Hey guys, last week, one of our past guests was awarded one of the most prestigious awards

in the culinary industry. Michael Solominov's Philadelphia Restaurant Zahav won the 2019 James

Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurant. So, we thought it would be a great opportunity to

republish our interview with him. Plus, it's a great episode. If you like the

episode, please share it. And of course, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast wherever you get your

podcasts. We'll be back next week with a new episode. Enjoy the show. I'm Aiton Weinstein. And I'm

Naor Meninger. And you're listening to Two Nice Jewish Boys.

This podcast is made in collaboration with the Jewish Journal.

In recent years, Israeli cuisine has been on the rise, becoming extremely popular throughout Europe and the United States. This

has many people asking themselves, perhaps rightfully so, what the hell is Israeli cuisine? Some

critical voices even claim that many of the wonderful dishes Israel is claiming as its own are

actually stolen, which of course echoes a longer, deeper controversy that has plagued

the Middle East for about a century.

In a way you might say Israeli food is the Arab-Israeli conflict in a plate.

But regardless, Israeli restaurants keep opening their doors on street corners in almost

every big American city.

Lines of clientele stretch around the block and lines

of praise stretch across the food critics reviews. Michael Solominov is an Israeli-American chef,

renowned for his critically acclaimed Israeli restaurant Zahav in Philadelphia. He's the

winner of several James Beard awards, including Best Chef Mid-Atlantic in 2011,

Cookbook of the Year in 2016, and Outstanding Chef in 2017.

His cookbook, Zahav, a World of Israeli Cuisine, is a huge bestseller.

...