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Recently voted BEST
FOOD
nabe in New York (by Time Out New York), Hell’s Kitchen has
to be one of the most gastronomically diverse neighborhoods in the
country. Each May, more than a million people wander along the
mile-long smorgasbord that’s known as the Ninth Avenue International
Food Festival, where nearly all of the world’s cuisines are
represented. Yet, apparently, it wasn’t until this past year that
New York
was able to claim a restaurant preparing what’s known as Druse
cuisine. That would be Gazala Place, a shoebox of a restaurant
(much like many of the best ethnic restaurants along Ninth Avenue),
where the front window often showcases a tray piled with
white-and-black sesame seeded bourekas. While these bourekas look
deceptively like bagels, they’re as light as a feather, thanks to
the phyllo pastry that encases a pilowy filling of goat cheese and
sun-dried tomatoes—and while it’s tempting to grab one of these
delectables for the road, take proprietor Gazala Halabi’s advice and
let her warm one in the oven for you—or better yet, return for
dinner, where you’ll be soothed by Israeli Druse specialties.
A small religious community, the Druse inhabit
the mountains of
Syria,
Lebanon, and Israel, and their cuisine highlights some of the best
of the
Mediterranean.
There’s pita, for example, but it’s closer to a crepe in texture,
thanks to being handmade on Ms. Halabi’s sajj, a Druse
griddle that appears to be an upside-down wok. And there’s baba
ghanouj, smoky and creamy with tahini, and falafel that feels light,
and fried pita cigars filled with potatoes and spices, and foule
moudammas, a fava bean spread with garlic, pepper, and lemon.
With its dark wooden chairs and tables, pillows, and upholstered
benches (seating just eighteen), Gazala Place has the feel of a
small village home, high in the mountains of Israel—where the cook
wants nothing so much as to insure that you eat well for the night
ahead. You’ll want to return the favor—and return, often.
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