Thomas Beisl Restaurant   

25 Lafayette Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11217
718-222-5800

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Thomas Beisl got a lot done early. He entered cooking school in Vienna at 14, and after stints in Switzerland, Bermuda and locations around New York, he found himself awarded four stars while at Vienna 79, the youngest chef ever to win the distinction. He has cooked for two presidents, as well as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, the latter two he emphatically says he's more proud of. But when asked to describe how his cooking compares to traditional Austrian cuisine he says, "It is my style. I am a melange, which in Austria means half coffee, half milk. I am half Viennese, half New York." Amiable and larger than life, Beisl describes Viennese bistro food as his passion. "It's real food," he says. The room reflects the inclusive atmosphere he prefers, with dark wood wainscoting, decorative plastered ceiling, and cream-colored walls that are characteristic of Viennese neighborhood bistros. He includes the traditional dishes such as wiener schnitzel with cucumber salad, beef gulyash (Austrian spelling) with braised beef cheeks and spaetzle, and items he says weren't available years ago in the landlocked country such as salmon, adding that they would have used it if they'd had it. The down-to-earth attitude shows itself in the prices, surprisingly low for a four-star chef, as well as in the art deco motorcycle logo that may seem unconnected to the theme of the place, but isn't. Beisl is a huge fan of bikes (particularly BMWs), and been riding all his life. -- Dan Glass