Einat Admony — the chef behind Taim, Balaboosta, and Bar Bolonat — is planing to open a small restaurant dedicated to couscous in either Chelsea or the West Village this fall. The chef wants to serve couscous the way it is traditionally prepared in Israel, where she grew up, with a double-pot couscoussier and a drum sieve. Because the grain is rolled by hand and water is slowly added at varying temperatures, the entire process from start to finish takes about three hours. The couscous will be served with a small assortment of proteins, salads, and condiments. Admony tells Grub Street: "We’ll have a chicken tagine with dried fruits, a mafrum — ground beef stuffed inside potatoes, and fish brined in sauce. Another thing that we’re thinking about is to keep the meat kosher." The restaurant, dubbed Kish-Kash, will offer dine-in service as well as takeaway. A set meal will cost around $20.
Back in May, Admony closed her Soho restaurant Combina after just six months in business. The chef tells Grub Street: "It wasn’t that bad, I have to say, because we had investors." Now, in addition to opening Kish-Kash, Admony is planning to expand her popular 11-year-old falafel shop Taïm in a major way. The chef says that she’s "talking to a group" about expansion, and wants to eventually open in outposts in LA, Chicago, Japan, and Australia.
With its set meals of Israeli fare focusing on one main ingredient with a variety of topping, and its casual dine in/take-out model, Kish Kash sounds a bit like Michael Solmonov and Steve Cook’s Philly/Chelsea hit Dizengoff. But Admony is not drinking the Dizengoff Kool-Aid. The chef tells Grub Street: "If somebody else would do that, trust me, there wouldn’t be this hype. That’s the thing."
Stay tuned for more details on the opening of Kish-Kash as they become available.