![]() It’s those small things, and reopening the restaurants, mostly for takeout and for outdoor dining at Zahav, Abe Fisher, Merkaz, and Laser Wolf, that have kept Solomonov going. “That is something I’m looking forward to the most.” His usual order is a small bowl of the number nine with brisket. ![]() The top of list? “There’s this pho place called Pho 75 that we go to once a week and I cannot wait to go back to Pho 75 and have breakfast, ” he says. He’s also compiled a long list, mostly of restaurants, that he wants to visit with his kids post-COVID. “My oldest son can make an incredible peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich, and he’s been making lunches for everybody, which has been so cute,” he said. It’s inspiring.”ĭuring quarantine and even now, he’s found comfort in being able to spend more time with his sons, David and Lucas, including teaching Lucas how to read and how to ride a bike. He acknowledges the struggles that everyone is going through, whether they’re a server, chef, dishwasher, or owner. But having an open dialogue about his own struggles, as well as those of others, is helping. “You can see what’s happening people are falling apart,” he says, noting the sharp rise in anti-anxiety medication prescriptions and overdoses since the pandemic began. He’s also a recovering drug addict, something he’s talked openly about for the past six years. Solomonov is an award-winning chef, considered a pioneer of modern Israeli food. Everyone is going through this all together.” Solomonov is known for his contemporary Israeli cuisine. ![]() “Trying to take care of your team as much as you possibly can, and giving people the space to be scared and to be able to voice their concerns, without getting defensive - these are things I need to be reminded of. “Having and giving yourself the time it takes to mope, to feel depressed, to accept that you don’t have all the answers and that you just do the best job that you can, given the circumstances - that’s kind of all you can do right now,” he says. It’s uncertain, but one thing Solomonov is definitely sure of, however, is the need to be kind to ourselves, especially right now. On the phone, he tells me that, anticipating our interview, he bought himself a bag of Sour Patch Kids “just to chew on” as we talked about something that both scares and encourages him: the future. “I think everybody is going for the journey with us.” “We’ve got these mantras like, ‘I’m making banana bread’ or whatever the f- it is, and two weeks later, ‘I’m eating takeout food,’” he says. That there are good days and bad days and everything in between. And then there’s coping with the pandemic, and realizing that each of us, in our own ways, is just trying to figure it all out.
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