14. Zahav

There’s no roast chicken, no pizza with an egg on it, no sweet-potato fries. Not here. Zahav caters neither to trends nor to your usual cravings—unless you’re someone who gets regular hankerings for sweetbread schnitzel or raw lamb with sumac and shallots. No, what Michael Solomonov and crew always do so brilliantly at his modern Israeli hot spot is stun your brain and belly out of their gastropub complacency with fried cauliflower brightened with mint and dill, or velvety, buttery hummus with warm laffa you can tear into, or tender grilled duck hearts with sweet cherries. And for this, Zahav is more than just something different: It’s a game-changer.

Best Seat in the House: Each weekend, Solomonov cooks personally for no more than eight people at Zahav’s Chef’s Counter.

Rare find: The servers—so unobtrusive they’re almost ninjas—are among the best in town.

Visit one of the 50 Best Restaurants in Philadelphia:
Zahav, 237 St. James Place, 215-625-8800.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 4th, 2013 at 4:32 pm and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.