Gazala's Restaurant, New York

At Gazala’s, chef and owner Gazala Halabi welcomes clients into an extension of her homeland characterized by the aromatic spices of authentic Druze cooking. Druze, an Islamic Gnostic sect found in Israel and surrounding Mediterranean countries, sustains a cuisine similar to Middle Eastern fare but with minor differences, such as substituting paper-thin bread called sagg for pita and frisbees for plates. The cuisine, which Gazala made in her own kitchen until she acquired a second, larger restaurant, has been featured by Village Voice and profiled by New York magazine.