So what do you when you're opening a restaurant, you've hired most of your kitchen staff and then you find out your opening is delayed a month, at least?
The budget is already stretched to the breaking point and absorbing the extra bodies on your payroll is not an option. You can ask them to wait, but for how long? Cooks aren't known for their huge savings accounts.
Zahav co-owner Michael Solomonov has dreamed up new jobs for idle staff. Long a regular customer at 12 Steps Down, a great bar in the Italian Market that's not known for its food (other than Solomonov's favorite pork sandwich in the city), Solomonov approached the owner about revamping the menu and temporarily installing two of his cooks to execute it.
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.
This, of course, is in addition to the best french fries in the city.