down-to-earth, unaffected, heartfelt.
It is the food of his youth, the food
Vaknin, who came to the U.S. at
age 22 and graduated with honors
from the French Culinary Institute
(today the International Culinary
Center), grew up eating in Israel
with his Moroccan-born parents. It
is the food his mom and grandmom
cooked.
Smoked eggplant ($8), his twist on
that standard Middle East appetizer
baba ghanoush, couldn’t be simpler.
It is essentially a two-ingredient dish.
Instead of tahini, he
blends yogurt into the
• CLOSED MONDAYS
mashed, smoked egg-
• SMALL PLATES $8-$18
plant, making the dish so
• ENTREES $14-$28
wonderfully creamy that
• SERVES BRUNCH
I could have happily
• CATERING AVAILABLE
eaten it, using the warm
thick pitas on the table to
sponge up every last bit, and
called it lunch.
The new appetizer Turkish cigars
($8), a Mediterranean mezze,
reminded me of the popular Greek
spinach pie known as spanako-
pita, only crunchier and a bit cheesier
— not as delicious, though pretty
darn good. Instead of just feta, the
crispy cigars also featured mozzarella
and the Macedonian cheese kashka-
vel, and instead of phyllo, feuille de
brick, a slightly thicker dough, was
used to stuff the cheese and spinach
into; though fried, these cigar treats
were grease-free.
Vaknin’s hummus (from $14 to
$23 depending on toppings) is as
good as it gets. Made daily with fresh
lemon juice, cumin, garlic and Israeli
balls usually made with chickpeas or
tahini, the chickpea dip was silky,
fava beans; I find them greasy and/
smooth and sublime. As a special
or dull. Vaknin’s Herbed Falafel
on the day that I and a colleague
($14) did not sway me to like them
dropped by, it functioned as a super-
more. Though grease-free, they were
soft bed for tender beef chunks in a
somewhat dry and bland; the herbs
pool of subtly sweet apple cider with
seemed to be MIA.
turnips ($23). Vaknin should make it
There was no such problem with
a regular menu item. He reports that
the amazing shakshuka with lamb
the Everything Vegan hummus ($16),
merguez sausage ($18). The classic
a menu staple that features tofu and
North African and Middle Eastern
sautéed mushrooms, is “everyone’s
dish of poached eggs in a slightly
new favorite.”
sweetened tomato sauce was per-
I am not a fan of falafel, deep-fried
fectly flavored with onions, cumin
TURKISH “CIGARS” WITH
CHEESE AND SPINACH
CHEF MENY VAKNIN
seed, small cubes of carrots and
honey. The sausage, much to this
sabra’s delight (yes, I, too, was born
in Israel), screamed Middle East;
they were seasoned with the heady
spices of the region, including cilan-
tro, cumin, garlic and harissa. The
eggs, just as delightful, oozed their
runny yolks right into that red sea of
wonderfulness. It’s a dish not to be
missed.
MishMish is not to be missed.
Just bring along a bottle of wine
(it’s a BYOB) and enjoy. ■
MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE HOLIDAY 2019
35