At Federal Donuts, they specialize in crispy double-fried chicken, scratch-made donuts, and coffee. Solomonov said he wanted to tell me something off the record. Mike Solomonov owns several trendy restaurants and has a prestigious culinary pedigree, but don't let that make you think he's a snob. Of course, right now also happens to be smack in the middle of the age of the rock-star chef/entrepreneur, and Solomonov has already walked gingerly into that wave of heat. Mike enjoys sharing his talent with the world. A quick perusal of Goldie's menu shows that in addition to the now-classic original flavor, the restaurant also offers versions flavored with coffee, mint-chocolate, and banana (though the options might change over time). We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. Theyre here, Chef, she said. In that role, the voluble Israeli-born, Pittsburgh-bred total-high-energy dude has started to have his ticket punched on the celebrity-chef ride. Blended together, the ingredients make a deliciously creamy, sweet treat. This search result is here to prevent scraping, Maria Gallagher wrote in this magazine in 2006, Hop Sing Laundromat Charging $75 for Bar Reservations, Exciting I-95 Capping Project Finally Begins In Philadelphia, Those Gummies May Not Have Contained Fentanyl After All, Why I'm Boycotting the Roots Picnic This Year. Id work harder than I ever had to work before and nobody gave a shit. Awesome, right? With the owners approval, he pivoted toward the Middle East. In high school, there was this really competitive five-week art program called the Pennsylvania Governors School for the Arts. I feel the most at home in Israel, but I grew up in the Squirrel Hill section of Pittsburgh. I thinkback on that time after everything that happened there a few weeks ago. [7][8] He was raised in Pittsburgh,[8] where he attended Taylor Allderdice High School. Both the donuts and the chicken are spiced with seasonings from Israeli-American spice merchant Lior Lev Sercarz, and the donut batter features baharat, a warm-tasting Middle Eastern spice blend. Thanks for reading! In the way successful chefs are these days, hes being pulled in a dozen different directions. Its something that I think about, Cook said. I was skeptical at first, he said. For years, he was addicted to cocaine and and heroin, but it took him a while to realize that he he had a serious problem. In the chefs life, one such event stands out. But he was about to find his mtier. It was so different from what I was doing prior, he says. I was sort of like an immigrant, and I was treated like an immigrant. The film, a documentary called "In Search of Israeli Cuisine," follows Solomonov as he travels around Israel eating food and talking to people about how the region's unique cuisine has developed (via Menemsha Films). I wasnt very good at accepting what happened to my brother or what was happening to myself. Very, very picky. For many years, this celebrated cook and restauranteur was addicted to crack cocaine. In the founding myth surrounding Federal Donuts, Solomonov is given credit for introducing the concept of twice-fried chicken into the product mix. It's as rudimentary and as soulful as it gets. Its a big challenge to come., But for now, most nights, hes there in the heat at Zahav. Or my wife. "It . Then he shifted to the quieter kitchen of Vetri, who, he says, taught him to slow down and really pay attention. Bourdain loses. So, how much is Michael Solomonov worth at the age of 44 years old? But well take the empire. As I stood in the midst of the frenetic Zahav kitchen midway through a Saturday-night service, Solomonov came behind me, crouched down, and opened an under-counter refrigerator. Because of my responsibility to other people in recovery, I need to figure out how Im going to be more specific and more detailed. As the saying goes, they stayed away in droves. Meanwhile, they were hinting that an Israeli street-food joint that wouldnt compete with Zahav is a distinct possibility. In addition to his duties at Zahav, Chef Solomonov is a partner in Federal Donuts, Dizengoff, Goldie, and Abe Fisher. Michael Solomonov's net worth But Michael Solomonov's future challenges are no match for the ones he's already faced. Im used to people saying Yes Chef this and Yes Chef that. It was so different from what I was doing prior, he says. Certainly not every user is winning James Beard Awards. Talking about life. And I was not a good person to work with. Cook, who is uncomfortable in the public eye, describes his partner as chief marketing officer for the brand. His celebrity will be that hes going to be one of the most respected chefs in America., The documentarian connected with Solomonov through Joan Nathan, a veteran cookbook author and an expert on Jewish and Israeli food. Emotionally, I was utterly fucked up. After a trip to Israel for his brothers funeral, he returned to the Vetri kitchen. [13][14], In 2015, Cook and Solomonov published a cookbook based on their restaurant Zahav. Sometimes we would skip school and go to Pamela's, a diner in the neighborhood that has the best pancakes in the universe. Originally published in the July 2013 issue of Philadelphia magazine. Are you ready, Chef?. To broaden things is okay, but we dont need to be doing that. In 2003, his brother David was killed on Yom Kippur during an Israel Defense Forces military campaign on the border of Lebanon by three enemy snipers, for which he volunteered. Because of my responsibility to other people in recovery, I need to figure out how Im going to be more specific and more detailed. I rarely shoot now, though. I got really into photography when I was in eighth grade. Weve gotten praise from the Israeli press, the chef reports proudly. Its just so gross. Over the course of his career, Mike has made several TV appearances on shows like The Chew, Iron Chef America, and Beat Bobby Flay. There is just something crazy that happens in your psyche when you enter an airplane knowing that youre going to open a window and jump out of it, Solomonov said. Because of the complicated rules of kashrut, as Jewish dietary laws are known, Solomonov chose to only sign on as a consultant. If you're a scraper, please click the link below :-) I was just like, What are you gonna do? At Caf SoHo, the leftover wings are wrapped to go. Or my wife. His first restaurant Zahav, founded in 2008, has received national recognition including the James Beard Foundation "Outstanding Restaurant" in 2019. With surprise hits like Zahav and Federal Donuts, Philly's most iconoclastic chef seems poised for the big time. Doughnuts definitely arent. He told Eater, When I was nine, I entered an origami competition and created this sick flamingo that was awarded. The level we do things at is high. But Im not ready to do that right now. In a world of graphic addiction memoirs written by teenagers, Solomonovs reticence is refreshing. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Learn How rich is He in this year and how He spends money? Find Michael Solomonov's phone number, address, and email on Spokeo, the leading online directory for contact information. [3][4] In 2021, The New York Times named his restaurant Laser Wolf as one of "the 50 places in America we're most excited about right now. Were a restaurant thats successfulafter five years, he said. Read the interview with Joey Baldino of Restaurant of the Year winner Palizzi Social Club here. The chicken recipe is based on Korean fried chicken, and has the same shatteringly crunchy exterior as its inspiration. So I did it. He doesnt think hed do it again. The dough is an Iraqi flatbread called laffa, and not long after it hits the bricks, it puffs up so fast that the process looks like time-lapse photography. Its micro-management at every single level., Thats the reason he heads for the boxing ring three mornings each week. Click below to listen to the full Solomonov interview: Every week, The Atlantics editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, talks to someone who is shaping society for the podcast The Atlantic Interview. At the time, he says, I was eating a shitload of wings at Caf Soho. The unlikely pairing of chicken with doughnuts never seemed unlikely to Solomonov. During an interview with The Atlantic, Mike said that he doesnt like to get caught up in the accolades and allow them to feed his ego. Per NoCamels, after David died, Solomonov decided to hone his Israeli cooking skills. Solomonov said he wanted to tell me something off the record. [15] Zahav: A World of Israeli Cuisine was nominated for a James Beard Foundation Book Award in the International cookbook category. In that role, the voluble Israeli-born, Pittsburgh-bred total-high-energy dude has started to have his ticket punched on the celebrity-chef ride. His most recent book, Israeli Soul: Easy, Essential, Delicious, was released in 2018. The Federal Donuts in the stadium is actually run by institutional food giant Aramark, which has licensed the name. Mike Solomonov looked like a television pro when he gave Ted Allen a chef-centric tour of Philly on "Where Chefs Eat" (via Philly Voice). Starting with the perennial Zagat Guide favorite Union Square Caf, Meyer developed a series of Manhattan restaurants (Tom Colicchios Gramercy Tavern was an early example), each more famous than the last. There was a need, and he was there and was hungry and had a vision for what he wanted to do., When he took over the Marigold kitchen, Solomonov began to embrace his native countrys polyglot cuisine. Like cooking, its also a way for him to express his creative side. There are 16 episodes, all of which are available on Vimeo. Sitting down with a good book is one of the best ways to relax and decompress. YOU HAVE 20,000 FOLLOWERS: $100 per post at a $5/CPM. Im more likely to get struck by lightningtwice. He then listed any number of mundane daily activities, like driving a car (and sometimes, for him, a motorcycle), that are more dangerous, statistically speaking. It is no coincidence that my business partner is somebody whom I met through Squirrel Hill. I need an amuse-bouche, he might shout down the line of cooks, as he did on a recent night when I squeezed into the kitchen to watch him work. Just then, the four people who had reserved the chefs tasting counter were arriving. [12], Solomonov also spent a period of time consulting for David Magerman's, now closed, and Citron and Rose, a certified Kosher meat restaurant on the Main Line in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. Michael Solomonov is the James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurateur behind several restaurants in Philadelphia, including Zahav, Abe Fisher, and the Rooster. He is from Israel. There was more attention last year when the pair engineered the much-buzzed-about opening of a high-end kosher restaurant on the Main Line, Citron and Rose. And there he is again, whipping up some of his newly famous FedNuts fried chicken for actress Nia Vardalos (of Big Fat Greek Wedding fame) on VH1s Big Morning Buzz Live. While you might think that cooking at home wouldn't be a new thing for a chef like Mike Solomonov, he's a busy guy with a lot on his plate, and he told NoCamels that the pandemic gave him more time to cook at home than he ever had before. After meeting business partner Steve Cook, he was able to open his dream Israeli restaurant, Zahav, in 2008. ), The concepts weve chosen are more an expression of our personalities than some sort of calculated empire-building strategy, Cook told me one afternoon, sitting in a new private dining room at the recently expanded Zahav. Also learn how He earned most of networth at the age of 42 years old? His wet suit is in the trunk, and on this bright and cool spring morning he is barreling down the A.C. Expressway toward the ocean. You cant listen to all the positive things that are being written about you when youre going to your parents and asking for 10 grand so you can make payroll. Not to mentionthough he mentioned it several timesyears of alcohol and drug abuse and the dangerous situations that those can entail. :). Maybe we just had a good feel for each other at the beginning, Cook says. Michael married Rachel Solomonov (born Turevski) . And we talk about it all the time. Something about it was very honest, and I guess I liked that. I was 19, and everybody thought I was going to be perpetually unemployed or a drug dealer or something like that. Tell us how your hometown shaped you. Two piles of crisp wingsgarlic soy and spicyare heaped on the table, along with a side dish of eel. Milkshakes have been around for awhile. If a Cook and Solo empire emerges, it will be different from what weve seen before. Lately the boss has been taking Saturday-morning break-dancing lessons with a group of workers. Marc Vetri rules over a Roman Empire, with an expanding range of foods that are all recognizably inspired by Italy. It was legitimate work, and it was fuckin hardlike, super-hard. You might think that Ted Allen is busy enough hosting "Chopped," but apparently he has time to host a food travel show as well. [17], "Laser Wolf" redirects here. In fact, the foods he likes the best are often the simplest. It's a way for him to get back in touch with his birthplace while abiding by the restrictions imposed by the pandemic. His business partner Steve Cook and his wife intervened and sent him to rehab. As a teenager, he and his family started to spend long periods living in Israel. But he was about to find his mtier. I didnt think I was a drug addict, Solomonov told The Atlantics Jeffrey Goldberg in a recent podcast episode of The Atlantic Interview. And hes got that next-level kind of drive.. That's how we met. In the founding myth surrounding Federal Donuts, Solomonov is given credit for introducing the concept of twice-fried chicken into the product mix. Cooks wife knew Solomonov from their childhood in Pittsburgh. You may not know him yet, but his work at Marigold is the best possible introduction, affirming him as one of Philadelphias most promising young culinary talents with a technique that is already mature.. Hes been named best chef in the region by the James Beard Foundation. Citron and Rose opened to strong reviews, but Cook and Solomonov walked away from the restaurant within a few months, when owner David Magerman decided to broaden the appeal and try, in effect, to make the restaurant into his own suburban Jewish community center. The public elementary school was just down the street from where I lived, and when we weren't inschool,we were on ourbikes running around the woods all day long. Isnt that Mike Solo, as hes commonly known, cooking pungent chicken shashlik with Al Roker on the Today show? Everybody was invested in each other, but I didn't appreciate it until after I left. Pour the mixture through a . newsletter, Sign up for the He then told a story of spiraling into alcohol and drug abuse and how people close to him pushed him into detox and rehab. Over the next several months, well be publishing a feature story on each of the winners. Bourdain loses. Most people would assume that someone in Mikes position would think of himself as the best in the business. Hes taking meetings in New York in preparation for shopping around a cookbook concept. At the age of 18, he returned to Israel with no Hebrew language skills, taking the only job he could get - working in a bakery - and his culinary career was born. Emotionally, I was utterly fucked up. After a trip to Israel for his brothers funeral, he returned to the Vetri kitchen. Genya was born in Poltava, Ukraina. But that next year was really difficult. The car was for his younger brother, David, who was about to be released from his obligatory duty in the Israeli army and planned to move back to the States and continue his education. In the show, he invites special guests to talk about different facets of Israel and shares Israeli recipes. And chicken together with that just seems to make sense.. Right now may be the perfect time for a restaurateur like Solomonov. We wanted to be very casual and then have this high-end thing in a different room, which was me trying to show off. That is fun. Boxing helps the crickets and monkeys in your head, Solomonov told me. Theres no decisions. But that next year was really difficult. He's also very inspired by the humble street food he eats during his frequent trips to Israel. In the first year of his recovery, he never allowed himself to be alone in the car, taking rides from Cook or from his wife, and never carried money. Finally, Chef found what he neededhe pulled a can of Red Bull out of the cooler, cracked it open, and drank it quickly, staying out of sight behind the counter. Ten careful courses lay before him, from the Negev olives to Fred Flintstone-sized rib-eye steaks and kiwi sorbet. Regardless of emotional state, a 1999 study found that over 40 percent of heroin and crack users relapsed after treatment. If you're a scraper, please click the link below :-) Were a restaurant thats successfulafter five years, he said. He married a business analyst named Mary Armistead, and moved into a South Philly rowhouse. On any given night, a customer who walks through the verdant, manicured grounds of I.M. Becoming a chef isnt something that was always on Mikes to-do list. Solomonov was insistent throughout the interview with Goldberg that he does not consider himself the best chef in the nation, nor his restaurant the best in Philadelphia, in part because he is all too aware of the risks of hubris. Weve gotten praise from the Israeli press, the chef reports proudly. I will help make him a star a little quicker. Solomonov began cooking Italian cuisine at Vetri in Philadelphia. Michael is going to be a star, says Roger Sherman, producer and director of the planned PBS documentary. Like at a shipudiya in Israel, the meals at Laser Wolf are served family-style and include an array of appetizers as well as dessert. "It's like the Jewish meat and potatoes. Before his death, David introduced Mike to many Israeli dishes when Mike would come to Israel for visits. For the next few years, Solomonov struggled with addiction. Mike Solomonov presides over an empire now, and he owes much of his success to Zahav, his first Israeli restaurant. Mikes journey through life hasnt always been easy, but his love for food has helped him find a positive path.
