CROWN HEIGHTS — A taste of Israel will come to Nostrand Avenue in the new year.
Fine dining chef Elior Balbul, known most recently for his work at Tel Aviv’s critically acclaimed restaurant Blue Sky, is planning to open a high-end kosher restaurant in Crown Heights in early 2017, he said.
The new eatery, Alenbi, will open at 887 Nostrand Ave. and Crown Street, serving new takes on traditional Israeli dishes — such as falafel tartar, for example.
Balbul hopes his creative dishes will make kosher dining a big deal in New York as it is in his home country, where plenty of non-kosher eaters seek out high-end kosher restaurants, not for religious reasons, but because it’s delicious, he said.
“I came [to New York] because I want to do the same thing here,” he said. “I want to show everyone that kosher food can be in all the big magazines … to make it a big thing.”
The menu for Alenbi is still in development, he said, and an opening date isn’t set in stone. But Balbul’s Instagram gives a hint of what’s to come; in past weeks, the young chef has posted photos of grouper carpaccio, ceviche and handmade pita with the message “soon at Alenbi.”
Balbul said, originally, his background is not in kosher cooking but he “really loved it” since he spent the past several years working in kosher fine-dining at Blue Sky. He’s especially excited to convert “old-school” recipes from his family into more modern dishes.
“I’m going to do some magic,” he said.
