Zhug's Small Plates Serve Up Big Flavor

For nearly 19 years, Douglas Katz has perfected the use of the tandoor oven at Shaker Square’s Fire Food & Drink, churning out a slew of Indian entrees and launching his own Fire Spice Co., for which he toasts and grinds his own spices. These experiences, bolstered by a 2019 trip to Tel Aviv, Israel, inspired Katz to open his latest restaurant in November. Named after a Yemeni serrano chili chutney, Cleveland Heights’ Zhug is hyperfocused on small plates big on flavor.

“This is really a compilation of some of our favorite flavors and dishes, and tastes and textures of those experiences,” says Katz. The curried lamb and apricot hummus ($14) is topped with ground lamb cooked in a piquant sauce of tomato, butter, nutmeg, black peppercorns and other spices.

Drizzled with a preserved lemon sauce, dill and additional chili oil and served with clay oven-baked bread, it’s a bold and beautiful take on a traditional Lebanese dish. “The lemon has a great punch, so when you eat all of that together, it really sings,” says Katz. 12413 Cedar Road, Cleveland Heights, 216-862-2508, zhugcle.com