Bazaar is the name of the temporary restaurant in the Statler Hotel downtown space previously occupied by Sauvage. Chef Belal Kattan, a Syrian-American is the owner behind the concept of blending Syrian flavors with American food. After working in a number of restaurants around town including Cry Wolf and Georgie he has landed in this space for a month offering a 5 course tasting for $135 per person. Previously his pop-ups around town have featured his favorite medium, pasta, and this tasting features it in one course. The space has new paint and less counter seating and more table options. It opened last Friday, goes through June 27 and intends to entirely change the menu after every 6 services, so it wouldn’t be out of the question to go more than once. Thus I’m moving it to the head of the queue to give you ample time to get a reservation and go. It’s a fun casual evening with a limited bar available as well as pairings for the tasting. You can make reservations through Open Table and I suggest you do. There is street parking available or you can valet for free with the Statler (they give you a code). In full disclosure, we first met Belal at Cry Wolf and then ran into him at Georgie and his creativity is matched by his kindness and love for food, so I’m not without prejudice but it’s important to support young, talented people who are trying to make their way in a very competitive field. Hopefully the Statler will see the light and ask him to extend his stay for another month. In the meantime I hope you will try it out and let me know what you think. I enjoyed my dinner there. Continue reading
