[title]
Miss Ada has been a neighborhood favorite since it first opened in Fort Greene in 2017, followed by Nili in Carroll Gardens in 2020. And on Friday, February 9, chef and owner Tomer Blechman will debut a third spot, Theodora, back on Greene Avenue.
Theodora expands on the Mediterranean flavors at Miss Ada. Its vegetable and seafood-forward menu is largely fired over the kitchen’s open flame.
“We try to highlight either smoke or dry-aging for each of the items,” Blechman says in an email. With the exception of the falafel and ricotta (sourdough), the dishes have either the element of smoke from the flame or have been dry-aged.”
Dry-aged fish, in particular, enjoys a spotlight here, which is not exactly an over-saturated preparation in New York City.
“The concept may not be familiar, however, I’m sure many people have tried dry-aged fish before even if they were unaware at the time,” Blechman says.
“We did a lot of experiments with dry aging fish and found out that the benefit of working with this method is the texture of the fish is much firmer, more of the umami flavor that we are looking for, the skin is perfectly crispy if you put it in the fire. Some fish is better than others for the dry age, we usually dry-age bigger fish for 7-10 days like hiramasa or striped bass, or smaller fish like trout and branzino for 4 days. At the moment we have 5 different items on the menu that are dry-aged,” he says.
The menu also includes Israeli breads and a green garlic chicken and lamb with laffa, tahini, amba and harissi. The wine list focuses on natural varieties. Beer and cocktails “whose names are derived from folklore, legendary creatures, and ancient gods associated with the ingredients,” per a press release, are also available.
The pretty, neutrally-hued space seats 75, including at the bar in the glow of the open kitchen.
Theodora is located at 7 Greene Avenue in Brooklyn. It is open Wednesday-Sunday from 5pm-10pm.