Fresh is what comes to mind when I think of Hamburg’s impressive restaurant, The Grange Community Kitchen. Fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh sourdough, but more importantly, fresh ideas.
“How can we make it better and better?” says Manny Ocasio, head chef, as I sit down with him to pick his brain (and his stomach).
Chef Manny had been eyeing up a spot on The Grange’s team since the first few times he ate there years ago—and has been looking up to owners Brad Rowell and Caryn Dujanovich since. His past work at Zahav in Philadelphia, which features similar Israeli-influenced cuisine, made it easy for the chef to translate dishes he’s familiar with into ones that Buffalonians would love.
Now that we’ve set the scene, let’s talk about the dish: Grange hummus paired with soft egg, pickled vegetables, crispy chickpeas, za’atar and laffa bread for savoring it all.
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Laffa isn’t something I knew I needed in my life until I tried it. A thin flatbread with Iraqi origin (known as Iraqi pita), it became widespread when members of the Jewish community emigrated from Iraq to Israel in the 20th century. The bread historically has been cooked in outdoor wood ovens, which makes The Grange’s iconic wood-burning pizza oven a perfect medium. It’s so delectably soft and mouthwatering compared to eating just regular pita bread.
The za’atar spices, which also originate from the Middle East, help provide that extra earthy layer of seasoning that brings the whole dish together. It’s the unifying energy of the za’atar that really blends well with the fresh pickled vegetables.
My method of feasting on the hummus involves taking one of the triangular slices of laffa and building it into a slice of pizza. Cover the whole base of the slab with the creamy hummus while adding a few of the pickled vegetables and crunchy chickpeas as my toppings. The juice from the pickled vegetables sinks in perfectly with the fluffy laffa bread. Every bite matters.
Enjoying the romantic, candle-lit dining room with a delicious cocktail and some tasty hummus is the perfect way to wait for your main course.
Mark Goodwin is one of the food-obsessed locals behind Instagram’s @BuffaloEats.
