The partners say they're at the midpoint of construction. The walls are studded out, the electrical wiring is just about done, and the kitchen equipment is on order.
To a layman staring at the blueprints on the wall and seeing all the work that needs to be done, that target date of April 1 looks pretty far off. The tile floor needs to be laid in the main dining room. A subfloor needs to be installed in the private dining room, and a hand-stitched rug must be put down on top of that. They're not doing too much in the back kitchen, which includes a prep area and dishwashing.
While touring the other day, I noticed what looked like Hebrew lettering in the concrete that covers the new plumbing work. "Yes," Ofer the construction chief said, smiling. One of his workers, who does not read or write Hebrew, drew the letters for "Zahav" as the concrete was drying. Of course, this spot will be tiled over and probably never be seen again. You'll notice in the photo a black spot. David Mann, doing the sound system, analyzed the room and painted dots on the floor; the speakers will be installed above.
Ofer just returned from Israel (small town between Tel Aviv and Haifa), where he spent time with his energetic mother, known as a great home cook.
While his workers finished wiring, he bounded in the other day with a box of cream of white, a bag of flour, a package of Turkish yeast, salt, and sugar.
He warmed some water in a pot on the stove, set up a griddle and got to work on making lechuch to sample for chef-owners Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook.
Le-what?
Lechuch -- say it "leh CHOOCH" with much throat action and a bit of spitting -- is a spongy Yemenite bread, a close relative to African injera. It will be served with Yemenite soup at Zahav, and Ofer wanted to give the chefs a lesson.
The batter is thin, much like you'd use for good ol' American pancakes.
It needs to rest for about an hour, and in the cold construction site, the decision was made to cover the pot with a towel and to keep it near the pilot light.
The result was tasty -- very yeasty.
