A little while back I wrote about the manakeesh—hot, tangy, zaatar-topped pies—at Gazala Place in Hell’s Kitchen and at Bread and Olive in Midtown. Manakeesh are still a bit too hard to find in NYC, but signs of improvement are trickling in: Last night at the new East Village Lebanese restaurant Balade’s opening party, Beirut-born owners Roland Semaan and Joseph Said served small versions of the pies, fresh out of the oven and slathered in zaatar. (In all honesty, I thought the manakeesh last night were a little too crisp and crunchy when they should be moist and doughy, but for now I’d chalk that up to the mass quantities the kitchen had to churn out for the party.) What I loved most: the strips of chargrilled lamb and pinenuts served over a mound of buttery rice; and the laid-back, warmly lit, narrow brick-and-wood dining room.
I left with the best party favor in recent memory: a jar of Balade’s signature zaatar—made by blending sesame seeds with dried wild thyme and sumac. NB: To make easy at-home manakeesh, you can buy zaatar at places like Kalustyan’s and Sahadi’s; then drizzle some olive oil into a couple of tablespoons of the zaatar, until the mixture is thick but still runny; then smear it over the top of an English muffin half and toast it up. Better yet: Serve it with a dollop of labneh (strained yogurt) on top.
I’m looking forward to checking out Balade on a regular, non-party night; am very happy to finally see more Lebanese restaurants opening up in Manhattan.
On that note, Philippe Massoud, chef at the terrific three-year-old Ilili, is spearheading the Dine Out for Haiti campaign to get restaurants to contribute to the Haiti relief effort. On January 24 and 25, NYC restaurants including Ilili, Aldea, Bar Breton, Lupa, Fatty Crab, and about a dozen others will contribute at least 10 percent of their proceeds to Haiti relief organizations. A full list of participating restaurants, and more info, here.