The Restaurant Guys

Fried Chicken Dinner and Kentucky Whiskey

Two Great Tastes That Taste Great Together
Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner
Sunday, June 14
$29

This Sunday, the fine Kentucky folks from The Woodford Reserve will be in town with their extraordinary Bourbon and Rye Whiskey. To go along with some special offerings of their fine spirits, we will be serving a down-home Kentucky-style chicken dinner for just $29.

Fried Chicken

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. You may know that in most fine dining restaurants, the staff eats dinner (family meal) together right before we open. Everyone is very happy when Chef makes our signature fried chicken. This Sunday we would like to invite you to a more casual menu option, to be enjoyed with our favorite Kentucky whiskey.

Here's The Dinner: Fried Chicken (like you've never had before), Anson Mills Antebellum Grits, Collard Greens and Black-Eyed Peas and Sausage Gravy. 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.

The Chicken Dinner will be $29. It will make you happy.

Bourbon and Rye

We'll be featuring the Woodford Reserve Bourbon, The Woodford Double Oak Bourbon and The Woodford Rye. That last one is rather hard to find in NJ, and I encourage you to try it. We'll offer a Flight of a half ounce of all three whisky for $9. Also for $9, we'll offer Mint Juleps, Strawberry Cocktails and Steeplechase Cocktails with the Bourbons. We'll offer Rye Lemonade and Brooklyn Cocktails or Rye and Ginger (with Blenheim Ginger Ale, it is a PERFECT long drink) with the Rye. We'll offer Whiskey Sours with any of these whiskey. Who says brown spirits aren't for summer!!

Cocktail Club Members: First one is on the house!

The Spirits Project: Bunnahabhain 25 Year

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

• Suggested retail price: $399
  
• Thursday, June 11 (for as long as it lasts), we're pouring a one-ounce pour for $12

Bunnahabhain is one of our favorite distilleries in Scotland. It stands on the shores of The Sound of Islay, which separates Islay from Jura on the east. The ship that seems to be waiting there has been there since 1974, when it ran aground on the rocks. Tourists once bought Bunnahabhain (‘Boon-a-havn’) (or more affectionately 'Boon-a-hubby') almost by mistake. For a certain period it was the top selling brand at the Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre in Edinburgh. It is one of the soft Islay malts, founded in 1881 – the same year as Bruichladdich – and for the same reason: to meet the rising demand for whisky for the blending industry. Due to the isolated nature of the zone, the first owners had to build roads, houses and grocery shops for the distillery workers, as well as a school for their children. Bunnahabhain became an example of a self-sufficient community.

The malt whisky produced on the isle of Islay are generally pungent and salty. Since 1883, Bunnahabhain has contradicted this commonplace. They produce a smooth almost winey whisky, with an impressive constancy and regularity. A few years after the construction of Bunnahabhain, the owners joined up with two other distilleries, forming Highland Distilleries. They closed for a short period in the early eighties and re-opened almost immediately. Since 1963 Bunnahabhain has operated two pairs of stills. (For Whisky Lovers)

I look forward to sharing a glass with you Thursday, beginning at 6:30 precisely.

Stage Left Is Nominated for Restaurant Best Burger

NJ.Com is seeking the Best Burger in NJ. You know who has the best burger. Please let everyone else know.

Vote here!

About the Negroni

While the origins of The Negroni are unproven, it is thought 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 to Campari and Sweet Vermouth. It has become a widely fashionable drink and it's delicious. The initial touch of bitterness gives way to a cool and rich aperitif.

In addition to The Negroni and The Americano, consider the elegant Negroni Sbagliato made with Prosecco instead of gin, or our Barrel-Aged Boulevardier, which is a manly Bourbon-esque alternative to the Negroni. We're also introducing our own bottled cocktail of house-made Milk Punch with Coffee, Campari and Tangerine. That's not a New Orleans-style creamy milk punch. It's a clarified milk punch, an ancient recipe undergoing a modern revival, started by our friend Eamon Rocky at Betony. Our own Chris Stanley is the one who did all the work on our version. Click Eamon's name to see how to make it at home, while at the same time being convinced that it's too much trouble and you should just come to Catherine Lombardi and help Elijah's Promise at the same time! Come in and explore your Campari palate for a good cause. It is THE sidewalk drink of choice in Italy.

This Week Is Negroni Week; This Sunday Is Campari Sunday

Sometimes we can have some fun and do some good at the same time. This week, you have just such an opportunity. You see this week is National Negroni Week! This week, bars across the country all pledge to promote this venerable cocktail and donate $1 from each drink to a charity of their choice.

Because we're Mark and Francis, and because we have a wonderful network of folks like you (caring and kind, and with very good taste), we're going to take it a step further. Okay, we're going to take it a giant leap further.

Through Saturday, we're going to donate $2 from every Negroni or any other drink made with Campari. Furthermore, we're going to cap off Negroni Week with our own invention: Campari Sunday. Campari Sunday (June 7), we're going to donate 20% of your entire check to Elijah's Promise AND you'll also enjoy a complimentary Campari Orange Ice Pop (must be 21).

All you need to do is let us know that you're here for Campari Sunday and start with a Campari cocktail. That will flag your check and 20% of whatever you spend in the restaurant will be donated to Elijah's Promise. That includes wine and other beverages, so come enjoy a great bottle of wine and do some good as well.

Make reservations for Stage Left here; Catherine Lombardi here. 

Since 1989, Elijah's Promise made sure that everyone in New Brunswick has gotten fed every single day! Nobody in New Brunswick need go hungry. They have never missed a day and they have never turned anyone away. It's nice to know that while we have enjoyed so many amazing meals in New Brunswick's restaurants, nobody has had to go to bed hungry. That doesn't happen by magic though. So come out and live well while doing some good at the same time.

The Spirits Project: Glencadam 21 Year

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

• Suggested retail price: $199
  
• Thursday, June 4 (for as long as it lasts), we're pouring a one-ounce pour for $6

Glencadam first opened in 1825, in the ancient city of Brechin. This was the year that the first horse-drawn omnibuses were established in London, the world's first modern railway opened, with the first public train pulled by steam engine, Cox's Orange Pippin apples were first grown and London became the largest city in the world, over-taking Beijing. It was little more than one year after the Excise Act of 1823 legalized distilling.

Glencadam is now the only distillery in the county of Angus, an area of the Highlands region of Scotland. The first owner was a “Mr Cooper”, who sold the distillery in 1827. The name “Glencadam” comes from the area known as “The Tenements of Caldhame”. These were plots of ground given to the burghs of Brechin for food production. They are situated to the north and south east of the Den Burn where the distillery stands.

The distillery was owned by a David Scott and his descendants from 1827- 1891, and during this period it was rented to various distillers. Over the next few decades the distillery had a succession of owners.

Glencadam mothballed during both world wars. The warehouses were instead used to barrack soldiers. There is still a mark on the grass by No. 2 warehouse where their commissary was. Glencadam was bought in the 1950s by Hiram Walker, which subsequently became Allied Domecq, who closed the distillery in 2000.

Glencadam Single Malt has always been premium whisky for blending, and as such was highly sought after for some of the world’s most prestigious blends. Glencadam was finally bought by Angus Dundee Distillers on 1st June 2003, an independent Scottish company. Angus Dundee restarted production immediately, and released their first ever single malt product in December 2005.

While relatively new on the single-malt scene, Glencadam is winning fans. It’s a medium bodied whisky and very bright. I would say it possesses a similar of body and texture to Clynelish. The 21-year is a brand new expression for them. I look forward to sharing a glass with you Thursday, beginning at 6:30 precisely.

Your Father's Day Solution... and You Get to Drink Wine

The Ultimate Father's Day Present. I'm not kidding.

• Fun for you.
• Fun for the dad.
• You don't have to shop.
• He doesn't have to grill anything.
• He walks away with a great present.
• You all get to drink wine.
• You're welcome

If there is one thing that we are know for, it's quality and taste. Simply put, we like nice things. We like things made by talented people who are really good at their jobs. We love to bring you hand-crafted items that are not available everywhere. We do this with food and drink and over the years we've introduced you to many a talented winemaker, farmer, distiller and even the occasional guest chef (not to mention our own Chef JR).

For year's we've wanted to introduce you to a friend of ours who practices his craft according to a lot of the same principles and to the same level of quality that we practice ours. He's not a food guy though. Michael Duru is a third generation tailor and clothier. I've been dealing with Michael for about ten years now. He's done everything from strictly custom suits to great stuff from the rack of his store. I've gotten upscale casual stuff for summer and custom-made dress shirts. Everything is top quality and lasts for years. His sense of style is contemporary and sharp, while his business model is Old School and personal.

Our Smith-Madrone Wine Dinner is the Friday before Father's Day. So here's how we introduce you to Michael; and it's pretty cool.

Bring the man in your life to The Smith-Madrone Wine Dinner as a Father's Day Present for $129 per person. Michael is going to set up a gift table with an assortment of possible gifts. One gift is included in each dinner for two. Dad can browse for something he likes: A necktie perhaps? Is Dad into pocket squares? If he's a French Cuff guy, we'll have cool cufflinks available. Your Father's Day shopping is complete AND you will know he likes his gift AND you both get to spend some time and drink wine together with a great winemaker.

But wait...there's more. You see, Michael knows that our guest have great taste and, of course, he would like you to visit his shop in Shrewsbury or in Manhattan. So along with whatever gift Dad chooses, Michael will also be giving a $100 gift certificate for use in the store. No conditions. No minimum purchase. Just a $100 gift certificate to be used some time this summer. Michael or Matt will try to be in attendance. It will be nice to introduce you to a craftsman of a different sort. That is also, by the way, the deal of the century.

Reserve for the dinner by calling 732-828-4444. I have a sneaking suspicion this one might just book up, so please reserve early.