This was one of the most unexpected delights of my New Orleans trip. I had been seeing Shaya on many “best of” lists for about two years, but really didn’t know how I’d love an Israeli restaurant in my favorite creole and seafood town. I was convinced by the time we landed on this trip, but my husband continued to have reservations until the first bite of pita.
Chef Alon Shaya has been cooking in New Orleans since 2003 (after acquiring an impressive resume in Las Vegas and St. Louis following his graduation from the CIA) when he began training under Chef John Besh at Besh Steak. After a pilgrimage taken to Italy in the wake of hurricane Katrina, Chef Shaya returned to become a partner with John Besh to open Domenica, a modern Italian concept in the Central Business District. Following his success at Domenica which included a James Beard award in 2015, he opened Shaya, which immediately garnered its own acclaim, being named Esquire’s Best New Restaurant of 2015.
The lunch menu has the offerings divided between small plates, soup & salad, “for the table” (little bowls of Mediterranean classics offered 3 or 5 at a time), hummus and sandwiches. Their wine list was one of the most Mediterranean dedicated lists that I have yet to see. From Israel and Lebanon, to Italy, Macedonia and Greece, this was a wine geek’s dream. I regret to report we only sampled one glass being that it was lunch and our fourth full day in New Orleans for a wedding and the associated festivities. 2 PM heavy drinking was just not happening on that particular day. My husband ordered the Croatian Malvasia which was the perfect accompaniment to the hummus. When one thinks of hummus on a menu, an image of your standard bowl of hummus appears. Shaya elevates it to a whole new level with each of the five offerings featuring a dish of silky, creamy hummus with an equally delicious center filled with curried fried cauliflower, soft cooked egg, short rib, tahini, or lamb ragú. We chose the curried fried cauliflower with caramelized onions and cilantro. It is often said that Chef Shaya needed to open a new restaurant after Domenica in order to show the world his skill with cauliflower. He managed to sneak it onto at least one dish at Domenica, but it definitely shines at Shaya. One can’t have hummus without pita, and Shaya was in some ways built around making the perfect pita. The pita, which arrived hot prior to any of the ordered items, was divine. On the way to the back patio you can watch them being made from a massive hunk of dough that sits on the counter near the ovens. The dough threatens to stretch over the edge and fall to the floor, but miraculously never does. It is then cut into uniform pieces by an employee who then shuttles them to the wood burning oven where they transform into a perfectly puffed pita the likes of which I have never had. It is the first thing that arrives to the table with a little bowl of olive oil and spice and from the first bite, you know you are in for an incredible meal. It is warm and slightly crisped on the outside and perfectly puffed and just the least bit soft on the inside. After marveling over the pita and its accompaniments, we moved on to the small plates.
The crispy haloumi was a beautifully composed little dish of haloumi, the traditional cheese of Cyprus drizzled with carob molasses, and topped with Ponchatoula strawberries, fresno peppers and microgreens. Haloumi can be made from sheep’s, cow’s or goat’s milk, which is unripened and brined. It has a high melting point and can be easily grilled or fried. The texture was initially a bit odd to me. It was crisped on the outside and had a bit of a “bounce” to it when chewed. It was unfamiliar, but not in any way unpleasant, and the dish was perfectly balanced with the crispy salty haloumi, sweet molasses and strawberries, and the peppers for heat. The lamb kebab arrived next and was equally as delicious. Two juicy grilled kebabs of lamb sat on a swirl of tahini and were topped with roasted tomato, pine nuts, and cilantro. Finally, we had the falafel which was served with a cabbage salad that was similar to a vinegar based coleslaw, and a cucumber and dill tzatziki. The falafel was divine, with the outside being fried to a beautiful dark brown and the inside being warm earthy and spicy. The last “wow” to our lunch was the Moroccan mint tea press. Definitely get at least one of these for the table. A copper French press is filled with gunpowder green tea, a sea of mint leaves and steeped in water with freshly squeezed lemon and simple syrup. The result is a hot cup of delicious minty tea that is just sweet enough with a touch of acid to balance it out.
And, once your divine meal is complete, you can wander for hours to the nearby shops on Magazine street while walking off a bit of the meal.