The Banter

The Guys went to a firefighter cook off. It was fantastic! Listen for Mark’s advice on how to elevate any dish.

The Conversation

The Restaurant Guys welcome pillar of California wine country Bettina Sichel of Laurel Glen Vineyard. Bettina talks about the uniqueness of Laurel Glen and the amazing story of her family’s legacy from escaping Germany during the war to owning the best selling wine in the world!

The Inside Track

The Guys took their staff to visit Bettina at Laurel Glen a few years ago. It was great to hear about her work leading up to running Laurel Glen Vineyard.

“Well, it did start small. so I went to work for Augustine Hues who was getting ready to launch his pet project, his very special project Quintessa. And, I was lucky enough to be on there to help him. I was the first director of sales and marketing and I helped to build the reputation and it was a great ride. It was really fun,” Bettina Sichel on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2025

Bio

In 2011, Bettina Sichel, a veteran of the California wine industry, became the steward of Laurel Glen Vineyard after purchasing the iconic estate from founder Patrick Campbell in partnership with a small group of wine lovers. During her 30-plus-year career, she has worked with some of the finest producers of Cabernet Sauvignon. In 1998, Sichel helped launch Quintessa and went on to develop its reputation and profile distribution over the next decade as director of sales and marketing. The daughter of Peter M.F. Sichel, the man responsible for making his family’s Blue Nun a household name in America, Bettina is the fifth generation of the Sichel family to work in the wine business.

Info

Laurel Glen Vineyard

https://laurelglen.com/

Peter Sichel (who passed away Feb 2025)

https://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/peter-m-

Friday, March 14 is the first Restaurant Guys LIVE with Chef Rocco DiSpirito at the NBPAC in New Brunswick, NJ (next to The Guys' restaurants!)

Restaurant Guys' Regulars get a discount code for VIP tickets. Become on today!

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2401692/subscribe

Get tickets here.

https://secure.nbpac.org/rocco-dispirito/22947

Our Sponsors

The Heldrich Hotel & Conference Center
https://www.theheldrich.com/

Magyar Bank
https://www.magbank.com/

Withum Accounting
https://www.withum.com/

Our Places

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

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

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

To hear more about food, wine and the finer things in life:
https://www.instagram.com/restaurantguyspodcast/

https://www.facebook.com/restaurantguys

Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

**Become a Restaurant Guys Regular and get two bonus episodes per month, bonus content and Regulars Only events.**
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The Banter

The Guys talk about the serious issue of migrant farm workers (yes, back in 2011) and who will pick the food if we don’t let them do it.

The Conversation

The Restaurant Guys meet with Jon Taffer after his first season of the hit show Bar Rescue. He shares how he came to this line of work and they all swap crazy restaurant consulting stories.

The Inside Track

The Restaurant Guys and Jon dig deep into how to attract and maintain a client base and what keeps folks coming back.

“I don't believe guys that we're in a restaurant business. I don't believe we're in a bar business. I don't believe we're in a product business…I bet you guys will agree with me on this cause you obviously get it. That cook in the kitchen isn't making an entree. He's making a reaction. He's achieving it through the entree. I suggest that the plate of food isn't a product at all, it's just a vehicle. The product is the reaction,” Jon Taffer on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2011

Bio

After decades of experience bartending and running nightclubs, Jon Taffer starred on the television show Bar Rescue for over 200 episodes. He owns Taffer’s Tavern in Georgia.

He is a New York Times best-selling author of Don’t Bullsh*t Yourself and authored several books and ebooks.

His latest creation is Taffer’s Browned Butter Bourbon.

Info

Jon Taffer

https://jontaffer.com/

Bar Rescue

https://www.youtube.com/c/BarRescue

Friday, March 14 is the first Restaurant Guys LIVE with Chef Rocco DiSpirito at the NBPAC in New Brunswick, NJ (next to The Guys' restaurants!)

Restaurant Guys' Regulars get a discount code for VIP tickets. Become on today!

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2401692/subscribe

Get tickets here.

https://secure.nbpac.org/rocco-dispirito/22947

Our Sponsors

The Heldrich Hotel & Conference Center
https://www.theheldrich.com/

Magyar Bank
https://www.magbank.com/

Withum Accounting
https://www.withum.com/

Our Places

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

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

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

To hear more about food, wine and the finer things in life:
https://www.instagram.com/restaurantguyspodcast/

https://www.facebook.com/restaurantguys

Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

**Become a Restaurant Guys Regular and get two bonus episodes per month, bonus content and Regulars Only events.**
Click Below!

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The Banter

The Guys revisit an incident involving an older Burgundy, a decanter and a difference of opinion.

The Conversation

The Restaurant Guys have Philip Duff on the show to hear about his genever. The conversation winds into Irish whiskey, Batavia Arrack, and a special vodka endorsed by an action film star whom Philip is teaching to bartend.

The Inside Track

The Guys have crossed paths with globe-traveling Philip Duff for decades. Philip has had his hand in many aspects of the bar world and here is what he thinks is the key to making it in this wild and wonderful industry.

“You build something, be it a brand, be it a bar and people are right to tell you it's crazy because if it was a good idea, well, why didn't anybody else do it? But without lunatics, we don't get Teslas and Stage Left Steak and Old Duff Geneva and Door 74, right? A certain degree of lunacy has to be baked in,” Philip Duff on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2025

Bio

Philip Duff began bartending at 15 in his native Ireland. In addition to working behind bars, he became an educator of spirits, bartending and cocktails and teaches at many spirits and cocktail conventions.

He began Liquid Solutions, the on-trade consultancy. He founded Holland’s first speakeasy bar, Door 74 in Amsterdam, and owns the award-winning Old Duff Genever brand.

Philip has published articles in Drinks International, CLASS magazine, Imbibe UK, Mixology (Germany), Australian Bartender, and Reuters.

He also served as the educational director for Tales of the Cocktail and judged for the IWSR, the World’s 50 Best Bars, and the Spirited Awards.

Info

Old Duff Genever

http://www.oldduffgenever.com/

Philip’s podcast

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-philip-duff-show/id1614308846

Francis demonstrates decanting Burgundy

Friday, March 14 is the first Restaurant Guys LIVE with Chef Rocco DiSpirito at the NBPAC in New Brunswick, NJ (next to The Guys' restaurants!)

Restaurant Guys' Regulars get a discount code for VIP tickets. Become on today!

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2401692/subscribe

Get tickets here.

https://secure.nbpac.org/rocco-dispirito/22947

Our Sponsors

The Heldrich Hotel & Conference Center
https://www.theheldrich.com/

Magyar Bank
https://www.magbank.com/

Withum Accounting
https://www.withum.com/

Our Places

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

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

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

To hear more about food, wine and the finer things in life:
https://www.instagram.com/restaurantguyspodcast/

https://www.facebook.com/restaurantguys

Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

**Become a Restaurant Guys Regular and get two bonus episodes per month, bonus content and Regulars Only events.**
Click Below!

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2401692/subscribe

The Banter

The Guys discuss the role of the bartender. With great power comes great responsibility…and some amusing stories.

The Conversation

The Restaurant Guys talk with Kim Severson of the New York Times about her recent assessment of The Joy of Cooking in its past and present iterations. They go on to discuss a novel product: Brooklyn-Style pizza. Find out what the heck that is!

The Inside Track

The Guys welcome Kim Severson on her first of many appearances on The Restaurant Guys. They enjoy her articles and “steal” her topics for the show. This is what she said about her experience with the classic cookbook The Joy of Cooking.

“The thing that I think is enduring about The Joy of Cooking is it has all kinds of things in it. It can tell you how to purify water and how to make a gimlet, both of which are valuable in cases of emergency,” Kim Severson on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2007

Bio

Kim Severson is a national food correspondent for the New York Times. She was previously the New York Times Southern bureau chief. Severson won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for her contributions to the team that investigated sexual harassment and abuse against women. She also has won four James Beard awards and the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism for her work on childhood obesity.

She has written four books, The Trans Fat Solution, The New Alaska Cookbook, a memoir called Spoon Fed: How Eight Cooks Saved My Life, and, in 2012, Cook Fight! a collaborative cookbook with fellow New York Times writer Julia Moskin.

Info

Kim’s website

https://www.kimseverson.com/

Domino’s Brooklyn-style pizza commercial 2006

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua_OjuCQZSk

Friday, March 14 is the first Restaurant Guys LIVE with Chef Rocco DiSpirito at the NBPAC in New Brunswick, NJ (next to The Guys' restaurants!)

Restaurant Guys' Regulars get a discount code for VIP tickets. Become on today!

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2401692/subscribe

Get tickets here.

https://secure.nbpac.org/rocco-dispirito/22947

Our Sponsors

The Heldrich Hotel & Conference Center
https://www.theheldrich.com/

Magyar Bank
https://www.magbank.com/

Withum Accounting
https://www.withum.com/

Our Places

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

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

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

To hear more about food, wine and the finer things in life:
https://www.instagram.com/restaurantguyspodcast/

https://www.facebook.com/restaurantguys

Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

**Become a Restaurant Guys Regular and get two bonus episodes per month, bonus content and Regulars Only events.**
Click Below!

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2401692/subscribe

The Banter

The Guys are stoked about The Restaurant Guys LIVE with Rocco DiSpirito taking place at the theater next door on March 14, 2025! In other earth-shattering news, Francis changes his mind.

The Conversation

The Restaurant Guys welcome pizza pioneer Daniel Holzman who was determined to bring NYC slices to LA. They discuss some of the challenges and joys of great pizza and why Daniel wants to share that with California.

The Inside Track

The Guys and Daniel, co-host of On the Line, talk about the loss of food journalism and how a quality podcast can help fill that void.

“You start to see the breakdown of information that is actually useful to people, which for me is the biggest sadness.  I think (the podcast) definitely plays a useful and realistically a positive role in society, which is a nice place to start if you're going to think about adding something to the already overcrowded conversation,” Daniel Holzman on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2025

Bio

Daniel started his cooking career at the age of 15 at the elite Le Bernardin in New York City and remained there for four years until, at the suggestion of chef Eric Ripert, he attended the Culinary Institute of America. He then accepted a position at the soon-to-open Palladin in New York City under chef Jean-Louis Palladin and worked alongside such culinary notables as Wylie Dufresne and Sam Mason. He went on a 10-year culinary journey through some of the West Coast’s finest restaurants.

In 2010, Daniel co-founded The Meatball Shop in New York City. Five more locations of The Meatball Shop opened in NYC in quick succession.

He moved to LA in 2019 to embark on a new passion, pizza, and opened Danny Boy's Famous Original in 2021.He opened his second location of Danny Boy's summer 2024, and has his plans for a third.

He is the co-author of Food IQ: 100 Questions, Answers, and Recipes to Raise Your Cooking Smarts, released in 2022, He also co-authored The Meatball Shop Cookbook,

Friday, March 14 is the first Restaurant Guys LIVE with Chef Rocco DiSpirito at the NBPAC in New Brunswick, NJ (next to The Guys' restaurants!)

Restaurant Guys' Regulars get a discount code for VIP tickets. Become an RG Regular today!

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2401692/subscribe

Get tickets here.

https://secure.nbpac.org/rocco-dispirito/22947

Our Sponsors

The Heldrich Hotel & Conference Center
https://www.theheldrich.com/

Magyar Bank
https://www.magbank.com/

Withum Accounting
https://www.withum.com/

Our Places

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

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

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

To hear more about food, wine and the finer things in life:
https://www.instagram.com/restaurantguyspodcast/

https://www.facebook.com/restaurantguys

Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

**Become a Restaurant Guys Regular and get two bonus episodes per month, bonus content and Regulars Only events.**
Click Below!

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2401692/subscribe

This is a Vintage Selection from 2010

The Banter

The Guys tell about the wonderful and enormous Vinitaly Wine Festival that they just attended along with a story about a Verona closer to home.

The Conversations

The Restaurant Guys are in Italy at Vinitaly Wine Festival! They walk the listeners through the wine supply chain from proprietor Silvia Vannucci of Piaggia to exporter Jano de Grazia of Marc de Grazia Selections to importer Harmon Skurnik of Skurnik Wines. Hear from each link in the chain that brings YOU excellent wine.

The Inside Track

The Guys have had a long-standing business relationship and friendship with Harmon Skurnik. Here is how Harmon describes wine.

Harmon: Wine is enjoyment. It's a pleasure. It's one of life's pleasures. It's no secret. You guys are restaurant guys. You guys have a passion for wine and the reason is that wine is meant to be consumed with food. It's all about a pleasurable hedonistic experience.

Francis: Yeah. We're all about hedonism here in The Restaurant. Guys.

Harmon Skurnik on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2010

Info

Skurnik Wines (Harmon Skurnik)

https://www.skurnik.com/

De Grazia Imports (Jano De Grazia)

https://marcdegrazia.com/us/

Piaggia (Silvia Vannucci)

https://www.piaggia.com/

Piaggia at Stage Left Wineshop

https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/websearch_results.html?kw=piaggia

Friday, March 14 is the first Restaurant Guys LIVE with Chef Rocco DiSpirito at the NBPAC in New Brunswick, NJ (next to The Guys' restaurants!)

Restaurant Guys' Regulars get a discount code for VIP tickets. Become an RG Regular today!

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2401692/subscribe

Get tickets here.

https://secure.nbpac.org/rocco-dispirito/22947

Our Sponsors

The Heldrich Hotel & Conference Center
https://www.theheldrich.com/

Magyar Bank
https://www.magbank.com/

Withum Accounting
https://www.withum.com/

Our Places

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

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

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

To hear more about food, wine and the finer things in life:
https://www.instagram.com/restaurantguyspodcast/

https://www.facebook.com/restaurantguys

Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

**Become a Restaurant Guys Regular and get two bonus episodes per month, bonus content and Regulars Only events.**
Click Below!

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2401692/subscribe

The Banter

The Guys discuss keys to having a great restaurant experience. Find out what happens when one is missing.

The Conversation

The Restaurant Guys host ground-breaking (literally) wine guy Michael Juergens who has championed wine-making in Bhutan. Hear the story of how that has come to fruition as well as the future and impact of Bhutanese wines. They also discuss his edgy book and the “right” way to experience wine.

The Inside Track

The Guys met Michael through a long-time college friend of theirs and co-worker of Michael’s. After spending some time together hearing about his exciting project, they knew they had to have him on the show!

This how Michael describes our profound relationship with wine.

“I believe that wine is an intrinsic part of the human experience. It's wired into our DNA,” Michael Juergens on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2025

Bio

Micheal Juergens is prominently known as a Senior Partner at Deloitte Consulting, running the “Wine Solutions Practice.” He is a certified sommelier, a certified wine specialist and is on the way to becoming a Master of Wine. He and his wife Ann Cross created Bhutan Wine Company in 2017, and planted the first vines ever to be planted in the Kingdom of Bhutan in 2019.

He has written eight books about wine under the pen name Micheal Amon and publishes a weekly newsletter Drinking and Knowing Things.

Info

Michael’s Site https://www.drinkingandknowingthings.com/

Bhutan Wine Company https://www.bhutanwine.com/

His Books (Under Michael Amon) https://www.drinkingandknowingthings.com/who-am-i

Friday, March 14 is the first Restaurant Guys LIVE with Chef Rocco DiSpirito at the NBPAC in New Brunswick, NJ (next to The Guys' restaurants!)

Restaurant Guys' Regulars get a discount code for VIP tickets. Become an RG Regular today!

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2401692/subscribe

Get tickets here.

https://secure.nbpac.org/rocco-dispirito/22947

Our Sponsors

The Heldrich Hotel & Conference Center
https://www.theheldrich.com/

Magyar Bank
https://www.magbank.com/

Withum Accounting
https://www.withum.com/

Our Places

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

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

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

To hear more about food, wine and the finer things in life:
https://www.instagram.com/restaurantguyspodcast/

https://www.facebook.com/restaurantguys

Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

**Become a Restaurant Guys Regular and get two bonus episodes per month, bonus content and Regulars Only events.**
Click Below!

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2401692/subscribe

This is a Vintage Selection from 2005

The Banter

The Guys colorfully mock the snobbery of the authors of a travel guide.

The Conversation

The Restaurant Guys talk with the Caviar Queen, Deborah Keane of Tsar Nicoulai Caviar about the caviar situation in the world and in the U.S. You’ll be getting out your mother-of-pearl spoon by the end of the episode!

The Inside Track

The Guys met Deborah at an event where she was serving Tsar Nicoulai. They liked it so much that they began serving it in their restaurants.

“ I think you start with the restaurants and chefs because the chefs are always looking for something new, trying to improve and… looking for better alternatives and really paying attention to the planet and organic farming and higher quality products,” Deborah Keane on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2005

Bio

Deborah Keane, dubbed the “Caviar Queen”, built a complete, vertically integrated spawning-to-serving enterprise and is a leading pioneer in sustainable fish farming. She is the first female owned and operated caviar company in the world and the first female fish farm owner in the state of California, California Caviar Company.

She is on the cutting edge again harvesting caviar using a no-kill method.

Info

Tsar Nicoulai Caviar

https://tsarnicoulai.com/

California Caviar (Deborah’s current company)

https://californiacaviar.com/

No-Kill Caviar, Deborah Keane

https://news.northeastern.edu/2021/08/10/the-caviar-industry-was-in-trouble-this-former-nursing-student-is-saving-it/

Our Sponsors

The Heldrich Hotel & Conference Center
https://www.theheldrich.com/

Magyar Bank
https://www.magbank.com/

Withum Accounting
https://www.withum.com/

Our Places

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

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

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

To hear more about food, wine and the finer things in life:
https://www.instagram.com/restaurantguyspodcast/

https://www.facebook.com/restaurantguys

Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com

**Become a Restaurant Guys Regular and get two bonus episodes per month, bonus content and Regulars Only events.**
Click Below!

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2401692/subscribe