Podcast: Download

This winter, I woke up one morning and came up with a concept: why not have a modern day version of the “salon” (which Wikipedia describes as “…a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation.”) I got very excited for a couple of days, and then put the idea away. Fortunately, I keep this stuff.

Shortly thereafter Duo and I were meeting with a prospective producer for a demo we were working on (you know who you are!) and he suggested trying the “pitch meeting” format. Perhaps because the televised pitch meeting on TMZ has become one of my big “DVR guilty pleasures”, I was intrigued.

Christine Ohlman, Mark Oppenheimer, Danielle Ginetti, your (less than) humble narrator, cohost Duo Dickinson and Mat Scott. (Not pictured; Carey Savona of Heirloom)

I love The Study at Yale, a boutique hotel in New Haven. A few months ago, I met Carey Savona, the executive chef at Heirloom, the hotel’s restaurant.

One of the things I love about Carey’s “Coastal Farm” philosophy is his commitment to using interesting – and whenever possible, locally grown – ingredients. The minute we started recording on location, we began to think about some of our favorite local places. (We, too, prefer to “think local”.)

The recording of Episode 3 marked an important step in the evolution of the RLSG: the first real attempt at putting this imagined salon “format” to work. We assembled a really interesting group of guest editors; the frighteningly  brilliant writer Mark Oppenheimer, The Beehive Queen herself, Rock ‘n Roll Goddess Christine Ohlman, meteorologist and game show “host with the most” Matt Scott, and Danielle Ginetti, who, with her husband (the WAY too handsome John Ginetti) own one of the best places for a cocktail in New Haven, 116 Crown.

Recording this show felt like a real breakthrough. It was nice (if not a bit intimidating) to attempt to put  the concept to the test. What we came up with exceeded my expectations, thanks entirely to our guest editors; and to the kindness extended to us by Heirloom Restaurant and The Study at Yale.