The Restaurant Guys

The Miracle Bar @ Catherine Lombardi

That's right, on November 24th we will close Catherine Lombardi so that Santa's elves can transform Catherine Lombardi in to The Miracle Bar at Catherine Lombardi!  This is a concept started by our good friend Greg Boehm in New York and it's taking the nation (and the world) by storm. We are going to be The Center of Holiday Cheer for all of Central Jersey and Beyond. It will be impossible to escape the spirit of the season. Wait until you see how these halls will be decked! You can drink from our special Miracle cocktail menu in Miracle glasses, mugs, cups and shot glasses. That's right, you can drink right out of Santa's pants! Don't tell Mrs. Clause.   Book your holiday party at the most festive spot in the State. Email us here. Come visit us any time between November 25 and December 31. The bar is first come/first served. Reservations are accepted for dinner here. Book your holiday party with us! Stay tuned for more info as we get closer. Do come to our Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest on Monday December 2. There will be prizes. Details to follow.   Catherine Lombardi is Open for Dinner Seven Nights We Will Serve Lunch Weekdays from December 2-20 The Bar is Open Late!        New Year's Eve Fireworks at Midnight: Reserve Early Reservations

It's Five O'Clock Somewhere - A Celebration of the Martini!

It's Five O'Clock Somewhere!
A Celebration of The Martini
Friday, November 1     5-7 PM

With Robert Simonson, Dale DeGroff, Jill DeGroff, Mark and Francis!
There will be Martinis, Hors d'Oeuvres, Artists, Authors, Sparkling Conversation
And Dale DeGroff is Even Going To Light Things on Fire

 

 

An Old-Fashioned Cocktail Party
Martinis at 5 (you can be fashionably late)
Great Personal And Original Gift Ideas!

Robert Simonson is one of the most celebrated drinks journalists of our time. He covers cocktails and other adult beverages for a little paper called The New York Times. He's a regular contributor to Punch and Imbibe and his books are phenomenal. We're throwing this little shindig to celebrate the launch of his latest tome, The Martini Cocktail: A Meditation on the World's Greatest Drink! We're going to celebrate it with a good old-fashioned cocktail party. Robert will be signing books. <Signed books make great presents!>

Jill DeGroff's art has proven quite popular. We mounted a show of her work back in July and most of the pieces sold within a week! So we asked her for more work. The purchasers are eager to take possession of their pieces. Jill will be here with a new body of work (and some that's just new to us). There's no better way to enjoy Saloon Art than with a Martini in hand. <Original signed artwork makes a great present!>

Dale DeGroff (the King of Cocktails himself) provided Robert with one of the recipes he featured in the book. Dale will be stirring up examples of same for your bibulous enjoyment. We'll be stirring up some others. 

Robert will say a few words at 6:30, and then we'll finish when Dale fires up an old-fashioned Café Brulot Diabolique. This is a new table-side tradition at Stage Left Steak. The Brulot Bowl is Fantastic! <A Silver Brulot Bowl makes a great present!>
 

$29.95

Friday, November 1    5 PM - 7 PM
Passed Hors d'Oeuvres.  2 Drinks and A Café Brulot.

Reservation Online or 732-828-4444 or [email protected]

Antiquum Farm Wine Dinner

Antiquum Farm Wine Dinner Stephen Hagan Returns Wednesday, Oct 30 at 7PM  I am not a landowner overseeing the operations of a vineyard.  I am the operations...and a part of Antiquum Farm. --Stephen Hagan

The Hagan family at Antiquum Farm does things a little differently...well, a LOT differently. The pictures above accurately represent how they run their farm (and their lives). Their wines (especially their pinot noir) have become favorites on our list all year round. They are extraordinary. The Hagans planted every single vine on their property...by hand...themselves. They run a farming operation that is unbelievable in its integrity. They use horses for 90% of the work and they manage the soil with a collection of sheep, dogs, chickens and geese, sourcing all fertilizer from the property. They founded Antiquum Farm out of a desire to rear their children in a similar way to Stephen’s childhood. Their children, Daisy and Juel, are actively engaged in the growing and making of Antiquum Farm wines. Daisy is a competent horsewoman and responsible for all daily care of their equine partners and the poultry flock. Throughout the growing season she scouts the vineyard on horseback almost daily. Juel is keenly interested in shepherding, wine growing/making, and cooking. He has a pretty decent palate for an 11 year old. He is competent with much of the farm equipment and takes part in blending trials for the wines. I was barely managing my paper route at twelve. The Hagans and the wines are fantastic. Come meet Stephen and let's drink the new vintage of their wines together.   [email protected] or 732-828-4444

Antiquum Wine Dinner Menu October 30 - Hors d'Oeuvres 6:45  Dinner 7:15 Hors d’Ouevres ★ Pinot Gris ‘Daisy’ 2018 Brook Trout Smoked and Pan Seared, Potatoes, Arugula, Buttermilk ★ Pinot Gris ‘Aurosa’ Rose 2018 Roasted Mushrooms Trumpet Royal and Maitake, Parmigiano ★ Pinot Noir ‘Juel’ 2017 ★ Pinot Noir ‘Alium’ 2018 Crown Roast of Pork Roasted Root Vegetables, Chestnut Jus ★ Pinot Noir ‘Passiflora’ 2018 ★ Pinot Noir ‘Luxuria’ 2018 Apple and Quince Tart Calvados Ice Cream, Pecan Crumble Caramel Apples $139 plus tax and service

The Story of Whisky Presented by Robin Robinson @ Stage Left Steak

The Story of Whisky Presented by Robin Robinson

Friday, October 18th - 7pm

Our friend Robin Robinson's forthcoming book, "The Complete Whiskey Course: A Comprehensive Tasting School in Ten Lessons," will be released on October 1. It's a survey of whiskey on the model of Kevin Zraly's Windows on The World Wine Course Book. We love it already!

Robin will present a one hour tasting / class / repartee / hoedown and take us through a journey of Knappogue Castle, Aberlour, Lot40, Jefferson's, Iwai and Amrut whiskeys.

This book is handsome and makes a great read, a great reference, and a great present for the whiskey lover in your life. Robin will hang out afterwards to sign books and chat and maybe have a whiskey cocktail or two...or three!
 

Tickets are $29.95
($25.95 with purchase of a book)
Get Tickets Here, or 732-828-4444

About The Author: Robin Robinson has taught at the Culinary Institute of America and the Institute for Culinary Education, and given lectures and seminars at the American Distilling Institute, Bar Institute, and Tales of the Cocktail, among others. He has been featured in the pages of AlcoholProfessor.com, ChicagoSun Times, Playboy.com, VinePair.com, WhiskeyWash.com, and other publications.

An Evening of Jazz ft. Jacqui Naylor

Jacqui Naylor Sings
Catherine Lombardi Becomes A Jazz Supper Club
Sunday, October 13 at 7:30 PM

An Evening of Jazz and Wine Tasting
Complimentary with Dinner in Either Restaurant
If Not Having Dinner: $25 Music Cover

We have Jacqui back every year. We turn Catherine Lombardi's dining room into a lovely and charming jazz dinner club. It's a throwback to another era. With our red walls, low ceilings and intimate lighting, it's perfect...just perfect.  I hope you can join us. 

In my younger and more vulnerable years, I was in Madrid with some friends. After the best bullfight I've ever seen, we were invited to dinner at the home of Don Carlos Falco, the Marqués de Griñón. After dinner, Don Carlos broke out the Spanish Brandy and Cuban Cigars.

He also introduced Jacqui Naylor, whom he had engaged to sing for us. She broke my heart about seven times that evening. Jacqui has since gone on to release twelve albums and tour the world to great critical acclaim and we've become friends.

She will perform in Catherine Lombardi on the 13th. We'll turn the dining room into a cabaret and Jacqui will perform at 7:30. We will seat for dinner until 6:30 in either restaurant, so that you can enjoy dinner before the show. We will serve cocktails through the performance. We will also serve dinner after the performance in Catherine Lombardi.

We will have a tasting of six wines available in the Catherine Lombardi Bar beforehand. Wine tasting and Jazz are complimentary with dinner in either restaurant; or $25 cover charge if just coming for music and tasting. 

Jacqui's album have made the “top ten” lists of USA Today, Jazziz & The Washington Post.
       "Naylor remains one of the most superbly arresting vocalists around. " — JazzTimes
       "Naylor excels as a sensitive song interpreter with unerring intonation. " — DownBeat
       "Jacqui has a sumptuous voice and an ability to sweeten those bluesy bent notes. " — Village Voice

[email protected]

Wine Dinner with Doug Margerum

Wine Dinner with Doug Margerum
Thursday, October 3

Tasting 6:45 - 7:15 PM   Dinner 7:15

 

We've loved Margerum wines for years. We've been trying to get Doug out for a dinner since 2015! Well, we finally we have a date set. Doug Margerum will be here Thursday, October 3rd and we hope you can make it. He will host a tasting of wines from his two estates: Margerum and Barden! Then we'll sit down to dinner with even more wines. This collection has have never been showed in one place before in Jersey! It's going to be extraordinary.

With his parents, Doug traveled to France at 14. That's where he fell in love with food and wine. He worked in restaurants as a cook and server through high school and college. Eventually he ran his family's wine store and adjacent bistro, The Wine Cask. In 1994 Wine Cask became one of 74 restaurants in the world to earn the Wine Spectator Grand Award. That considerably upped Doug's access and profile. In 2007, he sold The Wine Cask and devoted all of his energy to winemaking at his fledgling Margerum wine company.

Doug’s philosophy on winemaking is simple: It should be handcrafted and personal. That's pretty much the same as our philosophy on restaurants. Come taste and drink the results. Have dinner with us on October 3. [email protected] or 732-828-4444

Menu

Tasting 

★ Barden Vin Gris of Pinot Noir 2018
★ Barden “Fonte” White (Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris)
★ Barden Chardonnay 2016
★ Margerum M5 White Rhône Blend 2017
★ Margerum 'SBC' Grenache 2017
 

Dinner

 

Oyster Pan Roast with Marjoram, Rosemary and Thyme
Or Smoked Trout w/ Fresh Herbs & Capers
★ Margerum 'D' Sauvignon Blanc 2017
The 'D' is an Homage to Didier Dagueneau

Tuna and Lion’s Mane Mushrooms
Roasted in Jamón Iberico Butter 
★  Barden Pinot Noir 2016
 
Wild Boar and Duck Cassoulet
★  Margerum M5 Red Rhone Blend 2017

Pecan Molasses Brownie with Bourbon Ice Cream
★  Margerum Riesling 'Kick On Ranch' 2016
 
Digestivo
★ Margerum Amaro

$129 Person
Plus Tax and Service
[email protected]

Labor Day Weekend Sunday - Steel Drums and A Gin Garden Party

Labor Day Weekend Sunday
Steel Drums and A Gin Garden Party
This Sunday, September 1

 

 

 

Sunday, we'll have delicious gin cocktails, party games, and prizes. The music will be the steel drums of Rick Dalgetti and his band Fusion! Steel drums sound great on the streets of New Brunswick. Come down and help us make some noise!

 

Music : 4:15pm - 7pm

The Stage Left Butcher Shop

 

The Stage Left Butcher Shop

is open for business! 

 

 

 

Simply Put, We Get The Best Meat
Now you can too

If you're cooking at home on Labor Day weekend, you may as well cook with the best. At Stage Left Steak, we get the finest. As we often do on these holiday weekends, we are offering a selection of our meats for your home grilling.

• 45 Dry Aged Prime ~ 3 Lb Porterhouse                                   $85
• 45 Day Dry Aged Bone-In Prime Filet Mignon ~ 1.5 LB      $49
• Whole Flat Iron Steak 1.5 - 2 LB                                               $16/LB
• 45 Dry Aged Bone-in Strip Steak - Prime ~ 2 LB                  $59
• Stage Left Burger 10/11oz                                                           $12 each
  • with 3-yr Cheddar, Roll, Chipotle Mayo   
• Amish Bacon (slab or sliced)                                                     $8/LB
• 12 oz. Pork Chop                                                                           $14
• Wagyu Flatiron (~7 oz)                                                               $29

Place an order: [email protected] or by calling 732-828-4444. ext 0
Best to order by Thursday 8/29 by 5 PM to ensure availability.
After that, we will fill orders as possible.

Wine Dinner with White Rock Vineyard

 

Wine Dinner 

September 5th, 2019

6:30pm 

 

White Rock Vineyards has produced some of the most well-balanced, age-worthy, delicious Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay in the Napa Valley since the 1970s. We have had White Rock on our wine list, every single vintage, since 1993.

We first visited the property waaay back in 1996. This was a time when California wine makers were pursuing ever more powerful wines, and ever bigger scores, throwing balance out the window. Henri was different. He brought a European sensibility to this extraordinary California terroir. He was right of course. We followed him through many vintages and now we buy the wine from his sons. For twenty-six vintages, we have seen these wines perform great when young, and age gracefully for years.  

Walk Around Tasting 6:30 - 7 PM
Dinner at 7 PM

Hors d'Oeuvres & Tasting
Chardonnay 'Reserve' 2016
Cabernet Sauvignon 'Laureate' 2014
Cabernet Sauvignon 'Laureate' 2009

Lobster & Black Truffle Manicotti
Chardonnay 2016

Duck Pastrami on Rye Toast
White Rock 'Claret' 2016

Wagyu Beef Tasting
Flatiron Steak, Cheese Steak, Beef Tartare
Cabernet Sauvignon 2014

A Tasting of The Honeys of Mario Bianco
The Best Flora-Specific, Vintage Honey In Europe
Acacia Blossom 2017, Chestnut Blossom 2017,
Cherry Blossom 2018, Eucalyptus 2016, Dandelion 2016
Served with Goat Cheese, Nuts, Apples and Vanilla Ice Cream

$199 per person plus Tax and Service
[email protected] or call 732-828-4444

 

White Rock is a 35-acre naturally farmed vineyard, boasting a unique terroir of white volcanic ash, nestled in a small valley at the base of the Stag’s Leap Range. It has never been farmed any other way.  The estate has never been subjected to herbicides, pesticides, or fumigants. 

The original parcel was purchased by a Dr. Pettingill in 1870. Dr. Pettingill planted the property to Riesling and Zinfandel, one of the earliest plantings in Napa. In 1871, using only a hand saw to cut the white rock he quarried from the property, he constructed a winery in which he would process 7,000 gallons of wine per year.  It was renowned to be of high quality.

One hundred years later, the property was reclaimed by Henri and Claire Vandendriessche.  He came to America from France to study at UC Berkley in 1967.  He met Claire, they fell in love, started a family and then set about restoring the White Rock Estate to its former glory.  They moved into the old winery and made it their home. The White Rock estate used to boast a formidable cellar of these age-worthy wines, but they lost much in the fire, including the family home.

After graduating UCSC with a degree in Physics, Christopher achieved a degree in oenology from The University of Bordeaux. After working at some great European properties, and then working under John Kongsgaard in California, Christopher took over as wine maker at White Rock in 1999. Today, he and his brother Michael have taken over the business.

Do come and enjoy an evening with Christopher, a comprehensive selection of his wines and an extraordinary dinner at one of your favorite restaurants.  

[email protected] or 732-828-4444

 

Summer Sunday - The Spirits of Japan

The Spirits of Japan
Sunday, August 18

You may not know that Japanese spirits are on the rise. Some of the Japanese whiskies are as impossible to find as rares scotch or bourbon.  There's a reason.

The art of distilling western style spirits in Japan dates back before WWII. Click here for one of the greatest whisky love stories ever lived. After living in Scotland, learning the trade and taking a Scottish wife, Masataka Taketsuru moved back to Japan in 1920. That is the birth of Western spirits in Japan.  Then followed 10 decades of meticulous devotion to detail, that the West is only noticing now.

Spirits
The merger of Jim Beam and Suntory has resulted in a lot of positive things. One of them is the creation of a new bourbon. It's a collaboration between Suntory Master Distiller Shinji Fukuyo & Beam Master Distiller Fred Noe. It's called Legent and it will be available for tasting and in discounted drinks on Sunday.  We will also have some rare Yamazaki Whisky available for purchase AND the exciting new releases by Suntory of Haku Vodka and Roku Gin.  As you can imagine, these spirits are clean, elegant and exactingly precise. They will also be available for tasting and in discounted cocktails.

Poetry: Haiku Contest!
We will also run our first annual Haku Haiku contest!.  All entries must be read that day and the winner gets a bottle of Haiku or Roku or a certificate for a burger at a future date.
 

 

Food

We'll have our regular menu but also we'll be offering Miyazaki (better than Kobe by a lot) steaks, cut to order at $18 an ounce (you don't want too many ounces). We'll also be bringing back a dish of Miyazaki Steak and #1 Tuna sliced raw to be cooked on our Himalayan salt brick, table-side. 

Music

Akiko Tsuruga  will bring her quartet, courtesy of the New Brunswick Jazz Project. It's going to be a great day!

 
Music 4-7:15
Reservations click here.