The eatery serves Mediterranean street food to Grand Central Market
Credit: Good People Group
Eyal Shani — the Israeli chef leading 50 eateries around the world — sees the tomato as a “flexible creature.”
It’s an ethos he also appears to carry in his culinary endeavors. “Our way of doing food, of creating food, is to change and to invent without stopping,” he says.
It’s a fitting approach for his pita chain concept. Branded with a tomato logo, Miznon has 26 locations across the globe and made its California debut with the opening of a Grand Central Market outpost in May.
The fast-casual eatery first opened in Tel Aviv in 2011, and has grown to have locations in Paris, Singapore, London and Toronto. It arrived stateside in New York City’s Chelsea Market in 2018. Miznon, which is Hebrew for “cafeteria” or “canteen,” earned a following for its flavorsome pita sandwiches, like the classic lamb kebab with grilled tomato and ratatouille with perfumed eggplant and a hardboiled egg. Other highlights include the folded cheeseburger pita with garlic aioli and the fan-favorite roasted baby cauliflower.
Credit: Wonho Frank Lee
Miznon is one of Shani’s more relaxed concepts. His other restaurants, which span from Vienna to Melbourne and beyond, also include the Michelin-starred Shmoné in New York City.
Looking for a new source of inspiration, Shani set his sights west. “For me, L.A. looks like the translation of the States into freedom and into real liberal life,” he says.
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Opening at the dawn of summer, Miznon arrived just before the neighborhood was upended by the sudden, excessive infiltration of ICE in June, sending Downtown into a period of tension and unrest with the later arrival of the U.S. Marines and National Guard.
Still, Shani knew it was the only place for Miznon. “Everything is happening Downtown,” he says. “When you hear the name ‘downtown’ somewhere in the world, you know that there, you will find life … it’s the source, it’s the root of everything.”
Credit: Good People Group
Shani’s vision for Miznon ties to pita as a mobile food, but the inclusion of beer and wine on the menu slows down the eating experience. Inspired by a Saturday ritual of making hummus and drinking wine with friends at his home just outside of Tel Aviv, he added vino to a few locations.
“It’s shaping the time of eating, shaping a different purpose of coming to Miznon,” he says. For now, Grand Central Market has beer and wine is set to be added. Then, when Shani visits sometime soon, he’ll craft a signature Los Angeles pita. But not before soaking in his surroundings. “[Los Angeles is] a big mixture of cultures,” he notes. “Enough space to live in, a lot of colors, a lot of creativity.”
Dining and Cooking