I’LL HAVE, ZAHAV

I had read about ZAHAV several months ago in the New York Times and a few other publications.  Chef Michael Solomonov was doing brilliant things with Israeli food and I had long wanted to see it all for myself.  About 4 or 5 months back my good friend and co-worker, Michelle and gone to ZAHAV with her then boyfriend, now fiancé, Eric and came back raving about their meal there.  I have slowly come to the conclusion that it is impossible to make a food recommendation to someone who you do not know well, or have not dined with on several occasions.  Taste is so incredibly subjective and unless you have an intimate knowledge of the one asking the question, can you really effectively make a recommendation to them?  I think not, but that’s just my opinion.  Not that that stops me from putting my two cents in whenever I can.

Needless to say, Michelle knows me and my tastes quite well so I had no qualms about trusting her judgements about ZAHAV and was looking forward to experiencing it for myself.  ZAHAV is in the Old City section of Philadelphia which is east of the city center and close to the Delaware River.  This neighborhood has many of the oldest streets and buildings in Philadelphia and many of the historically significant structures as well.  It took me a little while to find ZAHAV as it does not easily appear on a GPS unit, but after making a call to the restaurant when I was close to it, I was guided in through their back door.When I arrived at ZAHAV it was about 6:20 pm and the place was packed.  I was told that a seat at the bar might open up in about 40 minutes.  Seeing as I was in no rush, I was happy to wait, though I did regret not bringing Andie over with me and walking instead of cycling.  The restaurant is about 1.8 miles from the hotel, and obviously it would be quicker to travel that distance on two wheels than on two feet.  Wait I did as I perused the menu and tried to figure out what I was going to eat, or rather, what was I going to not eat so that I could have as much as possible from their very tempting looking menu.  After about 15 minutes I was offered a seat at the end of the bar.  I mean truly, I was at the VERY end of the bar.  Right next to the bar mis-en-place and literally on top of the woman to my right and at a 90 degree angle from me.  If I said I had about a 12-inch radius to place my glassware, plates, utensils and bread, I’d have been generous.  Needless to say I was not feeling very welcomed at ZAHAV at this point.  I felt like I was relegated to the back office or a closet just to keep me from saying that I was not sat.  The woman next to me was trying to engage me in conversation but I was too upset to be engaged.  I had ordered a couple of items, and before any of them arrived I saw several seats open up at the bar and asked the bartendress if I could move to one of them.  Her response was she was not sure if they had been promised to anyone else.  Wrong answer.  I was feeling a distinct lack of hospitality from the staff at ZAHAV and no sense if making the customer feel welcomed and appreciated.  I was very seriously considering leaving when the other bartender, Luke said that I could change to any one of the seats I saw open.  Great!  Suddenly the Lemonnana I had ordered-a cocktail of Jim Beam Bourbon, fresh mint, lemon juice and lemon verbena-tasted so much more refreshing with the addition of some elbow room.  That’s the image of it above.

The first item I ordered was the hummus foul which is hummus made with fava beans and served warm at ZAHAV.  It was very, very good and the laffa that came with it was served warmed, folded and spiced with some spices I could not easily identify.  Laffa is very similar to pita bread and a great vehicle to use to get the hummus to your palette.  As much as I had enjoyed the hummus, I did not want to eat it all as I had ordered a few other items and wanted to be sure that I had room left in my belly to try them as well.  That’s the hummus above and below you will see images of the grilled duck hearts I had ordered which came with date tehina, raw and fried onions and chucks of raw apple.  THAT dish was amazing.  I think it was my favorite of the night.  I followed up the duck hearts with fried salt cod with preserved lemons and shifka peppers.  It reminded me of a salt cod beignet or fritter and definitely satisfied the salty fried food craving I was having.  Next up was the fried cauliflower which, as I understand it is one of the more popular items on the menu.  Order it and understand why. I wasn’t really hungry after the above, but reading the description of the smoked sable fish with challah bread, fried egg and poppy, I just had to experience it for myself.  So, what they do is treat the challah bread and egg like a toad in a hole.  The bread is cooked with an egg in its center and made crisp in the pan.  When you cut into the challah, it releases the egg and you end up with a version of eggs, bread and smoked fish like you’ve never had.  There was no way I was not going to taste a kebab so I ordered the merguez of ground lamb with sour cherry and cilantro.  It was good, but I think I should have gotten the duck kebab instead.   Luke asked if I wanted dessert and I opted for some Amaretto on the rocks instead.  As I was sipping my Amaretto, I met a couple, Bob and Galina from Wilmington, Delaware.  Bob had just lost his reading glasses and Galina hadn’t brought hers so they asked me if I could read the menu to them, which I happily did.  I was even able to show them so photos as I had chronicled everything I had eaten up until then.  I had a lovely time chatting with Bob and Galina and asked them to checkout my blog.  Hopefully they will and I told them if they wanted any restaurant recommendations in New York before they come on their next trip, that I was definitely the man to look up and happy to offer them some advice.  Thanks again Luke and the entire staff at ZAHAV and to Bob and Galina for the second Amaretto on the rocks and a most enjoyable dinner conversation.