Chow Down on Modern Renditions of Jewish Eats at Simcha

Courtesy photo

With Simcha, Avi Shemtov explores his culinary roots—through his family tree. The chef’s just-opened restaurant in his hometown of Sharon, named for his grandmother, serves locally rare Sephardic Jewish cuisine, reflective of that community’s Iberian and Arab-world influences and different from more widely available Ashkenazi Jewish food like borscht and kugels. Anchored by a wood-fired oven for baking pitas and a wall of white Jerusalem stone covered with a graffiti-style portrait of Shemtov’s sweet savta, Simcha pays homage to her traditional recipes and his New England upbringing: think kibbeh nayyeh (raw minced meat) of local venison; shakshuka, poached eggs in spicy tomato sauce (pictured); and a very non-kosher za’atar-spiced lobster roll with pickled lemon aioli. (Shemtov also tapped buzzy pastry chef Kate Holowchick to develop Simcha’s pita program and desserts.) “We’re in a time where it’s really cool to take peasant food and elevate the heck out of it,” Shemtov says.

370 S. Main St., Sharon, 781-867-7997, simcharestaurant.com.