This is a Vintage episode from 2010.

Why This Episode Matters

• Hardwick, Vermont became an early test case for whether local food and small agricultural businesses could help revitalize a struggling rural economy.
• Ben Hewitt challenges the feel-good version of the local food story: What happens when artisanal food creates jobs but remains too expensive for many people in the community?
• The conversation explores how small farms can compete through distinctive, value-added products rather than commodity agriculture.
• Mark, Francis and Ben dig into questions that remain central to the food system: affordability, farm viability, subsidies, food access and what “sustainable” actually means.

The Conversation

In 2010, Hardwick, Vermont was attracting national attention for an unusual concentration of farmers, food producers and agricultural entrepreneurs. Writer and farmer Ben Hewitt chronicled the town in The Town That Food Saved, but he wasn't interested in presenting Hardwick as a simple local-food success story.

Ben joins Mark Pascal and Francis Schott to examine what was actually happening in this working-class Vermont community from Jasper Hill's approach to artisan cheese and the rise of value-added agriculture to the advantages of diversified farms and shorter supply chains.

The conversation soon gets to the harder question: Can a local food economy truly strengthen a community if the people producing the food can't always afford to eat it? Mark, Francis and Ben debate the economics of small farms, food access, agricultural subsidies and the tension between building viable food businesses and making good food broadly accessible.

They also take on the language of sustainability, the growing concentration of the food and seed industries, and whether a more decentralized food system could create something both economically durable and better connected to the communities it feeds.

Guest Bio

Ben Hewitt is a Vermont farmer and writer and the author of The Town That Food Saved: How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Wired, Men's Journal and other publications.

Timestamps

1:00 Ben Hewitt and the Hardwick, Vermont story
3:00 How food businesses began reshaping a working-class town
8:00 The “agri-preneurial” revolution and Jasper Hill
12:00 Why small farms need value-added products
13:00 The affordability problem with local food
19:00 Farm subsidies and an unequal playing field
23:00 Shorter supply chains and diversified farms
27:00 Food access, Pies for the People and sustainable businesses
35:00 What “sustainable” really means and who controls the food system

Info

Ben’s books

The Town That Food Saved: How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food  

Making Supper Safe

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Why This Episode Matters

• Why wine may not be losing younger drinkers so much as failing to introduce itself to them well
• How small, independent producers can offer something industrial wine cannot: place, history and story
• Why wine education works better through tasting, comparison and discovery than scores and intimidation
• How restaurants, retailers and wine lovers can make wine more approachable to people just beginning to explore it

Banter

Francis returns from the Russian River Valley with a deeper appreciation for Pinot Noir and plenty to say about what he learned. The Guys talk about how tasting wines side by side reveals the differences between vineyards, soils and winemaking choices, why visiting wine country can teach you what books can not and the considerable injustice of Francis losing a toga contest to a baby.

The Conversation

Tony Margiotta, founder of Gladiator Wine Distribution, joins Mark and Francis to talk about wine as culture, place and connection not just what's in the glass.

Tony traces his path from Italian-American family dinners and summers in Molise to discovering small Italian producers whose wines rarely made it to the U.S. That curiosity eventually became Gladiator Wines and a mission to tell the stories behind independent producers.

The conversation then turns to Tony's book Wine in Your 20s and the challenge of bringing a new generation into wine. Tony argues that wine hasn't necessarily lost younger drinkers: it hasn't introduced itself to them well. He and The Guys explore how approachable wines, tastings, good storytelling and less intimidation can help new drinkers discover wine on their own terms.

Guest Bio

Tony Margiotta is the founder of Gladiator Wine Distribution, specializing in independent Italian wine producers with a strong connection to place, culture and tradition. He is also the creator of Gladiator Wine TV and the author of Hidden Gems of Italy and Wine in Your 20s.

Timestamps
00:00 — Russian River Pinot Noir, side-by-side tasting and learning wine through experience
05:00 — Francis buys a real toga—and loses the contest to a baby
09:00 — Tony Margiotta and the philosophy behind Gladiator Wines
11:30 — Growing up with wine, Italian-American family dinners and Molise
17:00 — Why wine seems to taste better in Italy
20:30 — Discovering Italy's small producers and creating Gladiator Wines
22:00 — “Real wine tastes like a place”: story, context and terroir
28:00 — Learning to love wine in your 20s
32:00 — Why younger generations aren't connecting with wine
40:30 — How to introduce new drinkers: approachable wines, tastings and low-risk discovery
44:00 — Backyard vineyards, homemade wine and keeping traditions alive

Info
Tony Margiotta / Gladiator Wine Distribution
Gladiator Wine TV https://www.youtube.com/@GladiatorWineTV

Wine in Your 20s
Hidden Gems of Italy

Stage Left Wine Shop
stageleftwineshop.com

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Stage Left Steak
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This is a Vintage episode from 2006.

Why This Episode Matters

• Erica Renaud explains why heirloom, traditional and open-pollinated seeds matter to agricultural biodiversity.
• Mark and Francis share how they worked directly with local farmers to plan crops, commit to purchases and even shoulder some of the farmer's risk.
• The conversation connects sustainable agriculture with something more immediate to a restaurant: better-tasting food.
• From backyard tomatoes to restaurant purchasing, they explore ways consumers, chefs and farmers can build a closer connection to where food comes from.

The Conversation

In 2006, organic farmer and researcher Erica Renaud of Seeds of Change joined Mark Pascal and Francis Schott for a conversation about something fundamental to the food on our plates: the seed.

Erica explains the differences among heirloom, traditional and open-pollinated varieties and why preserving genetic diversity matters. The discussion moves from seed saving and organic agriculture to the relationship between farmers and chefs—and that's where Mark and Francis bring the conversation directly into their restaurants.
They describe meeting with farmers before planting season to decide what to grow, committing to buy entire crops and sharing some of the agricultural risk. When hundreds of pounds of Jersey tomatoes arrived at once, the restaurants put them across the menu and preserved the harvest so they could serve local tomato sauce in the middle of winter.

For Mark and Francis, the motivation wasn't simply philosophical: the food tasted better. Their argument is that the search for the most sustainably grown tomato and the search for the best-tasting tomato can lead you to the same farm.

Erica also makes the case for growing something yourself—even in a container or small garden—as a way to understand food differently. From teaching children where food comes from to discovering how dramatically one tomato variety can taste from another, the conversation follows food from seed to farm to restaurant to plate.

Guest Bio

At the time of this 2006 conversation, Erica Renaud was an organic farmer and researcher and the Research and Farm Manager for Seeds of Change, working on organic seed production, agricultural biodiversity and programs connecting farmers with chefs and consumers.

Timestamps

00:00 Heirloom seeds, open pollination and preserving biodiversity
04:00 Seed patents, hybrids and who controls the food supply
07:00 Why chefs and farmers should plan together
12:00 Sustainable food often tastes better and everyone should grow something
18:30 Why organic food should start with organic seed
24:30 How consumers can drive demand for better, more sustainable food 

Info

Seeds of Change https://www.seedsofchange.com/

The organization discussed in this 2006 interview has evolved considerably since the original broadcast. The Seeds of Change garden-seed brand is currently part of Green Garden Products and continues to offer seeds described by the company as 100% organic and 100% non-GMO.

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Why This Episode Matters

• Italian food isn’t one cuisine. Vincenzo Prosperi explains why Italy’s regional traditions matter—and what gets lost when everything is reduced to pizza, pasta and red sauce.
• Authenticity and innovation can coexist. The question isn’t whether chefs should create new dishes, but whether classics should be changed beyond recognition and still carry the old name.
• Social media is changing restaurants. Vincenzo, Mark and Francis dig into influencer culture, food designed for photographs and the pressure on restaurants to pay for attention.
• Preserving tradition means supporting the people still cooking it. Vincenzo is shifting his platform toward regional chefs, family restaurants and food traditions that might otherwise disappear.

Banter

Mark Pascal and Francis Schott talk about why their restaurant events have never come from a marketing plan. They come from things they, their staff, and their guests can all get excited about.

They look ahead to their annual Big Night dinner and revisit the early days of their table-to-farm dinners, including one memorable attempt that involved hauling restaurant tables and a wood-burning grill to a farm... just in time for the rain.

The Conversation

Vincenzo Prosperi grew up in Abruzzo surrounded by his grandparents, great-grandparents and the food traditions that came with them. After moving to Australia, he saw the distance between the Italian cooking he knew and much of the “Italian” food being served around the world. His wife suggested he turn that frustration—and his passion—into what became Vincenzo’s Plate.

Vincenzo talks with Mark and Francis about the reaction videos that helped build his audience, from cream-laden carbonara to celebrity chefs taking liberties with Italian classics. But as reaction content became increasingly negative and crowded, he changed direction. Today, his focus is on teaching, ranking Italian products and using his audience to introduce viewers to regional Italian chefs and traditions.

The conversation expands into a bigger question: What happens to traditional food in a culture built around clicks, trends and influencers?

Vincenzo worries that regional Italian cooking is being replaced by a more standardized version of fine dining while small family restaurants struggle for attention. Mark and Francis see a similar problem in restaurants designed around what photographs well rather than what tastes good.

They also tackle the line between preservation and creativity. Vincenzo isn't against innovation—quite the opposite. But before you riff on a cuisine, you should understand what you're riffing on. A new dish can be anything you want it to be. Carbonara, however, has a history.

And yes, peas remain under suspicion.

Guest Bio

Vincenzo Prosperi is the creator of Vincenzo’s Plate, devoted to authentic Italian cooking and the traditions behind it. Born in Pescara in Italy’s Abruzzo region and now based in Australia, Vincenzo has built a worldwide audience through recipes, food education, product rankings and collaborations with chefs throughout Italy.

Timestamps

00:00 Great restaurant events are about creating memorable experiences
09:30 Meet Vincenzo Prosperi of Vincenzo’s Plate
11:30 Growing up with Italian food traditions in Abruzzo
18:00 Celebrity chefs, reaction videos and crimes against carbonara
25:00 Why Vincenzo moved beyond reaction content
28:00 Trust, sponsorships and building an audience without selling out
35:00 Is fine dining erasing Italy’s regional food traditions?
38:00 Influencers, restaurant economics and food made for Instagram
43:00 Innovation vs. tradition: when should a classic be left alone?
47:00 Mark and Francis remember an old-school trattoria in Italy 

Info

Vincenzo’s Plate https://www.vincenzosplate.com/

Vincenzo’s Plate on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@vincenzosplate

Events @ The Guys' Places https://www.stageleft.com/events/

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

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https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/

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This is a Vintage episode from 2006.

Why This Episode Matters

• Why guests who are not drinking deserve a beverage experience equal to the food, not simply still or sparkling water.
• How sommeliers can build non-alcoholic pairings using the same principles as wine: weight, acidity, texture and flavor.
• Why thoughtful glassware and presentation communicate that every guest matters.
• How one memorable beverage program can turn the non-drinker into the person who chooses the restaurant for the entire table.

The Conversation

Mark Pascal and Francis Schott are joined by Master Sommelier Paul Roberts, then director of wine and beverages for Thomas Keller’s restaurants, including The French Laundry, Per Se and Bouchon.

Paul explains how a lunch at The French Laundry changed his thinking about non-alcoholic beverages. When a knowledgeable 12-year-old diner was offered little beyond water, Paul improvised a beverage pairing and began developing a program for children and anyone who simply preferred not to drink alcohol.

The conversation explores house-made tonic, teas, infusions, grape juices and less-sweet sodas. Paul explains why non-alcoholic pairings should be approached like wine pairings, matching the weight and flavors of a beverage to the dish. He also shares one of the program’s more unexpected combinations: artisanal root beer with foie gras.

They discuss the importance of ingredients, glassware and presentation, along with the business case for taking non-drinkers seriously. A single guest who feels genuinely considered may be the person who brings the entire party back.

It is a remarkably current conversation about hospitality, inclusion and the rise of sophisticated non-alcoholic drinking recorded years before the modern no- and low-alcohol movement took hold.

Guest Bio

Paul Roberts was the director of wine and beverages for Thomas Keller’s restaurant group, overseeing programs at The French Laundry, Per Se and Bouchon, as well as a team of 14 full-time sommeliers. A Master Sommelier, Paul became known not only for world-class wine service but also for pioneering thoughtful non-alcoholic beverage pairings.

Timestamps

00:00 Paul Roberts and the origins of the non-alcoholic pairing program
07:35 House-made tonic and treating cocktails like serious cuisine
10:20 Teas, infusions, grape juices and foie gras with root beer
17:25 Why glassware matters for guests who are not drinking
19:25 The non-drinker who may choose the restaurant for the whole table
23:00 Dry sodas, quality over sweetness and becoming “the soda sommelier”
27:00 Last recommendation for non-alc pairing with lobster

Info

Beverages and producers mentioned: Navarro Vineyards grape juice, Boylan’s, Sprecher root beer 

Grown Up Soda https://drinkgus.com/

Dry Soda https://drinkdry.com/

Elderflower syrup https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/food/Nikolaihof-Hollunderbluten-Sirup-No-Alcohol-w4694002sy

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Why This Episode Matters

• What local sourcing looked like before restaurants had reliable farm-to-kitchen distribution.
• Why supporting local agriculture is an economic commitment not merely a menu description.
• How “farm-to-table” became vulnerable to greenwashing and what genuine sourcing requires.
• Why whole-animal butchery, preservation and culinary craft are increasingly difficult to sustain under modern restaurant economics.
• Why “sustainable seafood” may be too simple and how ocean warming, acidification, habitat loss shape the larger story of what reaches the plate. 

The Banter

Mark Pascal and Francis Schott return from Tales of the Cocktail with lessons in hospitality...and staffing. They share Ti Martin’s story about transforming a frazzled guest’s evening with one perfectly timed gin and tonic, then recap what happened when their New Orleans beefsteak produced an unexpected third shift for the hosts. Thirty-four years into the restaurant business, apparently there are still new ways to discover that you need two more employees.

The Conversation

Baltimore chef and restaurateur Spike Gjerde joins The Restaurant Guys for a candid discussion about what it actually takes to build a regional food system.

Spike, Mark and Francis compare the early days of sourcing local ingredients, when chefs drove to farmers markets or directly from farm to farm because restaurant distribution simply did not exist. Spike explains why Woodberry Kitchen pushed the idea much further, even excluding ingredients such as lemons so more of the restaurant’s purchasing dollars could remain with Mid-Atlantic growers.

They explore large-scale preservation, farm-to-table greenwashing and the tension between environmental responsibility and economic survival. Spike also reflects on Parts & Labor, his restaurant and butcher-shop experiment designed around whole-animal butchery and the stubborn reality that nearly everyone still wanted rib eye and tenderloin.

The conversation turns to the rising cost of skilled labor, the loss of culinary craft and the pressure pushing restaurants toward standardized, premade food. Spike explains how his newer restaurants broaden Woodberry’s original mission by applying local agricultural relationships to the cuisines of Provence, Spain and the Levant.

Finally, they challenge the language of “sustainable seafood,” discuss the ecological importance of Chesapeake menhaden and revisit Shoofly, Spike’s premium diner concept that may simply have arrived before diners were ready for a $24 omelet.

Guest Bio

Spike Gjerde is a Baltimore chef and restaurateur best known for Woodberry Kitchen and his decades-long commitment to strengthening regional food systems. He received the 2015 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic.

Timestamps

00:00 Tales of the Cocktail, live shows and a lesson in hospitality
07:40 Spike Gjerde and the early days of local sourcing
14:25 Why local food became an economic mission
20:05 Farm-to-table greenwashing and the future of regional food systems
27:15 Whole-animal butchery and the Parts & Labor experiment
31:10 Rising labor costs and the disappearance of culinary craft
35:40 The Ecco Project: expanding the mission beyond farm-to-table
40:10 Sustainable seafood—and a diner concept that may have arrived too early
47:35 The diner, the record-store owner and a wild New Brunswick crime story 

Info

Spike’s Places

Woodberry Kitchen https://www.woodberrykitchen.com/

Ecco Project https://www.eccoproject.com/

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

Stage Left Wineshop
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This is a Vintage episode from 2010.

Why This Episode Matters

• Discover how wine can encourage creativity, conversation and more mindful experiences.
• Learn why comparative tasting helps develop your palate faster.
• Understand how fear of being wrong prevents people from describing what they taste.
• Hear why making time for memorable experiences may change how we perceive our lives.

The Conversation

The Restaurant Guys, Mark Pascal and Francis Schott, welcome author and organizational consultant Michael Gelb to discuss Wine Drinking for Inspired Thinking: Uncork Your Creative Juices.

Michael connects wine and creativity to the ancient Greek symposium, where philosophy, poetry and conversation flowed alongside the wine. He explains how thoughtful drinking can loosen inhibitions, encourage expression and make wine feel less intimidating.

The conversation covers memorable food-and-wine pairings, Château d’Yquem and the value of tasting similar wines side by side. Michael and The Guys explore how comparison sharpens sensory memory, why beginners sometimes notice what experts miss and the difference between professional analysis and personal enjoyment.

After the interview, Mark and Francis reflect on memory, routine and why meaningful experiences may make life feel fuller and time move a little more slowly.

Guest Bio

Michael J. Gelb is a bestselling author and organizational consultant known for How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci. In Wine Drinking for Inspired Thinking, he uses comparative tasting, conversation and creative exercises to help people experience wine with greater curiosity and enjoyment.

Timestamps

00:00 Michael Gelb and Wine Drinking for Inspired Thinking
04:45 Food-and-wine pairings to experience at least once
08:15 Creating memorable tastings for friends
10:00 Why side-by-side tasting improves sensory memory
11:20 Fear of embarrassment and the adult learning block
13:20 Advantages of beginners and professionals
16:45 Knowing everything about wine—and missing its beauty
20:45 Making room for joy in everyday life
22:15 The advice from Francis’s father that may improve your life

Info

Michael’s book
Wine Drinking for Inspired Thinking: Uncork Your Creative Juices

Michael’s site https://michaelgelb.com/

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Stage Left Steak
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Recorded live at the House of Suze during Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans 2026.

Why This Episode Matters

• Discover how the American beefsteak became a tool for political organizing in New York and New Jersey.
• Learn the feast’s essential rules: endless meat, bread as a plate and no concern for remaining clean.
• Hear how Prohibition and women’s suffrage changed public drinking—and the beefsteak itself.
• Find out how New Jersey preserved the tradition after it faded elsewhere.

The Conversation

Mark Pascal, Francis Schott and Sother Teague take the stage together to explore one of America’s messiest, and most political, dining traditions.

The American beefsteak began as a nineteenth-century feast where politicians served voters and ward leaders all the steak and beer they could handle. Matching aprons erased the appearance of social rank, and the room became a place to reward loyalty, recruit supporters and build political alliances.

The panel lays out the beefsteak’s non-negotiables: slices of beef served continuously on pieces of bread, no forks, no knives and traditionally no napkins. Diners eat the meat, stack the bread and use their aprons to wipe their hands. As Sother puts it, the guiding principle was “opulence over elegance.”

They trace the tradition through Tammany Hall, organized labor and the East Side–West Side beefsteak rivalry. They also examine how Prohibition and women’s suffrage helped transform the formerly all-male event into a more social and mixed-gender gathering.

When beefsteaks began disappearing after World War II, New Jersey butcher Garrett “Hap” Nightingale revived them as fundraisers for fire departments, churches, and community organizations. The conversation also compares the beefsteak with Southern pig pickin’s, crab boils, clambakes and pancake breakfasts.

Along the way, Sother recounts the six-plane journey that brought him to Tales, while Mark and Francis explain how they transported steaks, produce and Himalayan salt bricks from New Jersey to New Orleans.

The evening’s menu includes brisket, roast beef, Wagyu, house-made mozzarella and steaks finished on 500-degree salt bricks. Steak sauce is permitted, although putting it on the Wagyu may cause Francis emotional distress.

Guest Bio

Sother Teague is a bartender, hospitality professional and drinks historian best known for Amor y Amargo and Overthrow Hospitality. He is also a co-host of The Speakeasy and Sauced podcasts.

Timestamps

00:00 Live from the House of Suze at Tales of the Cocktail
02:15 What is an American beefsteak?
05:00 Tammany Hall, political organizing and “opulence over elegance”
10:00 Six planes, ten cooler bags and salt bricks on an airplane
13:00 Excess, Prohibition and the end of the all-male beefsteak
21:00 How New Jersey revived the tradition
23:00 Pig pickings and other regional communal feasts
25:00 Wagyu, salt bricks and the steak-sauce debate

Info

Sother Teague https://www.overthrowhospitality.com/team
Podcasts: The Speakeasy, Sauced

Recorded At
House of Suze
Tales of the Cocktail
New Orleans, Louisiana

Featured Partners
Suze and BCI
Old Forester
Serene Craft Beer Distributors

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

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This is a Vintage episode from 2010.

Why This Episode Matters

• How a freedom-loving nation came to outlaw the manufacture, sale and transportation of alcohol through a constitutional amendment.
• Why women’s suffrage, progressive reformers, wealthy industrialists and economic politics created unexpected alliances on both sides of Prohibition.
• How Prohibition fueled corruption and organized crime while weakening Americans’ respect for the law.
• Why speakeasies helped create nightclubs, cocktail parties and social drinking among men and women.

The Banter

Mark Pascal and Francis Schott debate a New York Times writer who confronted chef Marc Forgione after hearing him berate an employee during service. The Guys agree the chef was out of line, but walking into his kitchen to reprimand him was, too. 

The Conversation

The Restaurant Guys are joined by author and historian Daniel Okrent to discuss Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition.

Daniel explains how Prohibition grew from a surprisingly broad political coalition that included progressives, suffragists, religious reformers and working-class organizations. Meanwhile, some wealthy conservatives opposed it because they feared government interference—and wanted liquor taxes to replace income taxes.

They explore the unintended consequences of America’s “noble experiment,” including widespread bribery, poisoned liquor, the creation of national organized-crime networks and a growing disregard for laws that much of the population refused to obey.

Prohibition also transformed American social life. Speakeasies welcomed women into public drinking establishments, introduced table service and entertainment, and helped give rise to nightclubs, cocktail parties and the modern dinner party.

Daniel also reveals his other claim to fame: inventing fantasy baseball—an achievement Mark considers nearly as important as documenting Prohibition.

Guest Bio

Daniel Okrent is an author, editor and historian whose books include Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. A Pulitzer Prize finalist and former public editor of The New York Times, he is also credited with inventing Rotisserie League Baseball, the game that launched modern fantasy sports.

Timestamps

00:00 When a diner confronts a chef

13:45 Daniel Okrent joins the show

16:00 How Prohibition became law

21:00 Women’s suffrage and the temperance movement

24:00 America’s drinking culture before Prohibition

28:40 Why Prohibition began to collapse

31:20 Corruption and the rise of organized crime

34:40 How speakeasies changed nightlife

39:00 Prohibition’s lasting cultural impact 

Info

Daniel’s book
Author of Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition

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

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

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

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• The Guys taste ʻŌkolehao, a nearly lost Hawaiian spirit made from kī root, and explore its unusual history and revival.
• Why Michelin retired its Green Star—and why judging sustainability is far more complicated than judging what arrives at the table.
• The economic problem facing bars devoted exclusively to non-alcoholic cocktails.
• A simple way to uncover better bottles and better values when restaurant wine-list prices are climbing.

The Banter

Mark Pascal and Francis Schott welcome two of their favorite guests: each other.

Longtime listener Kelvin sends the Guys bottle number 125 of 150 from an early release of Ola ʻŌkolehao. They taste the Hawaiian spirit, find notes reminiscent of Scotch and Irish whiskey and dig into its history from its roots in Native Hawaiian culture to its disappearance and modern revival.

Naturally, a discussion of spirits aged while being agitated at sea gives Mark an opening Francis never sees coming.

The Conversation

The Guys begin with Michelin’s decision to retire the Green Star. Recognizing restaurants for responsible sourcing and sustainable practices may be admirable, but Francis and Mark question whether such broad claims can be verified with the same confidence as food, service and the guest experience. That leads to a larger debate about Michelin’s expanding reach, changing standards and whether professional restaurant critics still matter in the age of online reviews.

Next, they consider the wave of mocktail-only bars and why so many have struggled to stay open. Both believe serious non-alcoholic drinks belong on every good cocktail list, but Mark questions whether a venue serving only zero-proof cocktails can compete economically with restaurants, traditional bars and coffee shops already serving the same audience.

Finally, Francis shares a useful restaurant wine hack discovered in Aspen. When the bottle list starts at an uncomfortable price, look at the wines offered by the glass. Ask how many glasses the restaurant pours from a bottle and whether you can order a full bottle of one of those selections. You may find a more interesting wine at a substantially better price.

Mark then reveals he has been using essentially the same strategy with pizza since the 1980s.

Timestamps
00:00 Tasting the revived Hawaiian spirit ʻŌkolehao
05:35 The history, disappearance and return of ʻŌkolehao
12:15 Why Michelin retired the Green Star
16:25 Is Michelin diluting its restaurant standards?
19:00 Can mocktail-only bars survive?
26:20 Rising restaurant wine prices and the by-the-glass bottle hack
31:20 Mark’s remarkably similar pizza hack

Info
Ola ʻŌkolehao Distillery https://thespiritofhawaii.com/

Restaurant Guys’ Regulars https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/

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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!
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