
Jim Meehan: PDT Speakeasy Cocktails
09/05/24 • 50 min
The Banter
The Guys talk about Calvados, what makes it special and why we should taste a wide range of spirits to find the ones you truly enjoy. To this end they run The Spirits Project at their restaurant where they offer samplings of high-end spirits at cost to consumers to further community and conversation. It’s still happening in 2024. If you’re near central NJ, join us!
The Conversation
The Restaurant Guys talk with Jim Meehan, an accomplished bartender and operator of Please Don’t Tell speakeasy and now author of The PDT Cocktail book. The Guys are taken with the recipes, artwork and beauty of the book. Hear about Jim’s inspirations behind it all.
The Inside Track
The Guys are so friendly with Jim he has a special nickname for Francis.
"You guys, thank you so much. It's been such an inspiration to me to come to your restaurants over the years. To not only get to know you guys as restaurateurs, but to get to know you guys as friends. So, it's really exciting for me to share this with you on your great show,” Jim Meehan on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2011
Bio
In 2007 Jim Meehan, a seasoned bartender, opened Please Don’t Tell speakeasy bar in the East Village (NYC) which garnered much acclaim.
Jim has been awarded numerous Spirited Awards from Tales of the Cocktail including American Bartender of the Year, World’s Best Cocktail Bar, Best New Cocktail Book, and Best Bar Mentor. He received James Beard Foundation Awards for Outstanding Bar Program and Best Beverage Book as well as numerous other accolades.
He has written countless articles and three books. The most recent is The Bartender’s Pantry: A Beverage Handbook for the Universal Bar.
Info
Jim’s Book mentioned in the podcast
The PDT Cocktail Book: The Complete Bartender's Guide from the Celebrated Speakeasy by Jim Meehan and Chris Gall
Jim’s Instagram
@mixography
Come see The Restaurant Guys LIVE with Chef Scott Conant at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center on Thursday, April 17! VIP tickets include a Meet & Greet After-Party with Scott Conant. Restaurant Guys Regulars get a discount so subscribe here https://www.buzzsprout.com/2401692/subscribe Get tickets at https://secure.nbpac.org/scott-conant.
Our Sponsors
The Heldrich Hotel & Conference Center
https://www.theheldrich.com/
Magyar Bank
https://www.magbank.com/
Withum Accounting
https://www.withum.com/
Our Places
Stage Left Steak
https://www.stageleft.com/
Catherine Lombardi Restaurant
https://www.catherinelombardi.com/
Stage Left Wineshop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/
To hear more about food, wine and the finer things in life:
https://www.instagram.com/restaurantguyspodcast/https://www.facebook.com/restaurantguys
Reach Out to The Guys!
[email protected]
**Become a Restaurant Guys Regular and get two bonus episodes per month, bonus content and Regulars Only events.**
Click Below!
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2401692/subscribe
The Banter
The Guys talk about Calvados, what makes it special and why we should taste a wide range of spirits to find the ones you truly enjoy. To this end they run The Spirits Project at their restaurant where they offer samplings of high-end spirits at cost to consumers to further community and conversation. It’s still happening in 2024. If you’re near central NJ, join us!
The Conversation
The Restaurant Guys talk with Jim Meehan, an accomplished bartender and operator of Please Don’t Tell speakeasy and now author of The PDT Cocktail book. The Guys are taken with the recipes, artwork and beauty of the book. Hear about Jim’s inspirations behind it all.
The Inside Track
The Guys are so friendly with Jim he has a special nickname for Francis.
"You guys, thank you so much. It's been such an inspiration to me to come to your restaurants over the years. To not only get to know you guys as restaurateurs, but to get to know you guys as friends. So, it's really exciting for me to share this with you on your great show,” Jim Meehan on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2011
Bio
In 2007 Jim Meehan, a seasoned bartender, opened Please Don’t Tell speakeasy bar in the East Village (NYC) which garnered much acclaim.
Jim has been awarded numerous Spirited Awards from Tales of the Cocktail including American Bartender of the Year, World’s Best Cocktail Bar, Best New Cocktail Book, and Best Bar Mentor. He received James Beard Foundation Awards for Outstanding Bar Program and Best Beverage Book as well as numerous other accolades.
He has written countless articles and three books. The most recent is The Bartender’s Pantry: A Beverage Handbook for the Universal Bar.
Info
Jim’s Book mentioned in the podcast
The PDT Cocktail Book: The Complete Bartender's Guide from the Celebrated Speakeasy by Jim Meehan and Chris Gall
Jim’s Instagram
@mixography
Come see The Restaurant Guys LIVE with Chef Scott Conant at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center on Thursday, April 17! VIP tickets include a Meet & Greet After-Party with Scott Conant. Restaurant Guys Regulars get a discount so subscribe here https://www.buzzsprout.com/2401692/subscribe Get tickets at https://secure.nbpac.org/scott-conant.
Our Sponsors
The Heldrich Hotel & Conference Center
https://www.theheldrich.com/
Magyar Bank
https://www.magbank.com/
Withum Accounting
https://www.withum.com/
Our Places
Stage Left Steak
https://www.stageleft.com/
Catherine Lombardi Restaurant
https://www.catherinelombardi.com/
Stage Left Wineshop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/
To hear more about food, wine and the finer things in life:
https://www.instagram.com/restaurantguyspodcast/https://www.facebook.com/restaurantguys
Reach Out to The Guys!
[email protected]
**Become a Restaurant Guys Regular and get two bonus episodes per month, bonus content and Regulars Only events.**
Click Below!
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2401692/subscribe
Previous Episode

Jim Meehan: Cocktails at Home
The Banter
The Guys talk about sourcing products for their restaurants through relationships with local farms and hobbyists. Catherine Lombardi, Mark’s grandmother and the inspiration for his restaurant of the same name, had family heirloom vinegar pots brought from Italy. The Guys recently began experimenting and making vinegar. Hear how it’s going!
The Conversation
The Restaurant Guys catch up with mixologist, author and friend Jim Meehan. They discuss various bar trends over the years and what might be coming next. They highlight Jim’s most recent book which is a way to make truly unique cocktail.
The Inside Track
The Guys have known Jim for years from frequenting his bars and through the industry. They are even “restaurant in laws.” Listen to find out how!
Bio
In 2007 Jim Meehan, a seasoned bartender, opened Please Don’t Tell speakeasy bar in the East Village (NYC) which garnered much acclaim.
Jim has been awarded numerous Spirited Awards from Tales of the Cocktail including American Bartender of the Year, World’s Best Cocktail Bar, Best New Cocktail Book, and Best Bar Mentor. He received James Beard Foundation Awards for Outstanding Bar Program and Best Beverage Book as well as numerous other accolades.
He has written countless articles and three books. The most recent is The Bartender’s Pantry: A Beverage Handbook for the Universal Bar.
Info
Jim’s Instagram
@mixography
Jim's Book
The Bartender’s Pantry: A Beverage Handbook for the Universal Bar by Jim Meehan and Bart Sasso
https://www.thebartenderspantry.com/
Come see The Restaurant Guys LIVE with Chef Scott Conant at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center on Thursday, April 17! VIP tickets include a Meet & Greet After-Party with Scott Conant. Restaurant Guys Regulars get a discount so subscribe here https://www.buzzsprout.com/2401692/subscribe Get tickets at https://secure.nbpac.org/scott-conant.
Our Sponsors
The Heldrich Hotel & Conference Center
https://www.theheldrich.com/
Magyar Bank
https://www.magbank.com/
Withum Accounting
https://www.withum.com/
Our Places
Stage Left Steak
https://www.stageleft.com/
Catherine Lombardi Restaurant
https://www.catherinelombardi.com/
Stage Left Wineshop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/
To hear more about food, wine and the finer things in life:
https://www.instagram.com/restaurantguyspodcast/https://www.facebook.com/restaurantguys
Reach Out to The Guys!
[email protected]
**Become a Restaurant Guys Regular and get two bonus episodes per month, bonus content and Regulars Only events.**
Click Below!
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2401692/subscribe
Next Episode

Jose Garces: A Philadelphia Story
The Banter
The Guys talk about fast food and the Super Size Me guy, Morgan Spurlock, a former guest on the show whose work impacted their lives.
The Conversation
The Restaurant Guys catch up with Chef Jose Garces in his busy kitchen to discuss his story from Spain to New York to Philadelphia. Chef and The Guys both opened up restaurants in October 2005 named after their grandmothers!
The Inside Track
The Guys and Chef Garces have crossed paths over the past several decades and held friends in common, but never met.
“I think it was a turning point for me as a chef, I realized then that I could drive traffic with just consistent food, consistent, fresh, delicious food day in and day out,” Chef Jose Garces on The Restaurant Guys 2024
Bio
Chef Jose Garces is known as a leading culinary authority of Spanish and Latin-American food from the Spanish tapas at Amada, his first restaurant, to the playful Japanese street food at Okatshe in Atlantic City, Chef Garces continually pushes the boundaries of culinary excellence.
To help provide ongoing and actionable assistance to the immigrant community, Chef Garces co-founded The Garces Foundation in 2011. The Garces Foundation provides services, including community health days, English language skills classes, and a providing food supplies to the food insecure.
Chef Garces won James Beard Foundation Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic as well as the title Iron Chef.
He is the author of two cookbooks, Latin Evolution and The Latin Road Home
Info
Chef’s Projects
www.chefgarces.com
Chef’s Restaurants
https://garcesgroup.com/
Morgan Spurlock’s Book & Movie
Don't Eat This Book: Fast Food and the Supersizing of America by Morgan Spurlock
Super Size Me
Jamon Iberico de Bellota
https://www.tienda.com/
Come see The Restaurant Guys LIVE with Chef Scott Conant at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center on Thursday, April 17! VIP tickets include a Meet & Greet After-Party with Scott Conant. Restaurant Guys Regulars get a discount so subscribe here https://www.buzzsprout.com/2401692/subscribe Get tickets at https://secure.nbpac.org/scott-conant.
Our Sponsors
The Heldrich Hotel & Conference Center
https://www.theheldrich.com/
Magyar Bank
https://www.magbank.com/
Withum Accounting
https://www.withum.com/
Our Places
Stage Left Steak
https://www.stageleft.com/
Catherine Lombardi Restaurant
https://www.catherinelombardi.com/
Stage Left Wineshop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/
To hear more about food, wine and the finer things in life:
https://www.instagram.com/restaurantguyspodcast/https://www.facebook.com/restaurantguys
Reach Out to The Guys!
[email protected]
**Become a Restaurant Guys Regular and get two bonus episodes per month, bonus content and Regulars Only events.**
Click Below!
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2401692/subscribe
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