When cuisines break through tacit, arbitrary barriers, ascending from fast-casual staples to the focus of in-vogue establishments, there’s an understandable impetus for chefs to take liberties and dissemble their most recognizable dishes into whimsical components. With its credentialed chef, Tomer Blechman (of Maialino, Bar Bolonat, and Cookshop), compulsorily chic interior (pinewood benches, herb garden, backyard mural by a local artist), and a menu touted as “Mediterranean with a twist,” Fort Greene’s Miss Ada is undoubtedly a member of this neoteric breed of restaurants. Yet its food resists the preciousness, making it a new go-to for impeccable plates of hummus (and much more).
Formed from whole, warm chickpeas—à la the popular Levantine variant, hummus masabaha—they generally have three hummus options on offer at a time. Hope for a base of slumped, seasoned lamb shank, ideal for packing into swollen pita triangles, though it’s tough to resist surmounting it with a fork.
Served on little metal sheet trays, simple, protein-based entrees celebrate the inherent deliciousness of brown. Take, for instance, za’atar-encrusted rectangles of salmon, whose rose-gold flesh and copper tops bookend an edible ombre effect—astringent, putty-colored labne, ochre half-moons of shallot charred to submissive sweetness, and bruise-hued strips of Japanese eggplant, musky as distilled earth.
Desserts are a tad more tongue-in-cheek—think a strawberry marmalade sufganiyot (donut), scattered with tart, fruity sumac. It adds an appealing rhubarb-like note that’s undeniably clever, but doesn’t eclipse the fact that it’s elementally good.
184 Dekalb Ave, Fort Greene
(917) 909-1023, www.MissAda.com
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