What to Expect From Dinner at Dizengoff NYC

Michael Solomonov and Steve Cook are about a month away from opening the New York outpost of their hit Israeli hummusiya, Dizengoff.  Like the original in Philadelphia, the restaurant will offer set meals of hummus, fresh-baked pita, salads, and pickles during the day.  But unlike the original, Dizengoff NYC will offer dinner.  Solomonov explains:

It will be a little bit different. We're going to be doing everything that we're doing in Philly, but we're going to be making some enhancements for Chelsea Market. It's a longer day at the market. 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. are going to be our operating hours, so we are going to bring some of the Zahav-style salatim to the menu. It's a pretty simple menu so we'll give people a little bit more to choose from.

The team will be using an oven for much of the cooking at Dizengoff NYC, so the chef envisions a nighttime meal that might include roasted meat as the centerpiece. "I can imagine pulling a lamb out and slicing it up," Solomonov tells Eater. "Like if you had people over for dinner at your house, you'd pull a roast out of the oven and serve it, and make it as delicious as possible." Roasted lamb shoulder is one of the popular dishes at Zahav, the acclaimed Israeli restaurant that Cook and Solmonov also operate in Philadelphia. But it sounds like dinner in Chelsea will have its own flavor. Solomonov notes: "Our bread and butter is hummus, and it's kind of what we've established here in Philly, but dinner is our opportunity to have fun and try new things out."

[Hummus with kale pesto (right) and chicken with cucumber salad at Dizengoff. Photo by Bill Addison. ]

The space will have a counter with room for about 20 people, and some of the seats will be facing each other, while others will face the kitchen. Cook and Solomonov are toying with the idea of offering dinner in seatings, one or two per night. Solomonov says that "it's not going to be about packing in as many people as we can."

Dizengoff's executive chef Emily Seaman is moving to New York City for the opening. Back in November, Seaman contributed specials to the menu at Superiority Burger one evening.  Like that East Village restaurant, Dizengoff shares its specials on Instagram daily, and the menu changes often. Cook notes: "She's changing the menu all the time — the menu is so focused and so small that we can do that." And the team has one more upgrade planned for NYC. In Philadelphia, the restaurant's popular shakshuka is only available on Sundays, but the Chelsea Market location will serve the dish for breakfast daily.

If everything goes according to plan, Dizengoff NYC will open the week of February 22, and dinner might launch a few weeks after that.