Eat with an expert: Zahav’s Michael Solomonov tastes Charlotte, Israeli-style

If there is a chef on the planet who has raised the food of Israel to the level of fine cuisine in America, it is Philadelphia’s Michael Solomonov.

Just getting a reservation at Zahav, his acclaimed restaurant in Philadelphia, can take weeks and a lot of luck. It’s worth it, for lighter-than-air hummus, a whole flotilla of inventive vegetables and pomegranate-marinated lamb as tender as a grandmother’s kiss.

With partner Steven Cook, he’s added restaurants from Federal Doughnuts to Abe Fisher. Named the James Beard Foundation’s Outstanding Chef in America in 2017, Solomonov has turned the food of his native Israel into an art. And not just a restaurant art: Their new book, “Israeli Soul,” with recipes like sabich (best use of fried eggplant ever) and a shortcut version of his hummus, take it to the level of home cooks.

When we heard Solomonov and Cook would be in Charlotte on Oct. 18 to speak to the Women’s Philanthropy group at the Jewish Federation of Charlotte, we asked them to join us for an afternoon of visiting a couple of Charlotte’s most interesting Middle Eastern food stops.

What should you order — and were they impressed? Watch the video to ride along.