Checking in with Micah Wexler about the progress on Mezze, we’ve learned that the new Mediterranean restaurant will not open in the former Sona space this month, as previously reported. Not surprising since there’s only one day left in December. But things are coming along swimmingly.
The debut will most likely be February, which is expected, especially when you’re trying to transform an austere, minimalist space like Sona into a rustic, warm Mediterranean restaurant and lounge. When it was David Myers’ Michelin-starred restaurant, it was small and compartmentalized; a setting for fine dining. With Mezze, expect a more open floor plan, with unfinished woods, Middle Eastern tiles, and a new lounge area between the bar and dining room. That lounge will come in handy, too: Wexler and business partner Michael Kassar brought in a Vegas mixologist, Mike Monrreal, to do all of the in-house elixirs and seasonal concoctions.
In the kitchen, the chef gets to work with a new wood-burning oven. And pastry chef Morgan Bordenave, a fellow Craft alum, will bring her own rustic flair to cutting-edge desserts. “I told her I missed crust in modern desserts,” says Wexler. “And she is a crust master.”
When asked about joining the ranks of modern Mediterranean/Middle Eastern spots like Cleo and Momed, not to mention all of the traditional spots around town, Wexler says: “The more the merrier. You won’t come here for shwarma and baba ghanoush. I’ll be taking those flavors and spices that you know, but combining them with great local products. Expect the unexpected.” That means things wood-oven roast chicken with zatar, merguez-laden flatbread with tomato jam and aleppo, and sides like baby artichokes with honey lebne. And you can never have too much lebne.
