The Main Course

This week’s episode of The Main Course sees the return of Patrick Martins! In the studio with Alexes McLaughlin, the solo host also welcomes Mike Edison, co-author of “The Carnivore’s Manifesto,” and Chef Julia Jaksic of Employees Only located in NYC. Celebrating its ten year anniversary, Employees Only has managed to maintain its local feel, focusing on elevating the craft of the cocktail. Julia shares that her team’s hard work and creativity resulted in a new experience where one could enjoy the best drinks and delicious food, all served in a beautiful space without pretense. A culinary industry favorite complete with fortunate tellers in the space, Julia goes on to give her philosophy on the menu and how Employees Only may have initially been known for their craft cocktails but that the food menu has been a highlight through the years. Tune in as the group talks Gwyneth Paltrow, Patrick and Mike’s book, “The Carnivore’s Manifesto,” and more on Julia’s life! This program was brought to you by Edwards VA Ham.

—Julia Jaksic on The Main Course

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This week on The Main Course, hosts Alexes McLaughlin and Phillip Gilmour are back in the studio catching up about Phill’s new restaurant, Hi Hello, which recently opened in Bushwick right off the Jefferson stop. A fun and thoughtful sandwich shop, Phill shares the ins and outs of opening a new food establishment and also talks about the intricacies of the perfect sandwich. Did you know that hot dogs are a big deal in Iceland? Phill features the Icelandic delicacy on the Hi Hello menu and goes on to relay his favorite item at the moment. Alexes mentions the Heritage Radio Network Kickstarter Campaign which spawns a great fundraising story from Phill. After the break, Chef and Owner Sal Scognamillo of the iconic Patsy’s Italian Restaurant in NYC joins the show talking about his family business that has been embedded in the city since 1944. Coming out with a brand new cookbook, “Patsy’s Italian Family Cookbook,” Sal explains that this book features new recipes as well as the amazing family history. Sal explains that it was important to him in this cookbook to keep recipes simple, delicious, and accessible to all. This program was brought to you by Bonnie Plants.

“Nowadays, lot of restaurants are owned by corporations… we’re so blessed to be there and have the family there all the time.” [37:50]

—Sal Scognamillo on The Main Course

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It’s not uncommon for restaurants to focus on the local and seasonal, but Chapter One tells a deeper story—the heritage of American food and drink. Today on The Main Course, Phill and Alexes talk to Chef Warren Baird, who has led this kitchen, offering a menu of straightforward, soul-satisfying, American cuisine and producing an enticing, seasonal menu, rooted in the classics. Chef Baird continues to honor the origins of authentic, regional American cooking with the popular monthly Sunday night Heritage Dinner Series. Each event is a well-researched history lesson, which showcases authentic regional and historical American food and drink. This program was brought to you by Fairway Market.

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This week on The Main Course, solo host Alexes McLaughlin is keeping it in the Heritage Radio Network family and welcomes Joshua David Stein to the show! Joshua is not only the host of the Joshua David Stein Variety Hour… Half Hour but is also the food critic for the New York Observer and regularly contributes to food publications across the internet. Chatting with Alexes about his life and times, he takes listeners through his evolution into food writing and his personal style when it comes to restaurant criticism. After the break, Joshua shares that he’s currently working on not one but two books, a children’s book and a beer and food pairing book, and gives highlights of each. Tune in for a great conversation! This program was brought to you by Whole Foods Market.

“It’s become less about the every man experiences and more about the restaurant as a cultural phenomenon, which I think is great.” [12:14]

—Joshua David Stein on The Main Course

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Clodagh McKenna has become one of the most recognized faces and brands in Ireland’s Food & Lifestyle sectors. More recently Clodagh has taken the US by storm with her hugely popular US show, Clodagh’s Irish Food Trails which aired on PBS and Create TV. Her fifth cookbook, Clodagh’s Irish Kitchen, celebrates traditional irish ingredients and recipes. She sits down with Alexes and Phill on The Main Course this week to discuss the lesser know traditions and recipes which make up Irelands rich culinary history. This program was brought to you by Fairway Market.

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Heard any good ‘dad jokes’ lately? Ted Limpert is an expert on the topic and joins Alexes and Phil on The Main Course this week! A YouTube sensation, Ted is a true renaissance man as an actor, writer, musician, dancer, beard grower, professional, and all around nice guy. He chats with the hosts about his break into acting and offers some quality advice to those pursuing the field as well as his thoughts on working random jobs, including Whole Foods, and his fondness for the movie Matilda! Tune in for a fun show! This program was brought to you by Edwards VA Ham.

“I gave a juice sample to Questlove one time… Questlove loves the juice!”

—Ted Limpert on The Main Course

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This week on The Main Course, hosts Alexes McLaughlin and Phillip Gilmour welcome Bushwick neighbor Daniel Sklaar, founder and chocolatier of FINE & RAW to the show. FINE & RAW is a chocolate company started in a notorious Williamsburg, Brooklyn, originally in an artist loft. He recounts that a nonsensical obsession with chocolate left him inspired to begin making small chocolate batches. Daniel shared them with friends then started delivering them on his bicycle to small local purveyors. The stock was good – the purveyors wanted more, which allowed Daniel to leave his job in finance. The group embarks on a global conversation about steak, food, quality Cuban food, and coffee. After the break, Daniel shares exactly how he started making his own raw chocolate, distinguishing raw chocolate from ordinary chocolate (there’s no traditional roasting involved), and what’s next for him and FINE & RAW. This program was brought to you by Whole Foods Market.

“I had my secret chocolate lab, my loft in Williamsburg in 2007 and was just jamming confections with friends… it was super organic.” [7:30]

“It’s the best thing about New York – you can travel the whole world through food.” [16:00]

“As soon as I started working with chocolate there was this massive, gravitational force pulling me in.” [20:30]

—Daniel Sklaar on The Main Course

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This week on The Main Course, hosts Alexes McLaughlin and Phillip Gilmour are chatting with Cecilia Estreich of Baldor Specialty Foods. A long time friend of Phil’s, Cecilia shares her background in how she went from earning a philosophy degree from Vanderbilt to working in the food distribution industry. Now in the marketing department at Baldor, she was formerly the Director of Specialty Foods for Solex Fine Foods and an account manager for Mikuni Wild Harvest. Clearly an an expert on fine, rare, and specialty ingredients, Phil and Alexes get the scoop on what’s up next for Baldor. After the break, Chef Neal Harden of the Pickle Shack joins in on the conversation while Cecilia tells a crazy tale about mushrooms and salmon. This program was brought to you by Edwards VA Ham.

“What I’ve experienced working on the smaller more boutique side is that there’s no lack of cooperative effort among farmers themselves within their communities and there’s no lack of demand on the restaurant side… but the gap is in the unsexy part of it, in the trucking logistics, the paperwork, it’s in the the things like cooling down lettuce.”

—Cecilia Estreich on The Main Course

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This week Patrick Martins is back in the studio! The Main Course welcomes Christina Lecki, Executive Chef at The Breslin, and Tucker Schwarz, artist, writer, and event coordinator at Roberta’s Pizza. They discuss Valentine’s Day, the year of the goat/ram/sheep, and ants on a log before getting the scoop on Christina and Tucker’s backgrounds and careers. Tucker shares the crazy event details surrounding Roberta’s and how the restaurant is big in the bat mitzvah circuit! After the break, the group is later joined by Larry Boukal, General Manager of Cannonball Express, a national trucking company based out of Omaha, Nebraska to talk shop and hear about life on the road. Tune in for a great show that covers a lot of ground! This program was brought to you by Fairway Market.

—Tucker Schwarz on The Main Course

“You eat better on the coasts than you do where most of the food is produced in the inner part of the country!” [37:30]

—Patrick Martins on The Main Course

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We’re keeping it in the family this week on The Main Course as solo host Phillip Gilmour welcomes Heritage Radio Network’s Executive Producer Jack Inslee as well as musician Odetta Hartman. Jack chats with Phil about Heritage Radio Network’s inception and how he became an integral part of the station, plus shares some of his favorite radio moments. As conversation evolves, Phil tells an interesting true tale about the legend, Frank Sinatra before Jack and Odetta share their backgrounds. Notably, Odetta is a native New Yorker whose family is responsible for staple restaurants The Great Jones Cafe as well as Two Boots, and spends her time playing music plus teaching at the Lower Eastside Girls Club. Taking a break to the tune of Odetta’s brand new album “222” on the brink of official release, the show returns with a talk about concert bucket lists, crazy factoids about Odetta’s fam, and Phil’s favorite night at Momo Sushi Shack. This program was brought to you by Roberta’s Pizza.

—Jack Inslee on The Main Course

“I teach classes three times a week, teaching girls how to make beats, how to do interviews, podcasts, sound effects, and it’s really cool.” [18:33

—Odetta Hartman on The Main Course

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