11/25/2023 0 Comments Laser wolf eventsSolomonov was born in Israel and raised in Philadelphia before returning to Israel and discovering his passion for cooking. Reservations are available here.Four-time James Beard Award winner and the “Solo” in the CooknSolo Restaurant empire Michael Solomonov is returning to NYCWFF to host an Israeli Brunch at his new Brooklyn hotspot, Laser Wolf. Laser Wolf will be open from Sunday through Wednesday, 5 to 11 p.m., and Thursday through Saturday, 5 p.m. “Israeli and Palestinian restaurants are really doing well,” Solomonov says. Modern Israeli and Palestinian restaurants have been popping up at a steady clip, including Shukette, which also cooks skewers over charcoal grills behind a bar while slinging out dips and fluffy, grilled breads and Al Badawi, a sprawling Brooklyn Heights restaurant with smoky, grilled kebabs and giant plates of mansaf. Still, Solomonov knows he’s entering an increasingly crowded field in New York. Condé Nast Traveler crowned it one of the best new restaurants in the world last May, and the New York Times named it one of the 50 most exciting new restaurants in America at the end of 2021. It doesn’t hurt, either, that Laser Wolf has already built up a massive fanbase that extends far outside of Philadelphia. It’s nice to be able to work with people that do that job.” From L to R: Laser Wolf chef de cuisine Michael Mayo, executive chef Andrew Henshaw, and sous chef Shaul Armony. “In our experience, there are people that are very, very good at it. “It’s very difficult, taking your product and your brand and your culture on the road,” Solomonov says. They’ve partnered with one of Chicago’s top restaurant players Boka Group - which runs multiple restaurants inside Hoxton hotels in Chicago and, soon, Los Angeles - for the first time, to help them launch Laser Wolf in Williamsburg. It’s a different playing field though, he says. The Hoxton deal is the first time that Solomonov will be stepping outside of Philly again since the NYC and Miami deals ended. In the meantime, Solomonov and Cook have kept building their Philly empire, which now includes 19 restaurants across the city. Other expansions of Dizengoff and doughnut shop Federal Doughnuts to Miami ran up against construction delays and didn’t pan out, either. Rent payments were steep - the cost of the stall “might have been more than Zahav,” Solomonov says with a laugh - and the shop, which mainly only sold hummus, wasn’t a hit with Chelsea Market’s touristy customer base, Solomonov says. It held on for two years before shutting down at the end of August 2018. In 2016, the chef, along with business partner Steve Cook, opened an outpost of hummus shop Dizengoff in Chelsea Market, at the time a highly anticipated opening in the city. The grill house, which is overseen by Laser Wolf’s executive chef Andrew Henshaw and led day-by-day in Brooklyn by chef de cuisine Michael Mayo, is a stark departure from the last time Solomonov brought one of his Philadelphia favorites to NYC. The views from Laser Wolf’s rooftop dining area. Then comes the centerpiece: Skewers - including kebabs, made with ground beef and lamb, and shishlik, with larger cubes of chicken, mushrooms, and sirloin - are dangled a half inch above blazing charcoal coals, seared and blistered in 600- to 800- degree heat, and then tossed onto platters. Each meal starts with a dozen or so cups of seasonal salatim - salads, dips, and spreads - and puffy rounds of pita. Dinner is designed to be frenzied and loud, revolving around the mangals, or steel charcoal grills, lined up behind the bar. Modeled after a shipudiya, or Israeli skewer shop, Laser Wolf is a more casual counterpart to Solomonov’s upscale Israeli spot Zahav, the award-winning crown jewel of his Philly empire. The restaurant has been transplanted to the rooftop of the hip Hoxton hotel in Williamsburg, at 97 Wythe Avenue, between North Ninth and 10th streets, and is set to open on May 1. Solomonov is expanding his breakout hit Laser Wolf, a fiery Israeli grill house that has been topping national best-of lists since it first opened in Philly two years ago. Famed Philadelphia chef and restaurateur Michael Solomonov is mounting a comeback in New York City - and this time, he’s going all in on a full-blown restaurant.
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