The Restaurant Guys
Mark Pascal and Francis Schott are The Restaurant Guys! The two have been best friends and restaurateurs for over 30 years. They started The Restaurant Guys Radio Show and Podcast in 2005 and have hosted some of the most interesting and important people in the food and beverage world. After a 10 year hiatus they have returned! Each week they post a brand new episode and a Vintage Selection from the archives. Join them for great conversations about food, wine and the finer things in life.
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The Restaurant Guys
Rajesh Bhardwaj, Visionary Behind Indian Fine Dining
The Banter
The Guys share some of the cool cocktail experiences they had on their safari the night before.
The Conversation
The Restaurant Guys welcome Rajesh Bhardwaj, operator of the first Michelin-starred Indian restaurant in the U.S. Rajesh talks about cultivating his vision, curating a team to execute it and how he continues to change the landscape of Indian cuisine in the United States.
The Inside Track
The Guys listen as Rajesh shares his vision of creating the unique experience at Junoon.
“ We are fusion, but not of tradition or of flavors. We are fusion of technique,”
Rajesh Bhardwaj on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2025
Bio
Rajesh Bhardwaj is the founder and CEO of Junoon, the acclaimed Michelin-starred Indian restaurant in New York City. A visionary restaurateur, Rajesh has redefined modern Indian dining in the United States. He blends deep cultural roots with a sophisticated, contemporary approach to cuisine and service, earning Junoon international recognition and loyal acclaim.
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Hello everybody and welcome. You are listening to the Restaurant Guys. I'm Mark Pascal and I'm here with Francis Shot. Together we own stage left in Ka Lombardi restaurants in New Brunswick, New Jersey. We're to bring you the inside track on food, wine, and the finer things in life. Hello, mark. Hey Francis. How are you doing today? Uh, I'm doing better than I suspect that I might be doing because yesterday we went on, we went on a cocktail Safari Francis and I will, will occasionally do this, we'll go into the city or some city. And, you know, we don't get out as much as we'd love to. Right. So we'll go try and hit 5, 6, 7, 8 places in a day. Yeah. And, you know, that's kind of how we roll. Well, you gotta have a drink if you go to a bar usually. Yeah. A little something to eat, you know. So, uh, we're gonna talk about some really cool places and really cool things we saw. and there were a few things that, it was one thing in particular, a bar that didn't work. And, and our policy is always, if we find cool stuff, we're gonna tell you where we found it. Mm-hmm. Uh, if we. Have a criticism. We generally don't talk about the place that, because it doesn't really matter. I mean, for our, our point of view is we want to talk about the Yep. And especially this place can't change this. Yeah, yeah. Right. This particular thing we're gonna talk about. Well, and, and you know, I think the concepts are interesting. I mean, it'd be a boring show if all you talked about was only the good stuff. Yep. But we went to a rooftop bar Yep. That had. Closed in their rooftop. Like they had put, it was plastic and glass over the whole thing and it, not quite the whole thing. There was a tiny little piece of sky Yeah. That you could see from our perspective. I, it was a shed. I felt like I was in a shed. It was a very expensive restaurant and they, and I don't know, I, and I get that they wanna use it. Yeah. In Midtown Manhattan or it just really can I, it was a shame. Yeah. Because they could have. Done so much with it. But you know, and this is the conversation we had last night, right? The conversation we had last night was, you want to be open? 300 days a year. Yeah, yeah. Right. At least. Right. You want to be able to seat your restaurant 300 days a year at least. And in midtown Manhattan, the weather simply does not allow you to be open 300 days. You know, and it's not possible. But we were both there when it was truly a rooftop. Mm-hmm. That was kind of open and, and interesting and they had umbrellas and stuff like that. But you're right, you, you couldn't see it all that time and you know who the hell cares what we think? They were busy, they had people up there. Right. So I, I get, I get the money behind it, but. They took what had been, and so many people do a great thing with their rooftop, and you can enclose a rooftop, but you, you can't sort of, it was somewhere I was shocked at the low level of quality. It was like enclosed. Well, there was really no sunlight. Coming through. Yeah. That was the biggest, the biggest part of it is you didn't feel like you were outside because they had created this kind of, structure that, and it was a beautiful day outside, but it was a little humid in there. Mm-hmm. It was, so, you, I, if you're gonna do something, you, you gotta do it right. You gotta look at the feel of whole thing and you've gotta create a, a, an atmosphere that works when it's a beautiful day, when it's not a beautiful day. If you, if a rooftop bar is a, is a very specific thing. Yeah. Alright, well let's go on to the positive things. Okay. So we went to some other cool places while we were there. So why don't we start with Clemente Bark, because that was, that was one of the first places we went. We had a cocktail there. We had a little bite of food there, which was extraordinary. Yeah. Not surprisingly, Daniel whom being the, the chef there from 11 Madison Park. Yeah. Uh, uh, can I describe the food we had? Sure. It was, it was a little, they call it a pizza. Did they call it a pizza? What do they call it? It was sole, sole. But it wasn't a souffle, like, you know, that you think of the, it didn't sole. It didn't sole, there was no so full to the souffle. It was just a very thin piece of flat, kind of cracker bread. Mm-hmm. It was about the size of, I don't know, my hand. It was about the size of my hand outstretched, and it was covered, entirely covered with, with summer truffles, with truffles. Like there were shingles on a roof. Oh. It was phenomenal. It was great. Yeah. You know, summer truffles just simply aren't as, as, as. Pungent, as you know, pereg Gore, black Truffles or Italian, truffles in, winter. But they were delicious and there were such an abundance of them. Yeah. That you, they couldn't help be truffly, you know? Um, Clemente Bar, uh, it was an interesting thing. We went the moment they opened. Mm-hmm. Literally the, you got there, you pushed on the door, it was locked. One minute later they opened the door. Just, you know, not a Francis and. Typical thing. No. The moment before you close is normally when we get to your, when we get to your bar or restaurant, but that's a great strategy. I've gotten into some places that mm-hmm. Were are hard to get reservations and places often hold a few tables aside. The way to be most likely to get those tables Yep. Is to walk in the door the minute they open and you'll get a table either right away or shortly thereafter. I've done that at a few places in Manhattan. It's also a strategy for Rza Pizza in Jersey City. Mm-hmm. I mean, we know. We know Dan, and it's in my, in my neighborhood, but often if I'm around there at five 30 when they open, I'm like, you know, I can just walk in right now and I'll know I'll get a table and it, and it's hard to get a table otherwise. Yeah, I mean, you know, Clemente Bar is a reservation only place, but literally it was, You know, a Monday and it was early and gorgeous. And they got us right in gorgeous space. Gorgeous drinks. Beautiful drinks, well conceived, intelligent, intelligent, bartenders who have been around, you know, so they're not, it is certainly not their first job. Yep. Uh, it just was a great team. Uh, not unexpectedly, you're in 11 Madison Park. Right, right, right. Right's, you know, they were the number one restaurant in the, in the country for a reason and. the little bites of food we had were great. Uh, and the cocktails were intelligent and, and well-made. And you know, the other thing they did, uh, garnish. Oh yeah, yeah. Garnish, the garnish made sense with the drink. And there's so many places that I see it must have a garnish. And two of our drinks had garnishes and one of our drinks did not have a garnish. Yeah. Yeah. And if a drink doesn't, if, if the garnish doesn't make the drink better. Then don't give it a garnish. Yeah. I, I love the one garnish they had on one of their drinks that mm-hmm. Was a, a, a bit of flavored ice. Two of the ices were flavored. Yep. And as the ice and the bartender explained to us that as the ice melts, it will impart a different flavor, which is gonna change the character of the drink right in front of you. Anyway, a plus, love the room. Love the space. Go there. Terrific. Well, I just wanna mention, so that the cocktail you had had a bitter component in the ice that as it melted Yep. And. First sip of that drink I did not love. Oh, yeah. I that and as we got farther into the drink Yep. You know, just three or four minutes. I mean, not, not, you know, Francis and I aren't gonna have drinks for 35 minutes, uh, as we got farther into the drink. But as did we got that little bit of melt. Wonderful. Yep. Yep. Really wonderful. Uh, should we go on and talk about Hawks more where we also went for drinks? Yeah, that was The Hawks More was really cool too. That was a, a really lot of stuff going on there and, and Hawks More has had a change at the head of its cocktail program and you always worry. Yeah. When a, when a restaurant like that, that's really known for cocktails,, or some specific thing has a change at the helm of that specific thing. Yeah. Jason Hernandez, Jason doing a great job. New guy. He, he's created and I, and I'm, I don't know if I'm letting the cat out of the bag here'cause he,'cause he let us into, he's got this little whiskey club thing going on where he's got these rare and unusual bottles. We got to have some old St. Nick, which I, which okay. I am not afraid, ashamed to say I've never had before. Yeah, right. We had a 10-year-old, uh, and we had a blend of seven to 30-year-old blend. Yeah. From old St. Nick. Really, really cool stuff. There was a bunch of cool stuff on that shelf. Yeah. Uh, one of the things that you love Waterford Yeah. Was on his, his on a, on that, that special whiskey shelf. So he's not just cocktails, he's, he's, he's spirits as well in this whiskey club. You don't have to like join or anything. Right. You just come in It's, he calls it the whiskey club and he has a dedicated core group of guys who come in, or men and women I guess, who come in and drink these super high-end whiskeys that you don't see anywhere. Yep. Uh, and we were very fortunate that he sat with us. And, uh, went over a few of the different crazy whiskeys like you just talked about. Really knowledgeable, wonderful staff. Love it. They make a great martini. Really, really happy with well hawks more again, and they're still making great cocktails and it's a wonderful steakhouse and I think it's a, it's a cool place. Another originated in London, now is in New York, but, but really a cool place. Another A plus. A plus, A plus. Where else, where else you wanna talk about? let's also talk about Joon. Okay, so we'll just talk about that quickly. I know, uh, we're gonna have Rajesh on the show in just a minute, but, a cool thing they did was, uh, their cocktail menu was by color. Yeah. You know, the old, remember the old fashioned, if it was by color, it was just something colored in the drink to, that had no flavor, but they were very purposeful. That and the cocktail menu. Beautiful. It's beautiful. It's one cocktail at a time that you would kind of turn over the page. It would be a, a beautiful high resolution, stylish picture of the cocktail. And he just named them after color. So it was the white cocktail, the black cocktail. The red cocktail that The purple cocktail. The yellow cocktail, absolutely. But they were spectacular cocktails. Yeah. Great. Great drinks. Great drinks. And they also did, I know we, we went there at different times. Mm-hmm. Um, but they also did a, a flight of cocktails. Mm-hmm. It's like a four. Um. Individual cocktails that take you on a little journey. And the presentation is wonderful. Another A plus. Yeah. Yeah. The three cool places we went to yesterday and, and one place that that had good drinks, but the atmosphere was not what we were looking for. And we will list those places in the notes to this show. And we're gonna have, uh, Rajesh Barage who owns Jano on in just a moment. And we're gonna talk about how you become a one Michelin star restaurant. The first Indian, one Michelin star restaurant in the United States. Yeah. Sit with us. You're listening to the Restaurant. Guys. You can always find out more about us@restaurantguyspodcast.com.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Hey there, everybody. Welcome back. Our guest today is Rajesh Baral. He owns Jano Restaurant and has owned it from the beginning. I went there many, many years ago when they first opened, and, just went back recently. It's a groundbreaking Indian restaurant. They're the only Indian restaurant in America with a Michelin star, and they deserve every point on that star, and we couldn't be happier to welcome, Rajesh to the show today. Rajesh, welcome to the show. So happy to have you here.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:Happy to be here on it.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:You know, I read a lot about your work and obviously everybody knows Jan. I decided in preparation for this show, I would do the selfless work of get, taking myself out to a five course dinner at your place. And, it was really fantastic. Can you tell our listeners who may not be familiar with Jano, like what it is and what it brought to New York for the first time?
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:Well, I'm in the food and beverage, business and I came in this country in 1990. so before I got in Jul, I have to give a little background of what the evolution of Indian food has been like, a journey in New York, what I've seen, when I came in 35 years ago. There were a couple of Indian restaurant, maybe two, three, and I came as an immigrant and like every immigrant went to the, hotbed of where Indians were, Queens, Jackson Heights. And that's where I started and I had opened my first restaurant there. I had no clue. Honestly. I had, been to this country like first time I came in 86, 87, just as a visitor, for a week or so. And, went back and I had never thought of coming to New York and settling And my, one of my dad's friends were very keen that, let's open a restaurant here. I said, okay, let me see. And 90 when I came. Well, now when I think back, it's very stupid of me to just jump into opening a restaurant without going and working somewhere, understanding how things are done in a different part of the world. But anyway, I started and that's been the journey. So that restaurant was for about four years, five years, very successful. Being lucky enough to be, you know, it was probably, I would say third or the fourth Indian restaurant at that time.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:The third Indian restaurant in New York City.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:In New York City, probably. Yes. You know, so the, the and, and queens. This was, probably the second restaurant, which, opened way back in 90, right? So, you know, started, uh, and then very successful, but I kind of, you know, was not very
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:So. So the, the, the Indian restaurants, I, I recall when I first lived in New York and became an adult here in New Jersey, it was the kind of food that you were as likely to take home with you as you order to dine in the restaurant. And it was all inexpensive and it was all no liquor license. you have a wine state, wine Spectator, best of award of excellence, same as we do. what kind of restaurant was this that you opened in Queens And what was the environment overall
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:uh, you know, like I said, I was not very aware of what's to be done, but Indian food wasn't, you know, there as much. at that point in time, actually, you know, what you are referring to is that street, which, had a lot of Indian restaurants they were you. run by the people from Bangladesh, Pakistan, India's all together and naming it, you know, as Indian cuisine,
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Yes.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:the beginning of, uh, Indian food is very humble. most of the immigrants who came in thought, okay. I can cook good food, my wife can cook good food. Let's open a restaurant. And that's how it started, which, paved the way for people like us to come in years later to, build on that. But, that was the starting point of, Indian food anywhere even in London years ago. it started like that.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:I think that people really don't realize that. It was so kind of French centric. And even when the contemporary American movement started in the early nineties, everything still leaned towards that very European style restaurant for high end. You're right. for when people were talking about Michelin restaurant or they were talking about, you know, four star restaurant. That's what they were talking about. Well, and just to provide a little more context about what Marc Mark is saying, I remember when, they opened Moishe down. Town. and they were going for three stars. it was revolutionary.'cause they're like, you probably have to be French And you can't be below 14th Street. You were not in the right neighborhood for sure. Just neighborhood alone might take you out.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:Yeah, so it was, like I said, there was not much Indian food, so I started, but I had a background. I worked, back home in one of the largest, hotel group called, Taj Group. it's called Indian Noodle Company Limited, the largest. huddle chain luxury brand in India, and I was the food and beverage manager. So I came with my own ideas and I, you know, started, but obviously you need the right audience to accept. Sometimes you fail because you want to do too much, and you know, people are already ready to accept that as well, you know, so it was, a small Indian restaurant. Maybe you're 40 seat. serving primarily North Indian food. That's what people are familiar with that time, you know, add a little bar and, and, whatnot. The only unique thing I did was I was the first guy to start Indian Suites in this country. was not a single vendor and I was the first one to do that. And we were shipping Indian suites all over the country
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:So were the client, were the clients to your restaurant, were they mostly. Indian people or people of Indian extraction or.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:Indians who were working in the neighborhood or living in the neighborhood, and that was actually that nineties onwards. It was like kind of a little blast as India started pouring in and coming in and settling. And you know, would come on weekends, you'll surprise. There was no Indian restaurant in Philadelphia. There was no restaurant restaurant in Long Island. There was no Indian restaurant in Jersey. There was no Indian restaurant, in uh Connecticut. So people would come on weekend.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Wow.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:only one store which would supply Indian, groceries. So that would be their trip to come to Jackson Heights to do their Indian groceries, and then have an Indian meal or pack an Indian meal and go from there.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Yeah. Yeah.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:So that was what 74th Street, Jackson Heights was. And, you know, it's successful. But, you know, later on I saw that my entire, you know, audience had shifted because gradually people started moving out. There were more influx of Indians in that area than anything else. And, I was one day thinking, I said, listen man, I came to this country. I really want to, my passion is to showcase Indian cuisine, you know, and it's been very misrepresented. People would think it to be oily, spicy, cheap food, you know, pretty much like an ethnic or a mindset is, about it. But I said, that's not what it is. I started looking for places in New York. I said The only way I think I can be able to bring Indian food to the mainstream would be if I moved to New York City,
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:In Manhattan.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:When I came, I did not know what uptown means
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Yeah.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:I hardly bent outta means I did not trade. I remember a friend of mine was drove from, you know, Boston and he came, he says, we are going to go and have, you know, find dining Indian food in the city. There was one restaurant called Dawa, you know, on 58. I said, okay. you know, you're always ambitious. I said, I wanna open in the city. And I started looking for places it took me quite some years, you know, and I would say, I 90, I came, I opened this place, and, 95, I sold this business without realizing that I have to start something before I sell the damn thing.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Right.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:You know, there was nobody to guide me, so I sold about a year and a half, two years. I sat at home doing nothing and burning money, looking for places in, in, in New York to, open a restaurant. I met a gentleman, like, I told you the fine dining restaurant. When I went to Dine, luckily met him he was introduced to me with a friend of mine and, started getting into a conversation. I gave him some idea. I said, I wanna do, restaurant. He says, oh, my restaurant is the number one. And no doubt their restaurant was the number one Indian restaurant at that point in time. in the country, you would have people like Bill Gates dine there, Jackson once booked the entire restaurant dine there. So it was what the restaurant was, and I said, no, my idea is very different. he was very surprised. He says, are you crazy? Nobody's going to come and eat. I said, listen, if you're not, I learned this, you know, statement often used. If you build it, they'll come. You
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Yeah,
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:famous movie
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:so wait, lemme stop you right there, because that was, that's one of the things that. Before you didn't really happen. You said, I want to have a bar and I want to sell nice wine. And then when the cocktail movement happened, you embraced cocktails that that was a break for Indian restaurants in America, wasn't it?
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:That was in the, that was in June. I would say when we come to June, I'll tell you the story of how it started and why I did, this, so this was, so, my learning was at that time, what fine dining meant was you put a nice tablecloth, have better lights, have a menu, which has like, you open in three pages, like on and on and on. It'll go, you have like 10, you know, lamb dishes, 10 goat dishes, 10 this and that. You know, I said, what the heck, what's going on here? You basically have two sauces and you're dumping food in there, and that's what you're doing. You know, and calling yourself fine dining, what a shame. Indian food is much more, like I said, very few professionals were in this business. They were mostly, people who are family,
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Yeah.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:they're not professionals, they don't know.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Right.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:They would give you, they'll say, okay, we'll give you wines and we'll give
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Yeah.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:you'll make your wine menu,
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:That still happens here in New Jersey quite a bit.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:and my learning was that okay, you know, I think, there is a, what we do is very different than what people perceive Indian food to be. I wanted to go fine dining, but when I started doing my little, you know, research and asking people around, people could not point India on the map of the world. I'm talking about non-Indians, right? my goal was to promote Indian food to the, mainstream American crowd and not the Indian, I started thinking, what could, what can I do to change that? I said, you know what, let's not risk it and open a, big fine dining restaurant. I want to do something, which, makes them feel welcome to try the food, you know, I'm
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Yeah.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:about. And then on university, on 11th Street, I found a location, and, It's a small place. It used to be, I believe, a Korean fruit shop on a deli. We went a business and, you know, I took the lease, started building. you know, in my mind I'm saying okay, the architect has not, cannot be Indian. I want someone to bring in ideas. I used to go out and dine, you know, Mediterranean cafes or you know, you go to an Italian bistro or a French bistro, the word bistro. So I said, why can't we have an Indian bistro? You
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Yeah. So what, so what year do we open Cafe Spice?
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:98.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:98. And how is it received by New York?
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:So it changed the entire of Indian dining would call, if you go back and do a little research of Indian food. it received every possible accolade you can think of.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Wow.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:it was a six 70 seat restaurant and we would do 250 dinners a night, irrespective of a Monday or a Sunday, or a Saturday or a Friday,
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Yep.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:know, it was like that.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:and so what ha I mean, back then the publications mattered more than they do now. It wasn't all about Yelp review. So what did the publications, what did the Gale Green say? What did the New York Times say?
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:New York Times never reviewed the restaurant.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Well, you were,
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:never reviewed, it was like$25 average check. I believe Eric Smo would write, right?
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Yeah, did Eric write about your.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:you know, major publications would write and, and that time right when we were opening Cafe Spice, tabla, which is now 11 Madison, the same spot table was opening at that. I mean, I remember Danny Ma and Michael Romano used to come and dine
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Oh yeah.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:You
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:that's great.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:in there and have food at,
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:we were very good friends with Floyd Cardo, who was a great man.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:Great guy. so, yes, absolutely. So Floyd, you know, he was opening tabla at that time and, you know, tabla opened after, us Chicago Spice actually became a cult following, I would say, grand Center was being built at that time. They approached us, they said, open an outlet here, which was way back in two, maybe 99 or we opened a, you know. Changed it and made, made a little quick service model of the Cafe Spice there, and then we expanded that brand into Philadelphia, into Maryland into, you know, multiple locations.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:so you have Cafe Spice, but what's happening in the, country at that point, certainly in the, cities like Manhattan, is people are beginning to embrace ethnic foods. that they could be elevated, that they could be brought to fine dining, that they could be brought to another level. Like you said, you had Floyd Caro at Tabla, you had Mario Vital, opening Del Post though. You had, Scott Conant opening Alto. So all that, the early two thousands, There's this movement to restaurants that could, that we're trying to show that ethnic foods from all around the world. It didn't have to be French focused. It didn't have to be,
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:Correct.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:you know, this certain type of restaurant. And it could still be elevated and it could still be a wonderful dining experience. Yeah. And it still could be a four star or Michelin 1, 2, 3 star. I see the enthusiasm with which you're saying that, and as if you're like, wow, this is, but realize that many of our listeners, our younger listeners are never gonna understand that Before that time it was French restaurants above 14th Street where all that was considered fine dining Correct. So that that changes.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:so the reason we did a cafe by style model, like a, you know, upscale, I would say casual, but still casual because I wanted to invite. I didn't want to do like a hundred dollars meal or a$80 meal or$75 Indian meal. Nobody would've paid and people did not know Indian food, as much. But that kind of, slowly changed. And so that expanded, very well. And now I started thinking, how come the journey of June and I was, thinking, Hmm, now I think I can go and fulfill my dream of doing a real good fine dining Indian restaurant. started thinking on those lines. Uh, in 2005, I think first time I received was in my head in 2007. It, I kind of got the idea about fortified because that time Indian economy had opened up. So mostly Fortune 500 companies started going to India. The economy had opened up very well. So there was a lot of travel, a lot of this thing, the awareness of Indian food had started with. I would say, the mainstream Americans. Okay. And I was saying, I said, now is the time I think we can do a fine dining Indian restaurant. And when I say fine dining, I mean let's, the conversation used to be, you know, a friend of mine called me. this will highlight the, you know, what I'm going to say. He called me, says Rajesh, I've got 10 CEOs. From India. They're visiting and I'm hosting them. He used to have a hedge fund you know, last night I would like to take them, they're all Indians and I would like to take them to a good Indian meal, you know, really wine peering and cocktails and this and that, and good. You know, I told him, I said, listen. And he was telling me his budget, you know, which was un, you know, people would go and spend at an Italian or French restaurant and that they would say, my budget is spending, like, I can go 300,$400 a person. I said, even if you try it, you won't find an Indian restaurant which can bill you that much.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:So you built one.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:I said, you are here longer than me. Which restaurant is there? I said, that's the best restaurant right now. Even if you go there, you can do whatever the hell you want. You can have the most expensive wines there. you cannot build that, that experience is not there. So he ultimately told me, and I booked him, like you said, surprisingly Mario Vital, I booked him, del.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Right. Sure.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:Made me think. I said, so I would, I started working on it and then my wife asked me, you want 15 restaurants, cafe Spices were 13. And then we, I just built a big commissary. We were supplying food to Whole Foods with a partner. why the hell do you wanna open another restaurant and take this? Big headache. I said, listen, you know, I think Indian food has to reach that level that there's amazing cuisine. It's so diverse. this thing has not been explored and this myth of scotch and beer works with Indian food is very British thought.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Yeah.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:are wines work very fantastic. There are things which will work very fantastic there. I think there is a potential, I may not know, I'm not master at, making a good cocktail or, understanding a lot of wines, but I said I can build a team. Which can, you know, I know the food part and I can build a team. We can, you know,
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Right.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:build something, you
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:And again, you have this moment in time where you have both the creative minds like yours. Which are saying, Hey, I have this cuisine. I have the ability to present you something that's special and extraordinary. And you have the public saying, you know what? I do want something different. I'm ready to experiment. I'm ready to go outside my comfort zone and try some things that maybe are a little more interesting or a little different than what I ate my whole life.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:Yeah, so my whole, my education, like I told you, I came in 90, I didn't study here. I didn't work for anyone. So I said, how do I educate myself? And so my biggest expense would be. Going out twice a week to go and dine out. So my bills would come at the end of the year where I would say you spent 50 grand, don't have a lot of money. That was, you know, spending in nineties to that kinda money. I didn't
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Yep.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:money. Okay. That's my education,
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Yeah.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:education fund. I think nothing like learning from there. So what I learned was that in food I can do what else is there in a conversation When 10 people are sitting and they want to go and have Indian, you know, why do they don't go? I should. Work backwards. Ambience service style, a great cocktail program, a great vine program. These all elements are missing in Indian food. Food, yes, you can do, that's one part. One of the other parts, you know, that is why they would go to Italian is Italian. You can have good pasta and other restaurants, you don't have to go to Del Post store. Right. So example, but you go for entire experience part of
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Yeah.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:you know,
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:So talk to us about getting Jano open and what that was like and what people found when they went in there, and the team you put together to make it happen.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:Yeah, so I made my mission statement saying, I want to open a restaurant that serves Indian food, not an Indian restaurant. And people didn't understand until I made them explain what it is. and then I started looking for, a site which had to be, you know, you have been to the first restaurant you've never seen Indian restaurant. 10,000 square foot high ceilings
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:It was amazing.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:Yeah. So, to build that was the environment or the style part of it, or
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Yep.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:part of it
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:And what, what year is this that you opened?
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:officially, or 2011, January to opened. But we did friends and family December of the second week of December, 2010, And, that's when it, it.
Mark:well, and in 2012,, you weren't a Michelin star
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:Yes. And then we had it for eight consecutive years till the pandemic hit,
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Well, so I remember, when you first opened, because it had been some great bar before you had, that space had been a bar before you opened there. But then a friend of mine, a guy named Scott Carney was your opening wine director.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:I said, building the team, I said now I really wanna build a team. I wanna bring in a team. And honestly, I was not focusing on. To get a Michelin or get stars. think these things come if you do things with a passion and do right way, this is all the byproduct of things done, right. So I said get a team. So I hired a GM who had worked with Alan, had worked with the, at that time he was working with the poster, so he was their operation manager. So I got him, he was my gm. He actually brought in Scott Kearney. I couldn't afford Scott Kearney. Scott Kearney used to work at, Gotham Bar and Drill.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Yes.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:was gm. And so, I'll put in why Scott joined. You know, obviously he had the ability, he is one of the first few, my master songs at that time, only time. And, uh, I was having a cup of coffee with him in Starbucks and you know, my gm, Robin said, you go and talk to him because I, I said my budget, this is no way, man. He's making already more than what you're offering. I said, he can't do that. So I sat with him, I spoke. And in the conversation, I think I read what Scott, wanted. Scott wanted to basically get into academics in few years, two years or so. He says, I'm tired of, you know, kind of working the floor, doing the list, doing all that. I got a couple of years left and I want to go into teaching and doing things and whatnot, what I wanted to do. So then I said, that gave me, you know, like a hook. I said, Scott, it works right For right for you to come and accept what I want I'm doing. I said, listen. A lot of beverage directors can make a great wine list for an Italian restaurant, for a French restaurant for this. But that's been done. It is already there. To come and do it for an Indian restaurant would be a challenge. And I think you put the list together, it'll give the whole project and the casino. And you are the one who doing it and you know, kind of give that thought that wine work works with Indian food done. Right. Right.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:even from the outset of bringing him on board, bringing in a master psalm, like him with his prestige and, you know, we knew him personally because he just, he's so knowledgeable about everything. And it was, I remember thinking, Scott Carney's gonna do the wines at an Indian restaurant. I have to go. And that was that. I had dinner there that night with a woman who was studying for her master of wine degree.'cause we were like, we gotta see this. Mm-hmm. And so it really did make a huge difference. And it was great. It was a great list. He was, and he was on the floor selling us wine.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:Yeah. so we had three songs at that time. this was all the part of the experience, so that was the whole buildup. And then, you know, New York Times came and, you know, fantastic review. They gave us it. We got a two star review, which read like a three, you
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Yep. Yep.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:us to Del Post,
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:they used to do that all the time. Like you could tell that somebody really wanted it to be a three star review, but they would make it two stars. And sometimes if they made something a three star that was just barely a three star, the review would be a little worse. Sometimes it was better to get a two star review that was glowing than a three star review where they were knocking you down a pack.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:actually you are correct. So my peer company said you got a glowing your singing review two star, which is better because even if you read a three star review somewhere, they will talk about whether a dessert or whether one appetizer or something like that is missed the point. Miss the mark missed something in here. There was nothing you would talk about to miss the mark, you know? So it then came the Michelin, which I least expected, to be honest, So then it, that was the journey. And we've been there 15 years now, but we don't, sit on our past laurels and the, we never had a testing menu in the beginning. If you go now, I believe you did a testing menu, which we keep changing.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Mark and I talk about tasting menus all the time because in our, we have two restaurants. Our fine dining restaurant, we opened in 92, and then by the end of the nineties, all the restaurants were tasting menu only. Right. So we always had an a la carte option. Mm-hmm. But we leaned heavily on the tasting menu and then we kind of lament how they became so unfashionable and, but so it. They are, seem to be making a bit of a resurgence as an option. And I, I went to your restaurant with my cousin and his girlfriend and we were thrilled to say, oh my God, we'll take the five course, you know, send us wine pairings. Well, I think that a menu like yours lends itself more to a tasting menu because one of the problems that a restaurant like ours has is so much of it is familiar, right. It's already formulated their opinions about what they like and what they don't like in our cuisines. So if there's something on the tasting menu that they don't like, they're like, okay, I can't do the tasting menu.'cause course number seven in the 16 course tasting menu is something I don't care for. But when you look at a, a cuisine like yours, where, where for a lot of people it'll be less familiar. Maybe I'm more willing because. I don't, I don't know this food. I wanna experience as much of it as I can anyway. Well, and I don't know what the hell I'm doing so you can guide me.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:Yeah. But, our menu besides tasting, if you look at our menu structure, You can't do technically a la car. You call you, we call it three course, four courses and tasting. That's what it is. But testing is, you see the courses, whereas when we call three and four courses. you can choose from the a la car and make your course yourself, But it's no, yeah, it's no sharing. that was one of the issues. We had a lot of problem, solving and we said, okay, this is how we are gonna do. Five people come, they order their main, they can share if they like, but they're gonna be X mains,
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Mm-hmm.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:apps and then, these days people don't take dessert. So with that option, we left it. We said, okay, it could be a three, four fourth. Fourth is your dessert if you don't want,
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:so what was the problem you found yourself with sharing as, as a restaurant that just.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:so this, this is, you know, I'll tell you in Indian, so I'm talking like from absolutely like a business sense of point, right? Indian food perception is sharing. Share. when people walk in, I would, and you know, I would say mostly from Southeast Asia, our country and this and that. We are very used to eating, shared, you know, and they would come in, now they're sitting there, eight people. And I would see that this happened a lot and lot.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Mm-hmm.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:Of time, eight people will come in order appetizers share or order three or four beans
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Mm-hmm.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:you know, the cuisine lends itself like you can fill yourself if you wanna do that way, order three or four main and order a lot of breads, rice, this and that. when we are looking at an average check you are doing. 300 covers in my previous restaurant. This is a smaller one. And we look at our sale and say, man, what is our average check? How do we, you can't keep in case your prices. That's not gonna work. So I said, let's change the style of the menu. and we are probably the only Indian restaurant who does this,
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:And did you get a lot of pushback when you did that?
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:Oh, they, oh hell of a lot. We did get, we did get, we did get, and we still, you know, I still see, sometimes I'll see a one star review and I, when I read it, I say, what the heck?
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:I will tell you, when I see a one star review, and it's written by somebody who is just not my customer for whatever reason, they're just not my customer. They don't want what I'm offering, and I don't have what they want. I just kind of put that aside. it, it does not inform what I'm gonna do tomorrow when I see a one star review and I'm like, oh, that shouldn't have happened. Oh, that was not the way I intended it. Well, that will change the way I do things. But a one star review for that, that is not related to something I want to do is, a one star review where I say to Mark, they left out the part where you threw them out of the restaurant. it's like crazy, you know?
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:People will come in and they'll argue in the front. We say, listen, you made a reservation. The moment you make a reservation, your text goes out, confirmation goes out, talks about the dress policy, child policy. You didn't bother read it. and we offer them, you know, you can dine outdoors. It's nicely done outdoors. You can have kids sit there and enjoy, but we don't allow. Instead they would boom,
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Yeah, and I wanna say it's funny when people push back on that, because we had a problem before the pandemic. we had a group of people who would come in, it was one group of friends, and they'd make a reservation for. 9, 12, 13 people, and they'd be like 15 minutes before we closed every night, and they would order five entrees among them. And I remember we instituted a policy because of this group, and it went out in the text when you made your reservation. We said, just so you know, it's one entree per person. And they were outraged. I had a long conversation with'em, like, how dare you do that? I'm like, this isn't a library. And I got, you don't have to eat it, you just have to pay for it, you know, but There's a point where to make it worthwhile and for the waiters to make a living, you've gotta have a minimum amount of money coming.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:And then, well, I guess everything is, uh, changing. I think people are also getting very, knowledgeable about things. You can't please everybody, as you say, there's so many people come in and out of the door that, we try our best sometimes, we may fall short, you
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Yeah.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:but we are ever evolving. We learn from mistakes.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:We try to learn from our mistakes. Sometimes we do them over and over and over again. So lemme ask you a question. the food that I had was amazing. I mean, just straight on through. Amazing, perfect. The cocktails were amazing. and your front of house people were extraordinary. They truly were.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:you.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:mean really, really a great cadra of people. But the food that you serve, to what extent is that food that you will find in India and to what extent is it very fine dining, creative food that is your inspired by food that you'd find in India?
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:See there are, I would say, a lot of dishes you are, it means if you go to India, you'll find that dish. But with, is it presented that way? No.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Yeah. Mm-hmm.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:that style? No. you know, let's say if, like there's a dish, we have something called duck tele cherry pepper
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Yep.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:this, and, you know, our genome kitchen is, I would say, and I, I consciously made this effort. To change it way back in 12 or 13 when I opened that I want, a lot of chefs who are non-Indian and people are surprised. What the heck are you talking about? And you'll be surprised to know three of my executive chefs have been non-Indians. one of them came from Alan d Al Dugas. one of them came from, had worked with John Ramsey, you know, and they were nothing Indian. And the reason I had them was how to elevate the presentation of food and come up with ideas. I saw, I would call, you know, chef Traditional and Chef Modern, that
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Right.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:We had given them, you know,
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Oh, that's great.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:we one because, so I, and this is a very, duck, tele cherry pepper, elli, cherry pepper, ous, or dish comes from there.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Mm-hmm.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:the duck texture is very different than chicken texture.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Yes.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:Duck is mostly, you can do like a steak. You don't do your temp. You know, you, you do. It's not done the way it is done. So if you go and eat there, it's not the same. we were doing the same way, which was done in India because that's what I, my chef were doing till I, hired this chef one day all tells me. boss, can I redo this dish? I said how he said, just tell your guy to make the sauce. Don't bother about the, the, about the duck part. I'll do the duck. Let him do the, sauce, because I don't know the sauce. let him make the sauce. So I did. I said, fine. So he orders a duck. I believe he ordered a Normandy deduct. He aged it, you know, two weeks, which is still due. And, uh, then he, takes the breast rendering his own fat and no, no, it's not an Indian technique. It's a pretty, very French technique.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Yep.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:that
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Mm-hmm.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:sliced, sliced it and put it on top of the sauce. That's what the presentation, if I send you a picture, you'll see, I don't know if you tasted that dish. It's, we call duck chilies, pepper, and I cannot take it off the menu. It's
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Mm-hmm.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:take it
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Yeah.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:so now it's marrying off. You know, people often say confused that, okay, you are you, you're trying to do fine dining. Are you fusion? I said, no, I'm not fusion. Yes, we are fusion, but not of tradition or of flavors. We are fusion of technique. You know, you can, you can adapt different techniques because like, what is the tul? Tul is tan, ur is basically an oven. When 405 years, a hundred years ago, there was no. and it came from Iran and you know, the Persia where they should bake breads and do all this thing like in oven. There were no ovens. So these are, now you have ovens you don't have to use, necessarily use it and do, you don't have to grill things. So you have modern equipment, modern techniques, which you can adapt and make the food actually. Much better in, you know, your texture, your taste, your flavor, your presentation so you can adapt that, you know, and don't have to follow that. So this is something we, we do in-house and that's what the, it's a chef's take on what our menu would
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:So talk to us about who is your chef now?
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:It's very, JI happens to be my understand.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:I knew that. to. I knew that. So tell us about your son. The.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:So I honestly, never wanted him to be a chef. I never thought he'd be a chef. A very pampered young kid. my wife would make him breakfast in bed. He would get everything, you know, pretty. I said, this guy can't even, the best thing I do is make a cup of tea for us. You know, sometimes that's about it. Nothing else. And then, you know, he goes to college. He was in, the Rutgers and then moved to, in the city. And then, my wife tells me, you know, it's summer vacation. Why do you put him at work? I said, listen, I'm not running a mom pop show. You know, it's a restaurant. just, because he's your son, you're telling me put him to work, what work he's gonna do. See, otherwise he's gonna sit at home and play video games. His friends are gonna come, and that's what they're doing Summer. Let him do something. I said, okay. So I spoke to my gm. I said, he says, okay, radi, we'll figure it out. He is a good looking young kid. Let's train him and let him put in the front desk and he'll work with the, he can, he can be smart enough to understand table numbers and go and hand a menu and see people. Right? So that's how he started. He started, he got bored, he got fed up. he would watch the bar and he's seeing a lot of interaction happening at the bar. He thought bar is a big scene. You know, you chat, you do. He said, I wanna work at the bar. I said, you don't know a damn what? A bar. You can't work at the bar. But anyway, I spoke to our bar manager, I said, he says, okay, sure, let's, let's put into the grind. All he did was wiping glasses.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:right.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:is called working at the bar. then he went to the kitchen there. I don't know what clicked. He started from onion peeling. He never went to culinary school, but he started picking up and he started working with all the chefs. And then he self-taught, he went, he traveled, he, you know, did a lot of stuff. you know, when uh, my last chef, O has owns AKA now and was leaving to open his own restaurant. He told me, you know, I was still looking for a chef. He was a sous chef already after about six years or so, he
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Yep.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:chef,
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Mm-hmm.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:through the ranks. And you know, he told me, he said, boss, don't look for, I think he's ready. I said, and I said, uh, are you, are you serious? You think he'll be able to take the responsibility? He says, I think he, you give a chance he'll be able to do that.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Well, it's hard to get distracted when the tickets are piling up in your face, right? Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:I think he's been the exactly chef now for, I would say six years.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:You heard that I was there at the end of the meal.'cause you came up. Said hello, but you guys didn't know who I was when I dined there. Your pastry chef came out, your son came out and talked about the dishes and that he's a self-taught chef. With that sort of, the precise and careful nature of that menu, that's, congratulations to him. It's really, really amazing stuff. Rajesh, the clock on the wall says, uh, our time is coming to an end. it's been fascinating talking with you and thank you for Jan Noon. I, I intend to go back real soon. really cool place that, we love talking to people who change the landscape, right? that's one of our favorite things to do when we're interviewing somebody, is somebody who, made things different. And Jano is one of those restaurants that just made things different.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:Thank you and you guys should come and try the other one, which is the East village. It opened a year and a half ago. That is the, what I call soulful of India. That's no pretenses. That's the way we grew up eating the streets, on the road I brought some of the legendary. eating places of India, known for one or two dishes, and they're there for the fourth generation a hundred years. 120 years. So I said, instead of traveling the country, why don't I make a menu and bring the dishes one off and do a menu and people eat under one roof.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:I love it. that's beautiful. But you need to understand that Francis and I love pretenses.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:Yeah. No, I know, but I, I, I believe, believe you me, there's a friend of mine who started the Michelin Guide in this country. I didn't know her that time, but she resigned 25 years in Michelin. She came two weeks ago and I was telling her I come tired just by like, you know, she said, okay. She came and she was like blown away, and after that she's come three times on her own,
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:tell us the name and the website for the new place.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:It's called J-A-Z-B-A. Juba. It makes, it means same Jan. Passion and Juba also means passion with emotion, you know, so it's an East Village where Old Maku was the first Maku,
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Great.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:corner of 13 and second Avenue.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Great,
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:JBA and NYC let me know when you're coming and this time I'll meet you in person.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:great.
rajesh-bhardwaj_3_08-26-2025_120217:about the dishes.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_120212:Excellent. We'll see you there soon. so you heard it here first. We'll be back in just a moment. You're listening to the restaurant, guys.
the-restaurant-guys_2_08-26-2025_125113:Hey, everybody. Welcome back. Uh, I have to tell you, that meal was great. the tuna puka. That was a mm-hmm. Cilantro, purry puff, um, with chat masala, caviar and, tuna in it. it was, it was, this was. Beautiful, delicate little puff. And that stuff was all inside it, like a little purse, but crunchy. Mm-hmm. And then it had a warm kind of, you could drink it or you could pour it in the puff'cause it was waterproof and then you put the whole puff in your mouth and went inside your mouth. Well one of the things he talked about off the air with us was that pushka is a traditionally a vegetarian dish, right? Yeah. and one of the things he's done in his restaurant is he introduced an ingredient. Like tuna to it. Yeah. And caviar. Right. Okay. So I, I often say my favorite use for vegetarian cuisine is as a base for meat. But, but you know, that's, that's kind of what I, I think where this restaurant has gone to, right? It's taken some of these traditional methods and ingredients and sauces and, and, and. Created this amalgam, but not fusion cuisine. Okay. It's not fusion cuisine. You know, it's, it's funny, when I asked that question, I realized that there's a limitation to even the way to frame the question because Yes, it you, any good restaurant in any area in India, it's not like Indian cuisine is frozen in India. Right. It's if a great restaurant in India will. Evolve, right. Update, take the recipes that they have, and there will be new things done to it in the next iteration. Mm-hmm. And so that's, you know, that's, I think that's fascinating what that line is. one of, one of the things he talked about earlier in the show, and it was his, his education, right? Mm-hmm. Uh, and I know you and I lived this. Mm-hmm. Right? So you're making very little money, but your education is going to other restaurants. Mm-hmm. Your education is spending money in other restaurants. And I remember. You know, Jennifer and I having a discussion about. The fact that we had a used a hundred dollars couch in our house, but we had just spent$350 mm-hmm. On dinner for two and, you know, you, but you had to do that. That was, you still have to do that. Yes. Okay. We still go out to restaurants all the time. We're still watching what's happening, what's evolving, how things are changing, what's next, what's coming back. Being out in restaurants is part of the job. Oh, a hundred percent. Now, you know, I remember, uh, our good friend Nicholas Ferrari, who owns it, used to own restaurant Nicholas. It's become Nicholas Sparrow and Roost, a more casual dining spot. He's a great chef and now a great restaurateur. I remember when he was cooking in restaurants around for very little money'cause we had a conversation that probably, and I don't wanna get anybody mad at me, but if you want to become a great chef and that's your goal, um. If you're gonna spend. A hundred thousand dollars on a culinary school. Mm-hmm. You will probably get a better education going to STA air to, to basically train in several high-end kitchens that are all doing cool, interesting things. Stay there six months or a year to learn something and move on to the next. And that's what he was doing though. He did go to culinary school as well. So you, so you're spending the money on, honestly, in those types of places on forfeited salary. right, you're spending the money on a low salary, uh, learning environment and going out to dinner. It's still less than tuition'cause you get something back. Mm-hmm. but he, he said he used to go to the bars of the restaurants where he wasn't staging in wherever he was, sit at the bar. Order no drinks. Mm-hmm. And just taste and to eat the food and, and enjoy the food. I think that's, I think that's super important. Not just the food, the experience. You know, I, I, I tell my staff this all the time, you know, go someplace for lunch. Go Yeah. You know, have an iced tea. You can, you know, yeah. You want to experience the whole thing with the, with the wine and food and cocktails and all of that, but you don't have that budget right now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you're young restaurant professional. Go have, have lunch in four or five of the best places you can, you can get into. it's not just about like, let me look at how they put this dish together. You really are young people who don't have experience going to fine dining restaurants. Mm-hmm. First time I walked into a fine dining restaurant, I walked into the kitchen and applied for a job at the Frog and Peach. Yes. We know. And, uh, and, uh, but you, it's just kind of like. You gotta marinate in it. Mm-hmm. You have to get the whole feel of why all this is important. I, I, you know, I think that's even more now, there's a whole generation of people who are working in restaurants who've never been to great restaurants. Yeah. And I think it's just, it's part of the learning experience. It's part of the education and, okay, you didn't invest in school, but you need to invest in this. Oh, yeah, a hundred percent. So I want to end on one funny note. We, we talked to Rajesh about, um, why he put the tasting menu in, because with people sharing mm-hmm. He just couldn't, he needed, you needed a minimum amount per person in order to pay for the chair and the lights and the people and the waiters need to make a certain amount. I do remember. Um, there was, there was one time we had a group of grad students from Rutgers, we love students from Rutgers. We were students at Rutgers, but this group of grad students that used to come into the bar and there'd be like a dozen of them. And it's a small bar. They take up half the seats in the bar sometimes more, and they would. Order. Four drinks between them. Mm-hmm. after the staff had begged us to do something about this. Mm-hmm.
Francis:'cause they're making no money'cause nobody else can get in. and they would tip very little on the four drinks they got. Yeah. And, uh, I, I remember I walked up and I said, listen. Everybody has to order something. It's a one drink per person. Like, oh, are you gonna pay for my D W I when I get pulled over? Okay. It doesn't have to be an alcoholic drink. Everybody here has to spend money when you come in and they were outraged. And I always remember the one graduate student, she said, uh, I wanna, I wanna speak to the manager. I was like, I'm, I'm the owner, there's the manager. He works for me. And, and uh, and she said, well, I wanna see this in writing. And I, I remember I'm such an asshole. I picked up the cocktail napkin. I wrote down one drink per person on it and I handed it to you.
Mark:You are a jerk. Anyway. Can't let, can't, can't sweat the small stuff. that was a really fun show and I'm, I'm glad we had Rahan. He's really made a difference in the culinary scene and, I look forward to going to, to Jazba Yeah, let's go tonight. I'm Francis Shot. And I'm Mark Pascal. We are the restaurant guys. You can always find out more@restaurantguyspodcast.com
