BRIAN’S 100 BEST ’19: MIDDLE EASTERN BENTO at LAMALO

I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2019…

At dinner, the hip new restaurant Lamalo (from the brains behind Breads Bakery) serves an epic appetizer called The Daily Spread, featuring almost a dozen different spreads, pickles, and salads. I had to settle with the lunch version which is called a Middle Eastern Bento. In addition to a choice of skewers, you are served a rotating array of mezze, including sweet tomato matbucha, rich earthy hummus, and tangy yogurt. At the end of the day, it’s all great and it really doesn’t matter what you get as long as you get to dip that smoky soft Jerusalem Laffa bread. Price: $24