Put down that po’boy, and pick up a falafel! John Besh protégé Alon Shaya is breathing some fresh Mediterranean air into the bust-your-gut New Orleans food scene with a menu of bright, colorful food inspired by his birthplace, Israel. The more the merrier when it comes to the array of meze offered throughout the day at this airy Magazine Street spot: creamy baba ghanoush, watermelon with Bulgarian feta, fluffy hummus with curried fried cauliflower, exemplary falafel and chicken-schnitzel sandwiches. And you haven’t had pita until you’ve had Shaya’s wood-fired-to-order version; these puffy, blistered, steaming flatbreads are as fundamental to Shaya as Chad Robertson’s loaves are to Tartine. In less-humid months, enjoy as many pieces as you can on the back patio. This may be Middle Eastern food, but it takes well to the NOLA tradition of a long, lazy lunch.
What to order: hummus with curried fried cauliflower; falafel; slow-cooked lamb with whipped feta, walnut, and stone fruit tabbouleh
We love: to make a glutenous double shot out of Shaya’s bread mastery by hitting his Pizza Domenica later for dinner
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