Palo Santo chef Jacques Gautier with his son Dash, trying out the delivery bike at Fort Reno Provisions - his new barbeque joint in Park Slope. All the meat at Fort Reno is pastured, antibiotic and hormone free.
Jacques Gautier, chef and owner of Palo Santo in Park Slope, has made a name for himself with his unique take on pan-Latin food, made with the best possible ingredients – pastured meats, sustainably-caught fish, and fresh local produce, including some grown on his own rooftop garden above the restaurant.
When a space on Union Street near 4th Avenue, just down the street from Palo Santo, became available, Jacques decided to take on a new project – applying his ingredient-driven philosophy to a new kind of cuisine – barbeque.
He opened Fort Reno Provisions this week, with former Palo Santo sous chef Lia Forman at the helm in the kitchen, and Akil Marshall behind the bar. We met up with Jacques, Lia and Akil for look inside Brooklyn’s newest conscious ‘cue joint.
So Jacques, why barbeque?
Everybody loves barbeque. People in New York have always loved barbeque, and it’s amazing that there hasn’t been good barbeque here until recently. People in New York love tacos, and it’s only been recently that good taco places and taco trucks have opened. We wanted to open an authentic barbeque joint.
What makes for authentic barbeque? There are so many regional styles…
It’s a tough thing to really put your finger on because a lot of people in a lot of different places have different ideas about it. There are so many styles. When I think of barbeque, I think of large cuts of meat, slow-cooked and smoked. The smoking is the key.
We’ll be serving four main barbeque dishes here. We’re opening with three – pulled pork and ribs made from whole pigs we get from Heritage Foods, and brisket from Creekstone Farms, that we get from Pat LaFreida. We’re using only grass-fed, humanely-raised meats here. The pulled pork, ribs and brisket touch on three very distinct styles of barbeque. We don’t want to be specific to any one style here. Just as at Palo Santo, where we incorporate Central American, South American and Caribbean influences in our food, here we’re incorporating barbeque styles from all over the States. Continue reading
