While it took me almost six months to get to it, Chicago stubbornly avoided the modern Israeli cuisine movement in the United States for more than a decade after its primary domestic proponent, Michael Solomonov, opened Zahav in Philadelphia in 2008.
It’s even better at Galit. Just as at Shaya, the first role of the pita is performative: the sight of these steaming, charred ovoids is preceded by their fresh, yeasty smell wafting across the dining room. But the bread itself is different. Engel says that toward the end of his time at Shaya the restaurant was dabbling with fresh-milled flours. Here he’s using part heirloom Turkey Red flour, resulting in a darker, more flavorful bread, and a 48-hour bulk fermentation, which results in a heartier, yet softer crumb.
Certain Israeli-associated staples set outstanding standards. Shatteringly crisp falafel open onto moist, fluffy chickpea clouds vivid green with herbs, served atop labneh compounded with amba, funky fermented mango spread. Shakshukah, served with a folded shroud of za’atar-smeared laffa, is a formidable skillet of roasted sweet potato and eggs coddled in tomato sauce so bright it would blind you were it not blanketed in cilantro, dill, parsley, and green onion tops. “We go through 30 pounds of parsley a week,” says Engel. “And we don’t have tabouli.”
2429 N. Lincoln 773-360-8755 galitrestaurant.com
