Zahav Chef Michael Solomonov Brings Dizengoff To NYC

After some delays that left New Yorkers with some serious hummus longing, Michael Solomonov and Steve Cook's hummus spot, Dizengoff, is finally officially opening tomorrow at Chelsea Market. The casual spot is their take on an Israeli hummusiya, a restaurant that traditionally opens in the morning and serves fresh, still-warm hummus (and little else) until it sells out early in the afternoon.

Solomonov and Cook, who operate a Dizengoff location in Philadelphia, along with a slew of other restaurants including the acclaimed Zahav, have updated the hummusiya concept a bit, topping hummus with the likes of braised lamb neck with black lime and rhubarb, or avocado with peanut harissa. "They're not [the] literal Israeli dishes that you'd expect to find," Solomonov says.

Now, now, purists, calm down. There will, of course, be the classic tehina topping as well and the freshly baked, thick and fluffy pitas seen throughout Israel, which have, up until now, been difficult (though not impossible) to come by in New York. To go with all of that are salatim, or small Middle Eastern salads, like Moroccan carrots with pistachios and kohlrabi with schug, a Yemenite hot sauce. There's also shakshuka for those who can sneak out of the office between the hours of 10 and 11:30 a.m. And this is just the beginning. Solomonov has even teased the idea of hosting special dinners here with chef-partner Emily Seaman.

We're just happy to have Solomonov and Cook's presence at all in NYC: Eons ago, it looked like an outpost of their fried chicken-and-doughnuts hit Federal Donuts would be their first project in New York, but plans changed. "Rest assured, there will be a Federal Donuts in New York," Solomonov says. "We're not close at all, but it's going to happen." In the meantime, we're happy with hummus.