Daniela Vergara

In a textbook example of childhood memories melding with modern menus, the Ahi Tuna Crudo at Michael Mina’s Middle Eastern Estiatorio Ornos combines the chef’s famous ahi tuna with a food from his youth. The cold mezze offering features a falafel and salad that Mina’s mother used to make, according to Daniela Vergara, Executive Chef. “When he would come home from school, she would make him a dish called salata baladi, a little salad with falafel, tomato, scallions and pickled jalapeños served in a pita,” Vergara says. “Our version features ahi and the salata baladi atop tahini sitting on a falafel crouton. This dish has varying flavors, textures and temperatures all in one bite.”

With the Ahi Tuna Crudo, guests embark on a Greek-Egyptian flavor tour. “The warm, crispy falafel has this full-bodied herbaceous flavor that complements the ahi,” she says. “The salata baladi is refreshing and a little acidic with the cumin, oregano, lemon, parsley and pickled jalapeños, while the creamy tahini brings the dish together.”