The Restaurant Guys

Star Ledger and NJ Monthly Say Nice Things

This week, I would like to start out by offering our sincere thanks to the critics at NJ Monthly Magazine, who picked Stage Left among the Top 5 American Restaurants in The Garden State. I don't mind telling you, we agree!

We also would like to send some love to Vicki Hyman, intrepid food reporter for The Star Ledger, for her excellent piece on NJ Tomatoes, where our History of The Tomato in Seven Courses got more than a passing mention. This year is the best tomato crop we've seen. Come try that menu in Stage Left while tomatoes last.

Make a reservation.

Freedom of Choice by the Glass

Introducing the Coravin Reserve Quartino List, Now Available In Both Restaurants.
(Coravin allows us to pour rare wines by the portion!)

White Wine (Quartino 250 ml)

Chardonnay 1997; Stony Hill; Napa (From Magnum/1.5L): $85
Chardonnay 'Cuvee Agustina' 2008; Paul Hobbs; Sonoma (From Magnum/1.5L): $100
Pessac-Leognan 2005; Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte; Bordeaux: $65
Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru 2010; Chat Maltroye; Burgundy: $70
Condrieu 'La Petite Cote' 2012; Yves Cuilleron; Rhone: $50
Trebbiano d'Abruzzo 1995; Emidio Pepe; Abruzzo, Italy: $60

Red Wine (Quartino 250 ml)

Cabernet Sauvignon 2001; Renaissance; North Yuba, California: $45
Cabernet Sauvignon 'Beckstoffer - Dr. Crane' 2011; Paul Hobbs; Napa: $130
Cabernet Sauvignon 2001; Bryant Family; Napa: $335
Barbaresco 'Paje - Black Label' 1998; Roagna; Piedmont, Italy: $190
Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru 'Champeaux' 2006; Harmand-Geoffroy; Burgundy: $65
Cote Rotie 'La Chavaroche' 2004; Bernard Levet; Rhone, France: $70
Domaine Le Galantin 'Longue Garde' 2000; Bandol, Provence, France: $29
St-Julien 1999; Chateau Leoville Las Cases; Bordeaux, France: $120

Sweet Wine (3 oz Glass)

Banyuls 'Cuvee Reynard' 1994; La Cave de L'Abbe Rous; France: $18
Sauternes 2005; Chateau dYquem; Bordeaux, France: $160

Make a reservation in Stage Left or Catherine Lombardi or just stop by the bar to enjoy these selections in addition to our regular wines by the quartino: More choices, great wine.

The Most Important Invention Since the Corkscrew

Greg Lambrecht is the inventor of the Coravin, a revolutionary device that allows one to access a portion of wine from a corked bottle, while leaving the remainder of the bottle undisturbed. It is nothing short of revolutionary. Greg will be joining us for our fall wine tasting on Friday, September 12. Mark and I have spent our whole careers listening to folks tell us that they have the perfect wine preservation system. At best they add days to most bottles and don't help at all with many more delicate wines. Coravin works. It may be the most important invention relevant to the consumption of wine since the corkscrew.

I have just opened six different bottles of wine. I may open a few more. These are some of the wines I will pour on September 12. They will still be in great shape. Thirteen year old Cabernet Sauvignon - No Problem. Fourteen year old Bandol? 2008 Bordeaux? Younger Pinot Noir? - No Problem.

Read more.

Party On with Pisco Porton

Cookout with Johnny Schuler: The Real Most Interesting Man In The World

We first met Johnny and Pisco Porton years ago. Pisco is a type of Peruvian or Chilean clear brandy that is un-oaked and has a long history in Peru and was, in-fact, an important part of the American Cocktail canon before Prohibition. It's the basis of the pisco sour, which is the most famous and popular cocktail in Latin America, and that's just the start. While I like Pisco as a cocktail ingredient, there is only one that I can also sip neat, and that is Porton. Founder Johnny Schuler has upped the game for this category and created a spirit that is truly remarkable. A former race car driver, professional golfer, caterer, and restaurateur, Johnny himself is a force of nature. Those Dos Equis commercials have it wrong. Johnny is the real Most Interesting Man In The World. Check out his video here. He will explain this extraordinary product. The production values are awesome and Johnny should be a movie star. Everything he says in the video is real and true, not just marketing hype. It's worth watching. The juice is really in the bottle. It's worth drinking, so come here and do that!

So come meet our friend Johnny on Sunday, September 7. Johnny will lead a tasting of pisco from 4:30. This will be a sit down tasting for those who really want to learn about this amazing spirit. Afterward, you can taste several pisco and have a complimentary Porton Pisco Punch (a historical recipe). We'll also be making pisco Sours and our own signature Parasols with Porton. Johnny and I will be hanging out drinking pisco with you (and I foresee a cigar or two at the end of the night).

We're going to offer a Stage Left cookout, extending the season to final sidewalk season finale. Lobster Rolls, Soft Shell Crab Sandwiches, Stage Left Burgers, Truffled Creamed Corn, Jersey Tomatoes and Fresh Mozzarella, Grilled Giant Prawns, Dogs with Wild Boar Chili, St. Louis Ribs, our entire Steak Menu, and a Mixed-Grill for those who can't decide! Come party on with Pisco Porton!

Make a dinner reservation here or call 732-828-4444.

The cost is $15 for the tasting and your first Porton Cocktail.

If you would like to attend the sit-down portion of the tasting, please note that in your electronic reservation or let us know when reserving by phone. Sit-down tasting is 4:30 - 5:15. The pisco will be available for tasting at the bar from 5:15 - 9 PM while supplies last. Feel free to come by any time.

The Spirits Project: Glen Scotia 21 Year (1992) Campbeltown Malt

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

• Suggested retail price: $369
  
• This Thursday at 6:30 p.m., we're pouring a one-ounce pour for $11
  

Glen Scotia Distillery was built in 1832, and has been operating for approximately one hundred and eighty years. Situated in Campbeltown (the Victorian Whisky Capital of the World) the distillery has a formidable pedigree. Campbeltown is a small town on the Kintyre peninsula on the west coast of Scotland, affectionately known as the “Wee Toon”, and, remarkably for a town of its size, still has 3 operating distilleries; Glen Scotia, Springbank, Glengyle. These distilleries give great insight in to the history of making whisky in this remote, once-prolific, whisky making region of Scotland.

Glen Scotia, or Scotia as it was first known, was started in 1832 by Stewart & Galbraith, and Co and was to run for almost 60 years in the original licensee's hands. The notable Campbeltown industrialist Duncan Mac Callum purchased Glen Scotia in 1891, and he constructed the large frontage and malting floors which run horizontal to High Street. The start of the new century was a period of upheaval for the whisky industry in Campbeltown and all of Scotland. The First World War, prohibition and over production all conspired to weaken demand. Glen Scotia Distillery was sold out of Campbeltown hands, after World War One to a Glasgow blending house. It now routinely produces several bottlings of various ages and levels of peat smokiness. Glen Scotia currently operates with a staff of just three employees making it one of the smallest distilleries in Scotland.

This particular bottle is a merchant whisky, distilled in 1992, selected and bottled by Silvio Samaroli and aged in fresh-fill sherry casks. Whisky from 1992 has a special place in our hearts. This whisky was distilled the year we opened the restaurant.

Next week in The Spirits Project
Distilleria Montanaro Spanish Brandy 1964

Related articles

The Spirits Project: Longrow 18 Year Campbeltown Malt

The Spirits Project: Springbank "Amontillado Sherry Cask" 16 Year (Cask Strength)

The Spirits Project: Bruichladdich Black Art 4.1 (23 year 1990)

The Spirits Project: Caol Illa (1990) 21 Year "Murray McDavid Mission Selection"

Friday, September 12: Walk-Around Wine Tasting

Friday, September 12 we will host a Walk-Around Wine Tasting event. We'll feature twenty-five great wines and the inventor of Coravin (the most revolutionary wine preservation system ever) will be a special guest. Greg Lambrecht's invention can access a portion of wine from a bottle and leave the bottle intact for unlimited further aging. This invention is changing the face of the wine world and you can see it demonstrated and talk to the inventor here.

Tasting will be $29 - credited towards the purchase of your first case of wine.

Wine Club Members - Free Admission.

We will offer Coravins for sale.

Labor Day Weekend Lobsterfest

Sunday of Labor Day weekend, we're having our annual Labor Day Weekend Lobsterfest and we've got a fantastic band lined up. New Brunswick Groove Fusion is a local band that plays a high energy infectious mix of jazz and funk. Mark and I really love their music and we're so happy to have them on the sidewalk Sunday of Labor Day weekend. A killer horn ensemble (trumpet, trombone and tenor sax) is backed by percussion centric rhythm section and awesome vocal. They certainly hold their own with the best straight ahead jazz heavy hitters but they love to break out of the mold with some pretty amazing and fun fusion. They're going to blow down New Brunswick.

Our sponsor for the evening is the delicious Paul Goerg Champagne, which will flow and bubble.

Save the date. Sunday, August 31.

This Sunday, August 24: The Best Fried Chicken Dinner You've Ever Had, and Tennessee Juleps with Gentleman Jack

So I know you've heard it before that someone has the best fried chicken ever. Simply put, they're wrong. We do.

Now Fried Chicken is not really a Stage Left thing, but in the summertime, we do occasionally like to let our hair down. This Sunday, the fine folks from the Jack Daniels Family of fine Tennessee whiskey will be in town and wanted to help us do something crazy. You may know that in most fine dining restaurants, that staff eats dinner together at the beginning of the shift, right before we open. Everyone is very happy when the chef makes our signature fried chicken. Sunday we would like to invite you to a more casual menu option, to be enjoyed with our favorite Tennessee whiskey. Fried Chicken (like you've never had before), Anson Mills Antebellum Grits, Collard Greens and Black-Eyed Peas. For dessert, we'll have a house-made frozen chocolate fudge pop on a stick, (reminiscent of a certain frozen treat from your childhood, which name I cannot write because it's trademarked) and Berry Bread Pudding. This will be $29. It will make you happy.

If you've never had a Julep made with Tennessee whiskey, then pardon me, but you don't know Jack.

I personally prefer my Tennessee Julep with the higher mark Gentleman Jack: really delicious! Mark prefers the Master Distiller's No.1. Sunday, we'll be mixing up juleps in fine silver cups with mint and berries, fresh from the farm. Mint, Blackberry Mint, Cherry, Elderflower Blackberry Juleps are what we're aiming for. We'll see what else is in the market as well. Turn up and I'll put a Julep in your hand.

While the classic Southern Mint Julep is made with Bourbon in most states. Order one in Tennessee and I think you know what will be in your glass. Jack Daniels is not a Bourbon of course. It's a Tennessee whiskey. What you may ask is the difference and how are the two related? Both must be made from at least 50% corn. Tennessee whiskey must be distilled in-state and then filtered through a substantial amount of hickory charcoal. Bourbon can be made in any state and does not go through the charcoal filtering process. Right now there is a battle raging over a new law that would require Tennessee whiskey to also be aged in-state. Currently, not all of it is. Jack Daniels products are made, aged and bottled in-state.

Come on Sunday from 4-8. On arrival we'll put a julep in your hand. Thereafter, All Jack Daniels libations will be $8. Our regular menu, bar menu and our delicious burgers will be offered, as well as the Fried Chicken Dinner for $29. We hope to see you Sunday.

Make a reservation here, or call 732-828-4444.

Related articles

Woodford Reserve Pig Toast

Friday Evening Cocktail: A Weekend of Mint Juleps

The Spirits Project: Bruichladdich Black Art 4.1 (23 year 1990)

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

• Suggested retail price: $349
  
• This Thursday at 6:30 p.m., we're pouring a one-ounce pour for $10
  

One of a Kind on Islay

One of my favorite of all Scottish Whisky regions is Islay. Distilleries there are known for the peaty (smoky) nature of their whisky. The lads at Bruichladdich makes some of the most daring of all Islay malts, yet they constantly surprise me with the way the peat is integrated wonderfully and seamlessly into their rich and elegant whiskies.

The fourth release in the Black Art series is an enigmatic 23 year old. As with the first release, the precise recipe of Black Art is a secret. Perhaps it's buried at Hogwarts somewhere and Master Distiller Jim McEwan is actually a wizard! Perhaps not, but there is no doubt he is a genius...quite possibly, a mad genius. His description of this particular version of the water of life is, “Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing / Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before...” Of course, fans of Edgar Allan Poe, will recognize the opening stanzas of The Raven; but if you want to see how that relates to the flavors and aromas of the whisky, come to The Cocktail Bar at Catherine Lombardi on Thursday evening sometime after 6:30.

About the Distillery

Bruichladdich was built in 1881, by the brothers Robert William and John Gourlay Harvey, in an idyllic spot on the shore of Loch Indaal. At the time, the distillery was state-of-the-art. The equipment continues to be used unchanged.

The distillery closed in 1994, but was purchased by Murray McDavid on December 19, 2000. The machines, roasting ovens, and piping were renovated by a team of engineers. In the entire distillery, not a single computer is used (apart from the ones in the offices and the webcams and such). It is a museum of a distillery, but operational! This is the only distillery on Islay which bottles on-site. In May 2004, a cooperage hall was opened, and since December 2004, the malt used is grown on the island. Recently, the distillery was purchased by Remy. Let's hope they preserve all the interesting things put into play by Jim McEwan.

Next week in The Spirits Project
Glen Scotia 21 Year (1992) Scotch Whisky

Related articles

The Spirits Project: Caol Illa (1990) 21 Year "Murray McDavid Mission Selection"

The Spirits Project: Bruichladdich "Cuvee 407 PX - La Noche Bocca Arriba" 21 Year Unpeated Islay Malt

The Spirits Project: Bruichladdich's Octomore 'Orpheus' 6.1; Islay

The Spirits Project: Duncan Taylor Bruichladdich 19 Year Single Malt Scotch Whisky

The Spirits Project: Caol Ila Selezione Top Class 1996 Samaroli

A History of The Tomato in Seven Courses

It's that time of year in NJ. The tomato time of year. If you're from NJ, you know that there is no more specific agricultural crop to this great state; nor one we are more suited to growing spectacularly well when the weather permits. Now is the time, my friends. Now is the time. We're going to celebrate and we invite you to celebrate with us at Stage Left.

The tomato is indigenous to the New World. Italy had no tomatoes until after Columbus' voyage. It is an agricultural product steeped in lore and we will explore it's history together. For the next couple of weeks, our tasting menu is entitled The History of The Tomato in Seven Courses.

Make a reservation here.

View the menu. Read the history.