com/

Stage Left Wine Shop

https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/

Our Places

Stage Left Steak
https://www.stageleft.com/

Catherine Lombardi Restaurant
https://www.catherinelombardi.com/

Stage Left Wineshop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com//

Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

This is a Vintage episode from 2012.

Why This Episode Matters

• Chef Paul Virant explains how preservation can extend truly seasonal cooking well beyond the growing season.
• Canning and pickling can deepen a restaurant's relationship with local farmers while creating new possibilities in the kitchen and behind the bar.
• Preserving peak-season ingredients isn't necessarily cheaper. The value comes from flavor, identity and having something uniquely your own.
• From pickled vegetables and aigre-doux to cocktail ingredients, preserves can become ingredients rather than simply condiments.

Banter

Mark Pascal and Francis Schott visit DeBragga & Spitler and get a hands-on look at dry-aged beef at different stages of the aging process. They talk about why properly aged meat costs more, what actually happens to a piece of beef as it ages, and why tasting and comparing things side by side is one of the best ways to learn.

The Conversation

Chef Paul Virant joins Mark and Francis to talk about The Preservation Kitchen and the preservation program that became a signature of his acclaimed restaurant Vie.

For Paul, preserving wasn't simply about opening a jar of pickles alongside a dish. Brines, pickled vegetables, preserved fruits and sweet-and-sour preparations became building blocks in his cooking adding acidity, contrast and unexpected flavor to everything from roasted meats to cocktails.

The conversation explores the practical side of cooking seasonally in places like Chicago and New Jersey, where the growing season doesn't last all year. Paul and the Guys discuss buying directly from farmers, preserving crops when they're at their peak, reducing waste and creating a restaurant pantry that reflects the local harvest long after summer is over.

They also get into the economics. Preserving food takes ingredients, jars, storage and substantial labor, and it often costs more than simply buying a commercial product. The payoff is something different: exceptional ingredients captured at their best, stronger relationships with farmers and food that belongs uniquely to your restaurant.

Also: home winemaking gone wrong, preserving fruit with spirits, using every drop of a pickling brine, and Paul's beer-jam Manhattan made with Goose Island Bourbon County Stout.

Guest Bio

Paul Virant is an acclaimed Chicago-area chef known for his focus on seasonal Midwestern ingredients, preservation and relationships with local farmers. His restaurant Vie earned a Michelin star and operated in Western Springs, Illinois, for 19 years before closing in 2023. Virant currently operates Petite Vie in Western Springs, Vistro Prime in Hinsdale and Gaijin in Chicago.

He is the author, with Kate Leahy, of The Preservation Kitchen: The Craft of Making and Cooking with Pickles, Preserves, and Aigre-doux, originally published in 2012.

Timestamps

00:00 Dry-aged beef and why artisan food costs more
05:45 Paul Virant on preserving the seasons
11:30 How preserves become part of the cooking
15:30 Working with farmers and preserving the harvest
17:45 Beer-jam Manhattans and unexpected uses for preserves
25:45 Why preserving isn’t cheaper, yet it’s still worth doing

Info

Paul’s book
The Preservation Kitchen
Paul Virant with Kate Leahy

Paul’s Places (all in Illinois)
Petite Vie
Vistro Prime
Gaijin

Oct 23, Friday - Winemaker Dinner w/ Neri Capponi of Villa Calcinaia Winery

Oct 26-31 - Spooky Bar

Oct 27, Tuesday - Robert Simonson book signing cocktail party

More info - https://www.stageleft.com/events/

Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regular

https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/

Magyar Bank

https://www.magbank.com/

Stage Left Wine Shop

https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/

Our Places

Stage Left Steak
https://www.stageleft.com/

Catherine Lombardi Restaurant
https://www.catherinelombardi.com/

Stage Left Wineshop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com//

Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

Why This Episode Matters

• Nicholas Harary explains why he chose to reinvent one of New Jersey’s most acclaimed fine-dining restaurants before the business forced him to.
• A surprisingly technical look at what separates great ice cream from mediocre ice cream: butterfat, overrun, and the cold chain.
• Nicholas, Mark Pascal and Francis Schott debate whether traditional fine dining is dead or simply evolving.
• The conversation turns to Michelin: what its stars mean today, how the Guide’s expansion model complicates perceptions of independence, and why restaurateurs should always focus on the customers in the room.

Banter

Mark and Francis return from Sonoma with stories from Paul Hobbs’ 35th anniversary, smoke drifting across wine country and conversations with winemakers about what actually causes smoke taint. They make it onto Martinelli’s famously steep Jackass Hill where tasting zinfandel grapes directly from vines behind a wine he has loved for decades proves considerably more appealing than actually working a harvest.

The Conversation

Nicholas Harary and his wife, Melissa, opened Restaurant Nicholas in 2000 and spent two decades building it into one of New Jersey’s defining fine-dining restaurants. But Nicholas had already begun another chapter. What started in 2018 as a small seasonal ice cream shop where their kids might work became Nicholas Creamery. On opening weekend, police were directing traffic while Nicholas realized the 300 gallons of ice cream they had made weren’t going to be enough.

That leads to a deep dive into ice cream: why controlling temperature matters, why Nicholas had a freezer truck custom-built, how butterfat and overrun affect quality, and what happens when you melt different commercial ice creams side by side. Nicholas also explains the elaborate process behind flavors such as bourbon barrel-aged coffee chocolate chunk.

Then the conversation moves from ice cream to reinvention. Even after Restaurant Nicholas had its best year, Nicholas could see diners changing. Rather than gradually dilute what the restaurant had been, he closed it and rebuilt the concept as the much more casual Nicholas Barrel & Roost. His philosophy is simple: if your business looks exactly the same five years from now, you may have a problem.

Nicholas, Mark and Francis debate whether the version of fine dining they grew up with is gone and what has replaced it. They ask what gets lost when restaurants begin designing for the camera as much as the diner. Finally, they tackle the Michelin Guide from changing definitions of a Michelin-worthy restaurant to the financial arrangements used to bring Michelin into new markets before Nicholas offers his advice to younger chefs: concentrate on the people inside your restaurant, not the people outside talking about it.

Guest Bio

Nicholas Harary is the chef and restaurateur behind Nicholas Barrel & Roost, Nicholas Creamery and Nicholas Wines. He and his wife Melissa opened Restaurant Nicholas in 2000; during its 20-year run, the restaurant received an “extraordinary” from The New York Times Harary later transformed the space into the more casual Nicholas Barrel & Roost while expanding Nicholas Creamery across New Jersey.

Timestamps

00:00 Sonoma, smoke taint and Jackass Hill
08:08 Nicholas Harary joins the Guys
09:50 How Nicholas Creamery unexpectedly took off
14:40 Why the cold chain matters for great ice cream
17:00 Butterfat, overrun and what you're really paying for
21:05 Jersey flavors and bourbon barrel-aged coffee ice cream
23:30 Why Nicholas walked away from fine dining at its peak
28:25 Is fine dining dying or just changing?
34:45 What does a Michelin star mean now?
42:15 Michelin, Sysco and the appearance of impartiality

Info

Nicholas Barrel and Roost

https://www.barrelandroost.com/

Nicholas Creamery

https://www.nicholascreamery.com/

Nicholas Wines
https://www.nicholaswines.com/

Oct 23, Friday - Winemaker Dinner w/ Neri Capponi of Villa Calcinaia Winery

Oct 26-31 - Spooky Bar

Oct 27, Tuesday - Robert Simonson book signing cocktail party

More info - https://www.stageleft.com/events/

Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regular

https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/

Magyar Bank

https://www.magbank.com/

Stage Left Wine Shop

https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/

Our Places

Stage Left Steak
https://www.stageleft.com/

Catherine Lombardi Restaurant
https://www.catherinelombardi.com/

Stage Left Wineshop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com//

Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

You’re hearing a preview of this subscriber bonus episode. Restaurant Guys’ Regulars can hear the full episode, plus other commercial-free bonus episodes, at https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com .

This is a Vintage episode from 2006.

Why This Episode Matters

• Why one of the world's most prized ingredients commands extraordinary prices.
• How truffle cultivation began challenging the romantic image of hunters searching the woods with trained dogs.
• Why aroma, scarcity and spectacle are as important to the allure of truffles as flavor.
• What happens when restaurants get their hands on thousands of dollars' worth of an ingredient that doesn't stay fresh for long.

Banter

Mark Pascal and Francis Schott begin with a tale of New Jersey lobster justice that makes Maine's system of informal fishing rules look positively genteel. A territorial dispute involving lobster pots somehow progresses to gunfire, arson and a neighboring boat unfortunately parked in the wrong slip.

Then, reports of people eating, and even cooking and driving, while asleep lead Mark to identify the true indignity: consuming thousands of calories without even getting to remember the meal.

The Conversation

Food writer Jane Black joins Mark and Francis after traveling through Spain to report on the changing world of truffles.

The romantic picture is familiar: a hunter and his dog wandering through the woods in search of an elusive underground treasure. What Jane found instead were truffle orchards, inoculated trees and farmers trying to turn an unpredictable delicacy into a viable agricultural business.

They explore why truffles became so scarce and expensive, how a former peasant food became one of dining's ultimate luxury ingredients, and why their remarkable aroma may matter more than their actual taste. Jane and the Guys also get into the sensual reputation of truffles, the theater of shaving them tableside and the questionable proliferation of truffle oil.

Then come the cautionary tales: an enormously valuable white truffle purchased at a charity auction that was locked in a safe and allowed to rot, and Francis's considerably more personal horror story about a chef who received thousands of dollars' worth of beautiful fresh truffles—and immediately preserved them in oil.

2026 update: At the time of this conversation, successful cultivation of the prized Italian white truffle (Tuber magnatum) remained elusive. Researchers have since documented controlled production of the species in a French orchard.

Guest Bio

Jane Black is a food journalist who covers food, culture, politics and sustainability. At the time of this interview, she was food editor at Boston Magazine and had written for publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, BusinessWeek and Newsweek International. She later became a staff writer at The Washington Post and co-host of the James Beard Award-winning podcast Pressure Cooker.

Timestamps

0:00 New Jersey vigilante lobster justice
4:35 Sleep eating, Ambien and forgotten calories
7:20 Jane Black enters the changing world of truffles
12:00 How truffles went from peasant food to luxury
15:00 Why truffles smell like sex—and why aroma matters
22:20 The $35,000 truffle disaster, Francis’s truffle tragedy and the future of cultivation

Info

Jane’s article on truffles

“Cultivating a Mystique,” The New York Times (2006)

Oct 23, Friday - Winemaker Dinner w/ Neri Capponi of Villa Calcinaia Winery

Oct 26-31 - Spooky Bar

Oct 27, Tuesday - Robert Simonson book signing cocktail party

More info - https://www.stageleft.com/events/

Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regular

https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/

Magyar Bank

https://www.magbank.com/

Stage Left Wine Shop

https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/

Our Places

Stage Left Steak
https://www.stageleft.com/

Catherine Lombardi Restaurant
https://www.catherinelombardi.com/

Stage Left Wineshop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com//

Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

This is a Vintage compilation from 2010.

Why This Episode Matters

• A Real Housewives of New Jersey cookbook introduces one particularly memorable piece of dietary advice: avoid “stripper food.”
• “Juicy bits from Joe” require Mark to summon his Nutley Italian accent. Things deteriorate from there.
• A New York Times story about changing bachelor parties sparks a conversation about great food, excessive drinking and what actually makes a night memorable.
• Then come the restaurant stories: security deposits, chicken suits, and three unexpected strippers.

The Conversation

Mark Pascal and Francis Schott find the ridiculous side of food, restaurants and the ways people celebrate.

First, a cookbook associated with The Real Housewives of New Jersey offers some reasonable food advice and one rule Mark and Francis are unlikely to forget: never eat anything that could also be a stripper’s name. Cookie, Candy and Cupcake quickly lead to Bambi, Bunny and the question of what Michael Pollan would make of all this.

Then a story about increasingly food-focused bachelor parties gets them talking about why a great meal might be more memorable than the traditional blowout. Naturally, this leads to their own restaurant experience including a three-page rulebook that clearly existed for a reason and a bachelor party that somehow acquired three strippers from elsewhere in the building.

Oct 23, Friday - Winemaker Dinner w/ Neri Capponi of Villa Calcinaia Winery

Oct 26-31 - Spooky Bar

Oct 27, Tuesday - Robert Simonson book signing cocktail party

More info - https://www.stageleft.com/events/

Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regular

https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/

Magyar Bank

https://www.magbank.com/

Stage Left Wine Shop

https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/

Our Places

Stage Left Steak
https://www.stageleft.com/

Catherine Lombardi Restaurant
https://www.catherinelombardi.com/

Stage Left Wineshop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com//

Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com