Last week, in the middle of Carnival, Chefs John Besh and Alon Shaya opened a restaurant they told us was coming, but sooner than we expected. Shaya (the chef) is a native of Israel, and he has long harbored the idea of creating a restaurant in the style of the bistros of Tel Aviv. I got that word right after reading an article about how hip the restaurant scene is in that major Israeli city. That notion is confirmed by a niece of ours, who has lately spent a lot of time in Israel.
For the past six years, Alon has been the head man at Domenica, the excellent pizzeria and Italian trattoria in the Roosevelt Hotel. Italian cooking is mostly what Alon has done in his career. But an a number of occasions he's created special menus at Domenica celebrating the Jewish holidays, to some acclaim.
The idea is now full-time at Shaya, operating in the building where Dominique Macquet operated for a year or so. (No, I don't know where DOminique is at the moment.) The building is more than a little cool, and probably needed only a little reworking for Shaya.
I looked over the menu and was surprised that it is more or less the same sort of food that we have enjoyed in Lebanese restaurants over the years. The prices are a bit higher, and the reading makes me hungrier than I expected. But I'll see you there no sooner than June. I didn't see any note as to whether it's kosher, which tell me that it probably isn't. But who knows? Who has presented a challenge to John Besh's people that they were not able to meet?
Shaya is open seven days, lunch and dinner continuously from 11 a.m.
Shaya
Uptown: 4213 Magazine St. . www.shayarestaurant.com.
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