Supper Club

FOOD

A construction contractor has something cookin.'

By Mara Zepeda

Add Comment | Comments: 0 | Posted Jul. 23, 2008

Love shakshouka: Shlomo serves up his signature dish for his construction crew while building the city's coolest restaurants. (photo by: michael persico)

Behind every good restaurant is a great contractor. For some of Philadelphia's most beloved dining spots, that contractor is Ofer Shlomo, a sturdy, ebullient go-to man for several of the city's top chefs.

Marc Vetri, Daniel Stern and now Michael Solomonov have all called upon the golden hands of this Yemenite Israeli who's called Philly home for the past 22 years. "My goal is to make seven restaurants so I can eat free every day," jokes Shlomo.

Shlomo and his company Star Painting and Contracting executed Zahav's massive gutting and redesign.

While his craftsmanship is apparent on every mitered molding and limestone tile there, what's surprising is that Shlomo has contributed to the menu as well.

During the five months on the job, the construction crew would break for lunch and feast on a homemade hot lunch prepared by Shlomo, gathering to enjoy his signature shakshouka, an Arabic word that roughly translates to "mix."

He set up two fry pans on the previous restaurant's stove and got to work, sauteing garlic, onions, tomatoes, scallions, salt, pepper and paprika. The aromatic concoction simmers until stew-y, then Shlomo carefully cracks eggs atop the mixture and cooks them until the whites set. Herein lies Shlomo's secret--keep the eggs whole and sunny-side-up instead of scrambling them into the pan the traditional way.

On a recent weekday afternoon Shlomo prepares this delicacy in the kitchen of his charming Fitler Square home.

"Who doesn't like eggs?" asks Shlomo with an Israeli accent. He's prepared this dish for his crew at sites from Phoenixville to Avalon. So is it any wonder that Solomonov adapted it and features it on Zahav's lunch menu?

We supplement the meal with his wife Michelle's Yemenite chicken soup, a dish seasoned with cilantro, cumin and turmeric that she learned from Shlomo's mother. "Ofer's mother said she wanted to make sure if I was someone in Ofer's life, I could make his chicken soup," recalls Michelle. "This from a woman whose only words in English are 'Welcome to Miami,'" adds Ofer.

Shlomo considers Solomonov, Vetri and Jeff Benjamin (Vetri and Osteria co-owner) good friends, vacationing with them in Jackson Hole, Wyo., and sharing a weekly cup of coffee. He even brings obscure spice mixes into the country for their kitchens. (During one unfortunate spice explosion, Shlomo sacrificed his entire wardrobe for a few kilos of sumac.)

The fried matzo dessert that appeared on Vetri's Chef's Tasting Menu in years past? Just say thanks to the guy with the measuring tape.