The Restaurant Guys

• TEASER!! Michael Psilakis, Star Chef

  This is a Vintage selection from 2007The BanterThe Guys discuss a new breakfast treat and questionable reviewer tactics.The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys have chef Michael Psilakis on the show to talk about earning a Michelin star for Anthos, the first Greek restaurant outside of Greece to achieve that. Hear about the passion, dedication and a dark day that changed a front of the house guy into a world-renowned chef.The Inside TrackThe Guys appreciate Michael’s obsession with excellence and his quest to find staff that feels the same. He shares an interview question.“ When I'm talking to young cooks coming in, what do you like to do? There's only one right answer. And if, if you don't love to cook, if you don't think about it when you're in the toilet in the morning, taking a shower, doing your daily chores, if it's not about food 24/7, then how the hell are you gonna be able to compete at this level?” Michael Psilakis on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2007BioMichael Psilakis is an American celebrity chef, author, and restaurateur.The same space on the Upper West Side, Manhattan has been home to many of his restaurants including Onera, Kefi, Gus & Gabriel Gastropub, Fishtag followed by Kefi returning to this same location. Michael owned and operated MP Taverna in Queens.For his work at Anthos, Psilakis was named Esquire magazine's Chef of the Year in 2006. In 2007, he received a Michelin Star for Anthos. In 2008 he was named Bon Appétit's Chef of the Year.He is best known for his Greek cuisine and appearances on television shows including Ultimate Recipe Showdown, Iron Chef America, The Best Thing I Ever Ate and No Kitchen Required. Michael served as a judge on Ultimate Recipe Showdown and was twice a contestant on Iron Chef America. InfoMP Taverna (Michael’s current restaurant)https://www.mptaverna.com/Our Sponsors The Heldrich Hotel & Conference Centerhttps://www.theheldrich.com/ Magyar Bankhttps://www.magbank.com/ Withum Accountinghttps://www.withum.com/ Our Places Stage Left Steakhttps://www.stageleft.com/ Catherine Lombardi Restauranthttps://www.catherinelombardi.com/ Stage Left Wineshophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/ To hear more about food, wine and the finer things in life:https://www.instagram.com/restaurantguyspodcast/https://www.facebook.com/restaurantguysReach Out to The [email protected]**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

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• Ron Cooper: Del Maguey and the Magic of Mezcal

  The BanterThe Guys read about a food group that works as a de-stresser. The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys have Ron Cooper on to talk about his Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal. Dive into the agave weeds listening to the centuries-old traditions and processes including one involving distilling with a suspended chicken breast. The Inside TrackThe Guys are familiar with Ron’s high-quality products that he sources from mezcal experts out in the villages of Oaxaca. He describes traveling away from urban areas to get the truest expressions of the spirit.“I realized very fast that kilometer by kilometer, the closer a good Mezcal got to the city, the more adulterated and watered down it became.  So I made it my mission to make it available to me and my friends in the United States,” Ron Cooper on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2006BioRon Cooper is an American artist who found a passion for mezcal. In Oaxaca, Ron lived and worked with the locals, and strived to bring Mezcal to the world at large. He founded Del Maguey in the 1990s, bringing Mezcal to the awareness of American consumers as an artisanal or craft ingredient for many creative cocktails. Ron has done dinner pairings with chefs José Andrés, and Mary Sue Milliken appeared on CNN with Anthony Bourdain.In 2016 Cooper was awarded the James Beard Award for “Outstanding Wine, Beer, or Spirits Professional”.InfoDel Maguey Single Village Mezcalhttps://delmaguey.com/Our Sponsors The Heldrich Hotel & Conference Centerhttps://www.theheldrich.com/ Magyar Bankhttps://www.magbank.com/ Withum Accountinghttps://www.withum.com/ Our Places Stage Left Steakhttps://www.stageleft.com/ Catherine Lombardi Restauranthttps://www.catherinelombardi.com/ Stage Left Wineshophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/ To hear more about food, wine and the finer things in life:https://www.instagram.com/restaurantguyspodcast/https://www.facebook.com/restaurantguysReach Out to The [email protected]**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

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• Chris Dearden of Sleeping Giant Winery

  This is from an in-person wine tasting with Chris DeardenThe ConversationThe Restaurant Guys host Chris Dearden, owner-winemaker of Sleeping Giant Winery of Los Carneros. The Guys and Chris hosted a wine tasting so guests could hear the genesis and explore the wines from this artisanal winery. Learn more about the legend and wines of this region from someone who has lived and worked there all his life. The Inside TrackThe Guys were better acquainted with Chris when they took their staff to Robert Biale Vineyards in 2021 where Chris worked at the time. They found common interests in Chris’ admirable sustainability practices.“I did want to build something that was a state of the art production facility and environmentally sensitive…We really wanted to do the right thing for the property. [I wanted to] show what our winery is doing to try to be good stewards to the land,” Chris Dearden on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2025BioChris Dearden attended UC Davis for his bachelors in science, writing his own major as Viticulture, Enology and Winery Operations. He would continue on to UC Berkeley Haas School of Business to earn his Masters in Business Administration. He has held several winemaking positions over the years including for Hublein, Benessere and consulted for several small, premium, Napa Valley-based brands. He worked for Seguin Moreau Cooperage in the early 1990s which was an integral part of his winemaking education. He began a fourteen-year journey developing a Napa Valley winery from the ground up. He established the vineyard, brand, wine style and identity. He also developed luxury wine brands Chanticleer and Sleeping Giant, and a premium pinot noir vineyard estate in the Carneros district of Napa Valley. In 2010 he established the Dearden Wines Portfolio achieving his lifelong goal of owning his own vineyard and winery. The cornerstone of the brand is Dearden’s Carneros vineyard property which houses Sleeping Giant Winery. InfoSleeping Giant Wineryhttps://www.sleepinggiant.wine/Chris’ wines at Stage Left Wine Shophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/websearch_results.html?kw=deardenJoin the Stage Left email list for more wine events in NJhttps://www.stageleft.com/Our Sponsors The Heldrich Hotel & Conference Centerhttps://www.theheldrich.com/ Magyar Bankhttps://www.magbank.com/ Withum Accountinghttps://www.withum.com/ Our Places Stage Left Steakhttps://www.stageleft.com/ Catherine Lombardi Restauranthttps://www.catherinelombardi.com/ Stage Left Wineshophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/ To hear more about food, wine and the finer things in life:https://www.instagram.com/restaurantguyspodcast/https://www.facebook.com/restaurantguysReach Out to The [email protected]**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

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• Ted Breaux: Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

  This is a Vintage Selection from 2006The BanterThe Guys talk about a new (2006) NY state law permitting distilling on a small scale and two guys who are making an interesting vodka from apples. The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys welcome Ted (T. A.) Breaux, chemist, microbiologist and absinthe expert. Ted talks about the misguided banning of absinthe and his leading the charge for its legalization. (It was legalized in the U.S. the following year.) He also described the history and ritual of absinthe including the unfounded rumors about its hallucinogenic properties. Hear about his quest to reanimate the Green Fairy. The Inside TrackThe Guys are fascinated by Ted’s analysis of unopened antique bottles of absinthe which led him to developing modern absinthe that is true to its tradition.“Well, it's akin to forensic chemistry. What I had to do was take samples  from these unopened bottles and I subjected them to a chemical analysis. It took quite a while for me to go through and identify every significant compound in these absinthes. It opened up a whole new world of detail. I'm talking detail of…a list of herbs, where those herbs are grown, how they're harvested are all key elements in the end result,” Ted Breaux on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2006BioTheodore (T. A.) Breaux is a research chemist and absinthe expert. He lobbied for the legalization of absinthe in the United States. He founded Jade Liquers and revitalized the world of absinthe. He was able to effectively reverse engineer antique brands of absinthe. January of 2004, he began distilling absinthe using a distillery founded in 1834 with absinthe distilling equipment installed by Gustave Eiffelthis. This launched Jade Liqueurs, with the Jade absinthes being held in high regard for over 20 years. In 2007, he created LUCID absinthe for Viridian Spirits, which we used to break the 95-year ban on absinthe in the USA. In March of 2007, LUCID became the first genuine absinthe sold in the USA since 1912. In 2020, he partnered with renowned cocktail master Dale DeGroff to create DeGroff Spirits, to create antique Italian-style spirits using old world crafting and quality.InfoJade Liqueurs (founded by Ted T.A. Breaux)https://jadeliqueurs.com/To get absinthe cocktail recipes, email [email protected] Sponsors The Heldrich Hotel & Conference Centerhttps://www.theheldrich.com/ Magyar Bankhttps://www.magbank.com/ Withum Accountinghttps://www.withum.com/ Our Places Stage Left Steakhttps://www.stageleft.com/ Catherine Lombardi Restauranthttps://www.catherinelombardi.com/ Stage Left Wineshophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/ To hear more about food, wine and the finer things in life:https://www.instagram.com/restaurantguyspodcast/https://www.facebook.com/restaurantguysReach Out to The [email protected]**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

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• Bettina Sichel of Laurel Glen Vineyard

  The BanterThe Guys went to a firefighter cook off. It was fantastic! Listen for Mark’s advice on how to elevate any dish. The ConversationThe 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 TrackThe 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 2025BioIn 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.InfoLaurel Glen Vineyardhttps://laurelglen.com/Peter Sichel (who passed away Feb 2025)https://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/peter-m-f-sichel-from-cia-to-blue-nunPeter Sichel’s memoirThe Secrets of My Life: Vintner, Prisoner, Soldier, SpyBy Peter M. F. SichelBlue Nun Commericalhttps://youtu.be/yfzXrLT8_fsBlue Nun radio commercial (Stiller & Meara)https://youtu.be/99OkzxST_pgOur Sponsors The Heldrich Hotel & Conference Centerhttps://www.theheldrich.com/ Magyar Bankhttps://www.magbank.com/ Withum Accountinghttps://www.withum.com/ Our Places Stage Left Steakhttps://www.stageleft.com/ Catherine Lombardi Restauranthttps://www.catherinelombardi.com/ Stage Left Wineshophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/ To hear more about food, wine and the finer things in life:https://www.instagram.com/restaurantguyspodcast/https://www.facebook.com/restaurantguysReach Out to The [email protected]**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

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