The Buildout

Rick Bayless is one of America's most celebrated chefs, known as much for championing local farmers and purveyors as he is for transforming the way Americans understand Mexican cuisine. Long before authentic regional Mexican cooking gained widespread recognition in the U.S., Bayless was determined to bring the flavors and traditions he fell in love with in Mexico to American diners. That passion led him to open Frontera Grill, a restaurant that would forever change the way Americans thought about Mexican food.

On this episode of The Buildout, Rick sits down with Adam to discuss his lifelong love affair with Mexico, the challenges of introducing authentic Mexican cuisine to American diners, and how he built one of the country's most influential restaurant empires.

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Rick Bayless: https://www.instagram.com/rick_bayless

Frontera Grill: https://www.instagram.com/fronteragrill

VinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepair

Hosted by VinePair Co-Founder: https://www.instagram.com/adamteeter

Produced and edited by: https://www.instagram.com/dolldoctor

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Corima is the result of one chef’s determination to place the food of Northern Mexico in the same culinary conversation as the French cuisine he first learned to cook.

Fidel Caballero joins Adam on this episode of The Buildout to discuss how he transformed a pandemic-era pop-up into a Michelin-starred destination—one that has already spawned two additional businesses, a bakery and a cocktail bar, in just three years.

Much of Fidel’s success comes from his passion and ambition, but it also reflects the influence of the mentors and guides who helped shape him along the way.

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Corima: https://www.instagram.com/corima.nyc

Fidel Caballero: https://www.instagram.com/_fidelcf

VinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepair

Hosted by VinePair Co-Founder: https://www.instagram.com/adamteeter

Produced and edited by: https://www.instagram.com/dolldoctor

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Believe it or not, one of New Orleans’ most celebrated cocktail bars was never supposed to be a bar at all. But an annual Halloween party, a shared passion for historic cocktails, and an eleventh-hour clause in a city ordinance banning Airbnb rentals in the French Quarter would change everything. The result was Jewel of the South, one of the most acclaimed cocktail bars in the country.

On this episode of The Buildout, Adam sits down with owner John Stubbs to discuss his unconventional journey from politics to hospitality, what makes New Orleans such a special city for drinking, and how a Halloween party he threw with legendary bartender Chris Hannah sparked a friendship and partnership that would ultimately lead them to open Jewel of the South together.

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Jewel of the South: https://www.instagram.com/jewelnola/

John Stubbs: https://www.instagram.com/stubbsnola/

VinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepair

Hosted by VinePair Co-Founder: https://www.instagram.com/adamteeter

Produced and edited by: https://www.instagram.com/dolldoctor

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Cody Pruitt opened Libertine, the acclaim was immediate. The restaurant became one of the hardest reservations in New York, while its saucisse-purée quickly took on a life of its own.

But three years later, the initial fervor had faded, and filling the dining room every night was no longer as easy as it once had been. Pruitt made the difficult decision to close Libertine and transform the space into a new concept: Capitaine.

Drawing on both the successes and shortcomings of Libertine, he set out to create a restaurant that would be easier for regulars to return to again and again. Pruitt joins Adam on this episode of The Buildout to discuss what he learned from Libertine and how he arrived at the tough decision to start over.

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Capitaine: https://www.instagram.com/capitainenyc

Cody Pruitt: https://www.instagram.com/codycpruitt

VinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepair

Hosted by VinePair Co-Founder: https://www.instagram.com/adamteeter

Produced and edited by: https://www.instagram.com/dolldoctor

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From the first time Max Reis visited Mexico, he was hooked. What began as an obsession grew into a deep passion for agave and Mexican spirits, eventually making Reis one of the foremost authorities on the category in America.

That knowledge and respect for the culture behind the spirits led him to open Mírate and Daisy, two Mexican spirits-focused bars serving some of the most exciting and inventive cocktails in the country — all while honoring the spirits, traditions, and people who make them.

Max joins Adam on The Buildout to talk about his journey, how he views the current Los Angeles bar scene, and why honoring the people and culture of Mexico remains central to everything he does.

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Mírate: https://www.instagram.com/mirate.losangeles

Daisy: https://www.instagram.com/daisy.losangeles

Maxwell Reis: https://www.instagram.com/beerghost

VinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepair

Hosted by VinePair Co-Founder: https://www.instagram.com/adamteeter

Produced and edited by: https://www.instagram.com/dolldoctor

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andrew Carmellini has spent the past decade building one of New York’s most successful restaurant groups. From the breakout success of Locanda Verde, opened with Robert De Niro, to hits like The Dutch and Bar Primi, NoHo Hospitality has repeatedly shown an ability to understand what New Yorkers want to eat and drink. The group has even created bona fide cultural phenomena along the way, from Frosé to the viral Suprême pastry.

Carmellini joins Adam on this episode of The Buildout to talk about his career, the rise of NoHo Hospitality, and what it takes to keep creating restaurants that resonate in New York. He also explains why he wishes more diners would put down their phones and stop letting “the box” tell them where — and what — to eat and drink.

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Andrew Carmellini: https://www.instagram.com/andrewcarmellini

VinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepair

Hosted by VinePair Co-Founder: https://www.instagram.com/adamteeter

Produced and edited by: https://www.instagram.com/dolldoctor

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Katie Renshaw simply loves being behind the bar. That passion has helped make her one of the best bartenders in the country, from winning World Class in 2019 to leading some of Chicago’s most acclaimed bar programs.

But despite all of that success, she had never owned a bar of her own. Until now.

Bar Bambi is the culmination of Renshaw’s experience, personality, and creativity — a bar that takes drinks seriously without ever taking itself too seriously, and one that has quickly started attracting attention in Chicago and beyond.

Renshaw joins Adam on The Buildout to talk about why she finally decided to take the leap into ownership, what it took to bring Bar Bambi to life, and what she learned from doing it all on her own.

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Bar Bambi: https://www.instagram.com/bambi_chicago

Katie Renshaw: https://www.instagram.com/jiggermetimbers

VinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepair

Hosted by VinePair Co-Founder: https://www.instagram.com/adamteeter

Produced and edited by: https://www.instagram.com/dolldoctor

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How did James O’Brien build the restaurant where seemingly every sommelier in New York wants to drink wine on their night off? The prices are certainly part of the appeal, but Popina’s location is hardly the most convenient. Its success comes from something deeper.

It begins with the hospitality of the owner, which carries through to the entire staff, and a shared commitment to creating a restaurant that feels inviting, delicious, and accessible.

James joins Adam on this episode of The Buildout to discuss how he created a restaurant that is both a destination and a neighborhood spot filled with regulars—even when many of those regulars live nowhere nearby.

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Popina: https://www.instagram.com/popinanyc

James O’Brien: https://www.instagram.com/obsworld

VinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepair

Hosted by VinePair Co-Founder: https://www.instagram.com/adamteeter

Produced and edited by: https://www.instagram.com/dolldoctor

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Toby Maloney is one of the country’s most respected cocktail creators, responsible not only for multiple modern classics, but also for some of drinkers’ favorite bars across the country. Through his consulting business, he has been involved in more projects than even he can name, but the bar he is best known for is Chicago’s The Violet Hour. On this episode of The Buildout, Toby joins Adam to talk about how The Violet Hour came to be, the impact it had on Chicago’s cocktail scene, and the legacy it leaves behind following its recent closing.

Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/buildoutpodcast

Toby Maloney: https://www.instagram.com/tobycocktail

VinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepair

Hosted by VinePair Co-Founder: https://www.instagram.com/adamteeter

Produced and edited by: https://www.instagram.com/dolldoctor

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Building a celebrated restaurant group in New Jersey is already an accomplishment. Bringing that success across the Hudson to New York City is another challenge entirely—one many restaurateurs never even attempt. But Sidharth Sharma and Sammeer A. Raajpal were determined to try.

With Kidilum, their celebration of Kerala cuisine in Manhattan, they are betting that the same commitment to hospitality and showing guests a wonderful time that fueled their success in New Jersey can also resonate in New York.

Sidharth and Sammeer join Adam on this episode of The Buildout to discuss how they built their restaurant group, why they were confident their approach would translate to New York City, and what it takes to make the leap into one of the world’s most competitive dining markets.

Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/buildoutpodcast

Kidilum: https://www.instagram.com/kidilum.nyc

VinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepair

Hosted by VinePair Co-Founder: https://www.instagram.com/adamteeter

Produced and edited by: https://www.instagram.com/dolldoctor

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.