The Restaurant Guys

Belgian (Trappist) Beer Dinner

Sunday June 22, 5:30 PM
(Sidewalk Seating - Weather Permitting)

That's the Sunday After Father's Day. Gift Certificate for Dad or Bring him yourself!

Did you know that Stage Left was listed in Michael Jackson's (not the one with the glove) early beer guides (early 1990s) as one of the few places in America to find a great Belgian beer selection?

Mark is the beer-head of this group and he's pretty amazing at it. Here, he has put together a selection of Trappist beers from some of the oldest breweries on the planet, expertly paired with a manly dinner for the summer.

There are only 10 Trappist Breweries in the world. Read more about Trappist Beer (brewed by monks) here.

It's conveniently timed to occur the week after Father's Day. Why don't you bring your dad, or send him with a gift certificate. If he can't make the date, the gift certificate will hold it's monetary value for use at another time.

Check out the menu below.

Make reservations by calling 732-828-4444 or by emailing [email protected]. The cost is $99.

We will also pull an aged beer from our cellar just for fun!

Stuffed Razor Clams with Mango and Amish Bacon
Westmalle Tripel (Established 1794)

Wild Boar Sausage with Black Garlic and Garlic Chives
Rochefort 8
Rochefort 10 (Established 1230...That's right, 1230 AD)

Cocoa Dusted Venison with Wightman Farm Blackberries and Sunchoke
Westmalle Double

Artisanal Cheeses with Truffled Honey and Drunken Manhattan Cherries
Orval (Established 1070 That's not a typo either)

Lemon Bars and Popsicles

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Morels: It Must Be Summer!

Today, I came into work and encountered this! The roses all decided to come out and play.

That white stuff is climbing-hydrangea we planted a couple of years ago. It's finally decided to aggressively climb the clock and is blooming for the first time. This is our perennial planter. The annuals have a little bit of catching up to do, but they'll get there.

So this week we'll be featuring the Florissimo Cocktail. It's a bit of Cognac, and Creme Yvette with Champagne and fresh plucked Rose Petals. It's just $12 and featured in both restaurants and on the sidewalk cafe.

While we have our own local roses, we need to reach out a little further for Morels. This year, we've been getting some amazing morels (pictured). They're so perfect that we're taking the best ones, seasoning them ever so slightly and then saucing them table-side with a bit of fin herb cream.

They go remarkably well with a broad range of wines, but they have a particular affinity for Burgundy. Pictured is the "Old Vines" Volnay from Jean-Marc Bouley 2009. We do have about 60 other red Burgundy to choose from. The Morel dish is an appetizer or a side for $39.

Our new Chicken preparation is paired next. It's Wrapped in Ramps on a Sunchoke Puree with Sunchoke Chips, Black Garlic and Pearl Onions.

What's going on tonight at Stage Left? Delicious...Summer Delicious, that's what! Reserve a table here right now!

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The Spirits Project: Bunnahabhain 33 Year by James MacArthur

Making the experience of super-luxury spirits crazily affordable and accessible!
Read more about the Spirits project.

• Suggested retail price: $200
• We will pour one ounce for $5
  

Regular readers will surely know that Bunnahbhain is one of my favorite distilleries in all of Scotland. Whether by the low road or the high road, Bunnahabhain stands out. The sea-facing warehouse, which rests on the banks of the Sound of Islay, enjoys a cool, salty breeze that adds a touch of saline to the whisky as it ages. “Over the years, you get this slight salty taste,” says Andrew Brown, Bunnahabhain’s distillery manager. “The older the whisky gets, the saltier it becomes. It’s not overpowering – it’s just a hint.” This Bunnahabhain 33 Year Old Single Malt was distilled in 1980 and matured in an American oak cask that was previously used to age bourbon. The whisky was bottled in 2013 by James MacArthur at 90 proof without the use of chill filtration or any artificial coloring. I look forward to opening a bottle with you on Thursday evening.

Next Week in The Spirits Project
Balvenie 17 yr Doublewood

The Following Week in The Spirits Project
Mezcal Iberico (distilled with Jamon Iberico) from Del Maguey

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Campari Sunday

35% of Proceeds from All Campari Drinks to to Elijah's Promise

We're going to cap off Negroni Week with Campari Sunday. Campari is a staple of sidewalk cafes in Italy, Spain and France. It's the ultimate aperitif. We would like to buy you a drink and show you why. Come in for dinner, or even just a burger and we'll put a Campari drink in your hand.

Lest you think Campari only works in a narrow range of libations, we will open up a cask of our own house-barrel-aged Boulevardier Cocktail (a Negroni with bourbon instead of Gin). We will be mixing up Negroni and Americanos, Blood Orange Americanos, Milano Torino Cocktails, Negroni Sbagliato (with Prosecco), The Rosebud (with Tequila) and South Beach Cocktails. Let us show you how versatile Campari can be and how necessary to stock it in your summer bar. We will also have bottles of Campari for sale and "Negroni 3-Packs (Campari, Vermouth, Gin) so you can make your own at home. Recipes for all cocktails will be provided.

We're also going to give away a cool Campari cafe umbrella to one lucky attendee. All you have for a chance at that is show up Sunday and put in your name. We're also going to have a scantily clad woman ride in on a dyed red horse...ok, no we're not. But you should come anyway. Make a reservation here.

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Negroni Week: June 2 - 8

We're participating in National Negroni Week, where bars across the nation donate $1 from each negroni ordered to a local charity. So come to either restaurant and have a negroni for a good cause. We think it only fitting that Elijah's Promise be the beneficiary for our restaurants. While we've been making sure the best of the best is available in New Brunswick, they have been making sure the nobody has to go to bed hungry. Check them out here. Find out more at negroniweek.com.

While the Negroni's origins are unknown, the most widely reported account is that it was invented in Florence, circa 1919, at Caffè Casoni, ex Caffè Giacosa, now called Caffè Cavalli. Count Camillo Negroni is purported to have invented it by asking the bartender, Fosco Scarselli, to strengthen his favorite cocktail, the Americano, by adding gin rather than the normal soda water.

If you've had one, you know it's beguiling and addictive. If you're a novice, the first sip can be a bit off-putting, but you keep coming back to it. Especially on a hot day in the summer.

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The Belfast Community Gospel Choir

Kirkpatrick Chapel * Rutgers Campus
Friday May 30, 7:30 PM
$20 at the door

The Belfast Community Gospel Choir is a pretty amazing group. Their membership is open to folks from any denominations and none. That was once a rare thing in Northern Ireland. These wonderful folk build bridges among communities within Belfast and are great ambassadors for Belfast around the world. They're inspiring.

The whole choir (all 60 of them!) are coming over to the USA for the first time and performing in New York. My friend, Lord Mayor Ó Muilleoir, suggested I might be able to persuade them to come to NJ. I worked with some of the fine folks at Rutgers to secure Kirkpatrick Chapel on the Rutgers Campus. It's the perfect venue and it's right here in downtown New Brunswick.

The restaurants, of course, will be open for dinner afterward - or just drinks.

Here's info about the concert in New Brunswick.
Here's their promo video.

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The Spirits Project: Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt Whisky Tasting 12 yr, 17 yr, 21 yr

Making the experience of super-luxury spirits crazily affordable and accessible!
Read more about the Spirits project.

• Suggested retail price: $75 / $125 / $165
• We will pour one half-ounce of each for $6
  

You've never considered Japanese whisky? You don't know what you're missing. There is a strong tradition of Japanese bartending and of Japanese whisky-making. It's not much followed in this country, but any serious whisky aficionado must be conversant in this area.

The best Japanese bartenders took the American art to a very high and meticulous level decades ago. When American bar tending lost its way and went into the Valley of the Fuzzy Navel, the Japanese held the art of the bar frozen in time. Now that American we have returned to our former level of professionalism and artistry, there is still much to be learned from the Japanese style, which retains elements of the old school American bar as if they were preserved in amber.

Japanese is whisky similar. They can have structure and flavor profiles that clearly remind me of the antique bottles of American or Scotch whisky I've been fortunate enough to drink. Japanese whisky is like a history lesson in whisky.

In 1918, Masataka Taketsuru went to Scotland to study chemistry, distilling and blending. There, he met Jessie Roberta Cowan. They fell madly in love and, together they returned to Japan. It took Taketsuru 10 years to realize his dream and found his own distillery. Nikka released its first bottle in 1940. The war years presented their own challenges, but Masataka and Jessie persevered and so did their distillery. In 1969, they opened a second distillery called Yoichi. With the addition of Yoichi, they began their own on-site cooperage and, to this day, manufacture their own hogsheads on-site from new oak.

The whisky is meticulous, old-fashioned and delicious. We are going to open one bottle each of three different ages of Nikka Whisky: 7, 12 and 21 years. We're going to pour a half ounce of each in a flight, beginning at 6:30. When they're gone, they're gone. I hope to see you Thursday night.

Next Week in The Spirits Project
Balvenie 17 yr Doublewood

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The Stage Left Butcher Shop Is Open for Memorial Day Weekend

Simply Put: We've Got Great Meat! 

For Memorial Day Weekend, we're making selections of the meats we use in the restaurant available for our guests to take home and grill at your family's cookout. We've spent years cultivating relationships with purveyors who meet our exacting standards. You cannot find this kind of meat in any supermarket (or even in most quality butchers). The Stage Left Burger is included.

21-28 Dry Aged Prime Angus Porterhouse (3 lb)	$85	each
Whole Tenderloin of Beef: Cleaned - Ready-to-Cook (~3 lb)	$99	each
Berkshire Pork Porterhouse Chops (12 to 14 ounce)	$12	each
Nature Veal Porterhouse Chops (approx 16 oz.)	$20	each
Stage Left Burger 11oz (w/ 3-yr cheddar, roll, chipotle)	$10	each
Amish Bacon	$7	lb
Niman Ranch Cured Hot Dogs	$9	(1 Lb Pack; approx. 6 dogs)
Wild Boar Chili (Great for Chili Cheese Dogs)	$19	1 qt
Wagyu Flatiron	$29	7 oz

*All weights are approximate; to order, call 732.828.4444 or email [email protected].

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Stage Left opened on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend 1992. So we're going to commemorate our birthday and the beginning of summer with lobsters and sparkling wine. Won't you join us? Not only, does the wine match the cooked lobsters, but it's also a delicious combination, and perfect for this long-awaited summertime sidewalk dining. Come share a complimentary toast wit lobster or softies.

Sunday, May 25th, we will offer 1.25 lb Lobsters for $25. TWO for $39! We'll also have Lobster Rolls and Lobster Lasagna and Lobster Mac and Cheese. Our regular menu is also available.

If lobster's not your thing, Soft Shell Crabs will be available with Ramp Pistou, Garlind Farm Garlic Chive Vinaigrette, Pickled Fiddleheads and Blood Orange.

We have brought in the perfect wine for Lobsters on the sidewalk. It's a delicious dry sparkling rose from The Domaine des Roy in the Loire Valley. It's brought in from the Loire specifically for us. The sidewalk cafe is planted and will grow into its usual floral oasis over the course of the next few months. You look good with a glass of rose sparkling in your hand...you know you do.

Come Sunday for a complementary glass of bubbly with your lobster or soft shell crab. In fact, you can order any entree you like, or even the Stage Left Burger and share in a toast to summer number 23! The hours are from 4 PM till 9 PM. We will be happy to see you.

Make a reservation here.

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Update: June 27, 2013

The Spirits Project: Cadenheads Caol Ila 29 Yr

Making the experience of super-luxury spirits crazily affordable and accessible!
Read more about the Spirits project.

• Suggested retail price: $289 per bottle
• We will pour one ounce for $8
  

Caol Ila is Gaelic for ‘Sound of Islay.’ The Distillery was founded to the North of Islay in 1846 by Hector Henderson. It is located near Port Askaig and sits in lush, floral surroundings, overlooking the cove and the mountains of southern Jura. The distillery draws its water from Loch Nam Ban, whose waters travel through limestone and peat before reaching their beneficiary, Caol Ila.

The majority of Caol Illa is used in Johnnie Walker blends. Just 5% is kept for maturation as single malt. This 29 year old was laid down by William Cadenhead, Wine and Spirit Merchants. Cadenhead was founded in 1842 and is Scotland's oldest independent bottler. The company was was in the ownership of the same family until taken over by J & A Mitchell & Co.Ltd in 1972, proprietors of the much-loved Springbank distillery. I am very much looking forward to opening a bottle with you on Thursday evening at 6:30 precisely. We open one bottle at 6:30. When it's gone, it's gone.

Next Week in The Spirits Project
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