Never has America obsessed more over hummus, falafel, and all manner of zippy spreads and dips than today. I’m sure many others laid the groundwork for the recent resurgence of modern Israeli cooking, but I didn’t catch wind of the movement until I spotted Yotam Ottolenghi’s cross-cultural chronicle Jerusalem in a bookstore in 2012. Caramelized eggplants and golden latkes never looked so good, the photography so sharp, so seductive, that I wanted to lick the page. Fast forward to last week when Esquire named New Orleans’s Shaya the best new restaurant in America. “Who goes to New Orleans for pita bread, hummus, and tabbouleh? It’s like going to a bordello for Bible instruction,” they wrote.
Come Wednesday, November 11, another leading Israeli chef—some would say, the Israeli chef—is coming to Atlanta to celebrate the release of his cookbook, Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking. Philadelphia’s Michael Solomonov of Zahav (and Federal Donuts) will be at Parish preparing a four-course dinner that will include wine and an autographed cookbook. Anybody curious to see just how magical hummus can be should reserve a seat. I’ll see you there at 6 p.m.
Dinner is $75, plus tax and gratuity. For reservations, call 404-681-4434.
