Paul Albrecht
Paul's Restaurant-Bar-Sushi
Philippe's taped at Pano's and Paul's
Atlanta GA
http://www.thechefpaul.com
Since the day he opened Pano’s and Paul’s, Paul Albrecht has been revolutionizing dining in Atlanta. Today, two decades plus later, he and his partner, Pano Karatassos, head their Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, which includes nine of the city’s flourishing restaurants and food operations.
Albrecht began his career learning the restaurant business at the Hotel and Restaurant School in Munich, Germany. After graduation, he cooked at the Beau Rivage and Restaurant Grand Chene in Lausanne, Switzerland, before proceeding to the Hotel Sonesta in Washington, D.C. During a stint at the Lodge of the Four Seasons in Missouri, he met and formed a partnership with Pano Karatassos, and in 1979 the team opened their first restaurant — Pano’s and Paul’s.
Together they have been credited with singlehandedly raising the culinary standards of Atlanta. As Anne Bryn reported in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Turning Atlantans on to fine food was about as easy as getting Scarlett to give up Ashley. If any credit is due, it goes first to the team of Pano Karatassos and Paul Albrecht, who pooled their savings, left Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, and opened Pano’s and Paul’s in January of 1979. The duo’s commitment to Atlanta’s fine dining has given us excellent restaurants … worthy of their stars.”
The American/Continental menu is replete with enticing dishes, such as crisp potato-wrapped Florida grouper fillet with sesame spinach, butter-fried lobster tails, and sauteed almond-crusted veal steak with osietta pasta, mushrooms, and a Marsala sauce. Albrecht is no less concerned with the quality of the ingredients than he is with innovation on the menu. Fish is purchased whole from a select list of suppliers, veal saddles are used exclusively, and all food on the menu is prepared fresh. Mache and arugula are flown in from Belgium, wild mushrooms and miniature vegetables arrive from California.
Over the years awards and prizes have been heaped on Albrecht and his team. There is scarcely a toque, fork, platter, or prize in the industry that they have not received. For instance, Esquire magazine named Pano’s and Paul’s the “Second Best Restaurant in the Country for Service;” they were selected by the Zagat Guide as “Atlanta’s Favorite Fine Dining Restaurant,” by Connoisseur magazine as “One of the World’s Top 40 Restaurants,” and by Atlanta magazine as “Best Overall Restaurant.” The restaurant is a consistent Mobil four-star and AAA four-diamond winner.
When Albrecht took over Philippe’s Bistro in 2006, he quietly slipped into the kitchen, trained his staff for a few days, and opened without a whisper of publicity. Atlanta’s foodies quickly followed; today Chef Paul's is one of the "musts" in Atlanta.
