(New York Jewish Week) — From halal carts to kosher cafes, there are many locations to purchase shawarma in New York City. But you’ve got most likely by no means had shawarma the way in which the Spice Brothers do.
In an East Village ode to Middle Eastern road meals, restaurant co-owners Lior Lev Serkalz and David Malbeki function premium substances (meat from Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors, New Jersey’s Angel They use the bakery’s fluffy pita, making use of their native background. A Michelin star restaurant. In truth, that is precisely the place the 2 met for the primary time greater than 20 years in the past. The two have been cooks at Daniel Boulud’s flagship restaurant, and Mr. Malbeki was Mr. Serkalz’s boss.
“We’ve recognized one another for over 20 years, and we at all times joked that sometime we might do one thing collectively,” Serkarz, 52, instructed New York Jewish Week.
At the tip of 2022, the 2 lastly acquired their likelihood. Mr. Malbeki, who owns David’s Cafe, a French-American restaurant on St. Mark’s Place, warned Mr. Serkalz {that a} emptiness was opening subsequent door. “I got here down and, simply as a joke, I mentioned, ‘Maybe it is time to do one thing, possibly we should always do shawarma,'” Serkalz mentioned. “And he was like, ‘Oh, that is cool.’
Sign up for our publication to get must-read New York tales on daily basis
The thought might have began as a joke, however one thing instantly “felt proper,” Serkalz mentioned.
“I feel it was each our yearning for good shawarma and the flexibility to deliver our know-how to and create this straightforward dish on paper. That’s why we selected it.” he added. “We needed one thing quick informal, no desk service, one thing we may eat all day lengthy, and shawarma was that.”
The result’s a small restaurant serving “vacation spot” shawarma, in accordance with New York Magazine’s Grub Street. The compact menu contains shawarma yeast, a beef and lamb shawarma topped with amba (Baghdadi’s mango seasoning), tahini, and herbed labneh (yoghurt cheese) sauce, and spiced hen topped with amba, tahini. It contains objects comparable to shawarma waist, which is shawarma. Harissa (chili paste), sabich, falafel pita, and loads of sides are additionally out there.
As for the restaurant’s identify, Serkalz mentioned it is a nod to his two sons, whom he calls the “Spice Brothers.”
Mr. Serkaltz, who grew up on a kibbutz within the Galilee, moved to New York City in 2002 and opened La Boite, a Hell’s Kitchen “spice atelier,” in 2011. “Whether you are a residence cook dinner or knowledgeable, I wish to enable you study extra about spices,” he instructed JTA in 2017.
La Boite’s signature spice blends encourage and affect Spice Brothers’ menu, Sercarz mentioned. He and Malbeki, a local of Paris, use La Bois’ premium blends extensively of their recipes, such because the Shabazi spice mix of their steak fries and the Dvora spice mix of their falafel.
In partnership with Bar Lab Hospitality (which additionally launched Williamsburg’s fashionable Israeli restaurant Mesheba and plenty of different bars and eating places throughout the nation), Spice Brothers is a small a part of Hamas’s October 7 assault on Israel. It opened per week in the past in mid-September. Serkalz mentioned he has been criticized for a few of the inflammatory feedback on Instagram and regardless of tensions surfacing at different Israeli and Jewish establishments within the metropolis amid the continuing warfare between Israel and Hamas. He mentioned that apart from the embezzlement accusations, he has not seen any unfavorable influence on his enterprise. Serkals mentioned some clients come particularly to point out their help, however many others do not know concerning the Spice Brothers’ ties to Israel.
Since the warfare started, Serklaz joined different New York-based Jewish meals celebrities in a $27,000 fundraiser for Israel just a few days after Oct. 7, and on the Spice Brothers Instagram. He mentioned he had deleted a few of the unfavorable feedback posted on the gram. “I do not assume it is coming from individuals who actually wish to have the dialog,” he says. “I’m a giant believer in dialog and I’m not going to disagree so long as we will have a sound dialog, and that wasn’t the case.”
Support New York Jewish Week
Our nonprofit newsroom relies on readers such as you. To help unbiased Jewish journalism in New York, please donate in the present day.
For Serkarcz, who began cooking whereas within the Israeli navy, a lot of what he shares with Malbeki isn’t solely a ardour for meals and substances, but additionally a critical dedication to hospitality. This is clear as Malbeki cooks behind the counter whereas Serkalz chats with clients in each Hebrew and English and helps clear trays. Despite its compact footprint, Spice Brothers has a disco ball, homey really feel, with a chalkboard the place guests can write their names and needs and a choice of music that includes Middle Eastern hip-hop. It has a playlist.
“We simply thought this was a spot we needed to come back and hang around,” Serkalz mentioned. “So it is acquired the music you want, the environment you want, the meals you want.”
“I’ve been speaking to a few of my chef mates over time and thought, why cannot I serve what I wish to eat at residence in my restaurant?” he added. “So for me, whether or not I’m at residence or right here, it is the identical. And I feel individuals really feel that.”