The 'godfather' of Israeli cuisine comes to L.A.
I eat a middle-of-the-war lunch at L.A.'s new Miznon, then I Zoom with Chef Eyal Shani
Chef Eyal Shani’s high-energy eateries — HaSalon, Port Sa’id, Malka, Miznon, among others — have long attracted droves of customers and critical raves with pulsing Israeli music and earthy, original transformations of Middle Eastern ingredients. But lately he has noticed some people are staying away.
“Israel is seen as violent,” he told me by Zoom, matter-of-factly. “It's not cool anymore, and we can feel it.”
I thought I would feel it when I approached Miznon in downtown Los Angeles’ Grand Central Market, Shani’s newest outpost and his first (finally!) in L.A. The bright hand-lettered signage surrounding the oversized kiosk-style restaurant — really a kitchen encircled by a counter — was in English and Hebrew. Israeli music blared across the food court.
It was Day 11 of Israel’s war with Iran, the news had just announced more Gazans killed near aid distribution points, and I wondered for an instant if my Wild Mushroom In-a-Pita (“A whole forest burned on a hot steel, scallions, sour cream and spicy”) would come with a side of protest.
Gradually the seats filled. Customers mostly ordered his sandwich creations, cauliflower topped with tahini, tomato salsa and spicy green peppers, a “folded cheeseburger,” or “Rotisserie Broken Chicken with tahini, za’atar, spicy green peppers, scallions,” all stuffed in thoughtful layers of flavor into warm, soft fresh pita.
Controversy? Protest? The diners nursed away at their plump sandwiches, oblivious to all.
When I described the scene to Shani, he leapt up from his chair and pantomimed a man holding a pita to his mouth with two hands.
“The pita is at the heart, connected to the head,” he said. “The brain and the heart, one circle.”
I said I was struck by the thought that people were deeply comforted, suckling at a full pita, like nursing children.
“Amazing,” he said. “Thank you for saying that.”
Pick whatever metaphor you want, the fact is people seemed very in the moment, eating Shani’s food. His version of falafel, a light, herb-rich puck with a nearly creamy center, is now my L.A. favorite. It’s food born out of the conflict, that somehow transports you far, far from it. (Read my Forward column on Miznon)
1. Here’s how I make my whole cauliflower
Eyal Shani didn’t invent whole roasted cauliflower, but he did make it into a star. By featuring it at his restaurants, stuffing it whole into pita at Miznon, he inspired diners to embrace their childhood nemesis. The photo above is, as the menu at Miznon Los Angeles lists it, “THE WORLD FAMOUS BABY CAULIFLOWER.” But my favorite recipe is one I learned years ago from the Israeli chef Erez Komarovsky. When the deeply-roasted cauliflower emerged from the oven, Erez drizzled it, Jackson Pollack-like, with pale tahini and silan, the dark date syrup. The dish is sweet, salty and earthy — and I’ve been making it ever since. Here’s the recipe.
2. Chefs helping the people who help them
David Turkell stood by a pizza prep table on the Venice Boardwalk last Sunday greeting the throngs of tourists, bodybuilders, sunbathers and paddle tennis players with the same two words, “Free food!”
The food — pizza from Little Dynamite, chicken gizzard paparadelle from Estrano, kebab from Kebab Senpai, halal Nigerian suya and others — was being doled out in exchange for donations to support immigrant rights groups in L.A. fighting against Trump administration raids.
“A lot of businesses are not happening right now because they’re scared to be outside,” Turkell, who organized the event, told me. “So we want to continue the sense of radical hospitality that existed during the pandemic and during the fires, and just keep that going.”
L.A. native Turkell, 33, began his organizing career as a camp counselor at Wilshire Blvd. Temple. After graduating UC Davis he worked on Barack Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign, then moved back to L.A. Through a family friend he started organizing local pizza restaurants for charitable causes — his Instagram handle is @turkspizzaparty — which, when the Jan. 2025 fires broke out, enabled him to arrange for massive deliveries of thousands of pies to fire victims and first responders.
On Sunday he shifted to support the people who help make all that dough: Immigrants. He called on his chef connections for “Food Fight: Culinary Resistance Against Prejudice,” with the funds going to support CHIRLA, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, and other groups.
Turkell sees himself as following the lead of Wilshire Blvd. Temple’s late Rabbi Alfred Wolf, who in the early 1960’s, as chair of the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations, helped organize the Chicano Youth Leadership Conference with educator and activist Sal Castro, training many of the students who led the 1968 East LA Walkouts. The conference met almost every summer at Camp Hess Kramer until 2014.
As I wrote in the Forward, some 7% of food industry workers are undocumented. I’m all for fixing our broken immigration system, but the vigilante harassment of people whose labor we’ve already benefitted from is cruel and counterproductive.
“It's people that are hard working individuals who are here for the right reasons,” David told me. “Some people are providing them safe spaces in the same way that I think we would have been hidden back in the day.”
I didn’t sample the food — but I did buy a $15 fruit cup from the immigrant woman who set up shop across the sidewalk.
3. What else is worth reading and eating?
🍋 Season 4 of “The Bear” has dropped, the TV show that perfectly combines angst, wisecracks and Italian beef. The show’s arc always bends toward redemption , and at least one subplot reliably centers on traditional Italian food. In season one it was braciole, pounded stuffed braised Italian beef rolls. I came up with this kosher braciole.
🍋 And, there’s also Season 8 of “Somebody Feed Phil.” I’ve been admiring Phil Rosenthal’s way of conveying his love of food and travel with zero pretentiousness and a lot of wit since his original, “I’ll Have What Phil’s Having.” Here’s my column on that first show, circa 2016.
4. New fresno peppers mean hot sauce for you
Each summer I buy a case of organic Fresno peppers, which I turn into my Eshman & Peshkin Pretty Hot Sauce, naturally fermented with beets, garlic, onion and fresh bay leaves. That’s right, the original salsa Ashkenazi.
When you join Foodaism for the year, I’ll send you a bottle of my incredible hot sauce. When you join Foodaism monthly, I’ll send you my freshly-picked verbena leaves or fresh California bay leaves from my garden. The verbena leaves will be slightly dried but perfect for steeping. Fresh bay leaves will improve your cooking, period. Each week, I’ll send you recipes, stories, videos, restaurant reviews and ideas that connect you to food, tradition, nature, you know, Life. I think you’ll find Foodaism useful, inspiring and thought-provoking. Before you leave, take a second to join Foodaism — and enjoy!