Brooklyn Owes the Charmer Under Paul Liebrandt

Sally Rowe was wowed by the food Paul Liebrandt was cooking at Atlas in 2000. Liebrandt was 24 at the time. As a result, Rowe, a documentary filmmaker, was inspired to follow him around for nine years thereafter. The footage came together in 2010 as a documentary called A Matter of Taste: Serving up Paul Liebrandt, and it provides a candid look at Liebrandt's career.

After menu disputes at Atlas, Liebrandt quit and found work at Papillon in 2001. He left less than a year later. "I like to think of myself as a culinary mercinary," Liebrandt says in the documentary while between jobs, "on hire to the highest bidder." Liebrandt started his own consulting company after Papillon and it wasn't until 2005 that he returned to the kitchen: working as the Chef Director at Gilt, a position he held for less than a year. A short stint making cocktails for a large beverage company followed, and in 2007, Liebrandt was approached by restaurateur Drew Nieporent to be chef and partner in Corton, opening in the former Montrachet space.

On the collaboration with Liebrandt, Nieporent says in Taste, "The reason I want to work with Paul Liebrandt comes from the basic instincts that I've had from the beginning, which were, if I'm going to distinguist myself, if I'm going to do a better job than everybody else, then I have to be associated with the best people." Nieporent's instincts earned Corton three stars from the Times, two from the Michelin Guide, and kept the spark dormant that burns within Liebrandt to constantly seek out new challenges. Six years later, that spark has caught fire and the Siberian-born, London-raised chef will soon be splitting his time at Corton and the Elm, opening late spring in the King & Grove Hotel across the river on North 12th Street in Williamsburg.

The current space in the hotel will undergo a complete renovation, so we were asked not to share our pictures of what used to be Pillar & Plough, but the open, lofty, garden-level space that will house the Elm when it opens in late spring is going to be an exciting stage for Liebrandt's new act.

In the hype surrounding Brooklyn restaurants, Liebrandt reveals in a recent interview with Grub Street that he isn't concerned with a restaurant's location, "To me there are only two kinds (of food): good and bad. I mean, Williamsburg is so close, proximity-wise. We're all in the same city; we're all part of it, and it's not really at all like going to the West Coast. It may sound a bit corny, but we're all New Yorkers — I consider myself a New Yorker. For me, it all comes under this "New York" umbrella. I'm proud to be here, and I'm very, very thrilled to be doing this project in Williamsburg." [GrubStreet]

Suzume Opening Tonight in Williamsburg

Michael Briones and Sam Barron are opening a humble restaurant on the corner of Devoe and Lorimer. Suzume, which means sparrow in Japanese, is bringing sushi and ramen to Williamsburg via 30 seats set in a cozy room rife with Eastern influence. Barron is a carpenter with two other Brooklyn projects to his name in Maggie Brown and The Emerson. Briones honed his ramen skills in the kitchen at Momofuku Noodle Bar and learned his way around fish filets during his time at Bond St. In addition to sushi and ramen, Briones' menu at Suzume is one of izakaya-inspired small plates and everything on it shares a focus on sourcing the freshest ingredients possible. The restaurant opens tonight at 6pm.

We were lucky enough to get invited to a soft opening earlier this week. Here's a look at what to expect from Suzume.

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The Williamsburg Fox Gets a Star

Reynard is a name for a fox that was used in medieval tales.  In the Wythe Hotel, a fox earned itself a star from Pete Wells this week.  Reynards is the latest edition to Andrew Tarlow's Williamsburg empire, which includes Marlow & Sons and Diner, both a bit further south.  At Reynards, "nearly everything that comes out of the kitchen is chosen by hand and cooked with firewood." 

Sean Rembold is in charge of the cooking.  He started out with Tarlow as the sous chef at Marlow & Sons and his affinity for smokey, fire cooked food can now be found on Wythe Avenue between North 11th and North 12th Streets.  "Reynard’s hoods must be powered by jet engines because you don’t smell smoke at your table until you get close to your food. Then you can’t miss it."

The restaurant is open from 7am - midnight; serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  "The menu changes too often for recommendations," but the assortment of dishes may be accompanied with wine from "a cellar of offbeat and affordable French wines" Lee Campbell put together at Hip Town's newest hotel eatery.

Is That a Flatiron Whisk in Your Pants or Are You Just Happy to See Me?

Whisk is a kitchen appliance store in Williamsburg.  It opened at the end of 2008 and today it gets a sibling with a Flatiron location opening at 933 Broadway (@21st Street).

Natasha Amott is the person behind Whisk and her Flatiron outpost features a larger selection than its Brooklyn counterpart.  You can find high-end appliances from labels like Le Creuset, Cuisinart, and Calphalon next to small batch bitters from Rochester-based Fee Brothers.  The hours are Monday to Friday from 9am - 8pm and Sunday from 11am - 7pm.

Whisk is owned by the same people that run Uva Wines.  Uva is on 199 Bedford Ave (@ North 6th), just up the street from the Bedford Whisk location.  The store pays close attention to quality and price and their wonderfully curated selection of wines always has great values.  This week they're featuring some lighter style reds from Languedoc in the south of France.  Put a nice chill on them and enjoy them at your next BBQ.

Taavo Somer Takes Isa Fishing and Throws Chef Ignacio Mattos Out to Sea

Eric Asimov awarded one star to Isa in November last year.  The attention brought the restaurant into a new realm of credibility.  This year, the James Beard Foundation gave Isa a nomination for Best New Restaurant.   Things were looking up for Isa and much of this was thanks to chef Ignacio Mattos, who was making some pretty interesting, "quirky" food. 

The kitchen staff were pioneers, leading Isa down the path of culinary reinvention.  That's why it was such a suprise Monday when the Gone Fishin' sign went up and it was announced proprietor Taavo Somer let go of Ignacio, sous chef Jose Ramirez, and pastry chef Pam Yung.  A post on Craigslist confirmed the kitchen spots available at 348 Wythe Street in Williamsburg.

The forward thinking of Mattos and his gastronomic visionaries clashed with the direction Somer wished to take Isa.  The restaurant plans to reopen tomorrow with back of the house help from sister restaurants Freemans and Peels.  Isa 2.0 will include lunch, delivery, and kid-friendly menu items.

Bicycling is the Way, Bicycling is the Way

This video was posted over the weekend via Eater New York Editor Greg Morabito.  The clip stars Bill Meier, a veteran bike messanger and the delivery guy for Roberta's pizza offshoot Best Pizza on Havemeyer Street in Williamsburg.

If you have headphones, plug them in.  Your co-workers probably don't want to hear about "quarter-pound lunger's."

Reynards is Open in Williamsburg

Andrew Tarlow and Sean Rembold are the duo behind Diner and Marlow & Sons in Williamsburg.  The opening of Reynards last night in the Wythe Hotel marks the beginning of their third endeavor.

The project is the combined efforts of restauranteur Andrew Tarlow and Chef Sean Rembold coupled with Brooklyn developer Two Trees.  Reynards is the largest in Tarlow and Rembold's trio, and due to its hotel location, is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  The use of a wood-fired oven and grill will enhance the seasonal, American cuisine that persists at the teams other restaurants.

In an interview with GQ, Tarlow talks about his inspirations and his approach to room service.

"I see the restaurant as being the focal point and the meeting point of the hotel for traveling guests and certainly the local people in the community who live around here. So the notion is that we really want those two worlds to collide and be together and use this big grand bar and this place as the centerpiece for that."

Everybody's Working for the Weekend

This past weekend marked the start of Brooklyn's favorite outdoor markets.  The Brooklyn Flea is now open on Saturdays from 10am - 5pm in Fort Greene, at 176 Lafayette Street, on Sundays it moves to the East River Waterfront in Williamsburg btwn North 6th and North 7th.  Smorgasburg, Brooklyn Flea's food market, will be open from 11am to 6pm on Saturdays, also in Williamsburg.  Here's a look at the smorgasburgoodies.

The Dekalb Market, at 138 Willoughby Street, also kicked things off this past weekend with food, music, art, Easter eggs, and $1 mimosas.  Easter eggs and $1 mimosas aside, Dekalb Market will be open every weekend from 8am - 6pm.  Take a gander.