When Restaurants Get Delayed

In chronicling the construction of Zahav Michael Klein asks a question we’ve often wondered, what do you do when you’ve hired your staff but then the opening gets delayed?

Well Zahav owner and chef Michael Solomonov came up with an interesting way to keep his hired hands busy. He’s had them rework the menu at one of his favorite watering holes, 12 Steps Down.

Less than two weeks after the idea first came to Solomonov in the middle of a sleepless night, 12 Steps customers were eating chicken wings cooked in duck fat and tossed with pickled mango sauce, macaroni and cheese with New York State cheddar and Fried Calamari Salad with carrot-miso dressing.

Week Twenty: A 12 Steps Program [The Making of Zahav]