I’m a pescatarian, and I believe simple is best. Today, most of my food has no more than five ingredients. We offered a couple of dishes, and it was simple, spicy, and delicious. I’d finish at the bank at 4:30 and then go open the restaurant. But I really wanted to cook, so I found a tiny space, only 14 seats. When I was 17, I started working at a bank. Every time there was a party, who’s in charge of the food? Kameel. I had an innate sense of which spices and herbs to add. Without even thinking, I flipped the omelet in the air, and my family went crazy. The first thing I ever cooked was at 13: an omelet with wild asparagus-one of my father’s favorite veggies-for my family. We made everything-cheese, pita, preserves. We didn’t have electricity in the house, only a small gas stove. Some people cook to fill your tummy she cooked to show off. My mother was an incredible cook, the freakin’ best. My father ran a small grocery store but died when I was 11. I am from Nazareth, Israel, and I’m the baby of 11 children. Read more stories like this by liking Atlanta Restaurant Scene on Facebook, following on Twitter and on Instagram.
Mask policy: required, for staff and guestsĪddress, phone: Peachtree Center: 225 Peachtree St. Service options: food court dining takeout and delivery via Uber Eats and DoorDash (DoorDash only at Peachtree Center) The pita, baba and, especially, the mujadara were superb.
What I ordered: Rosemary chicken with potatoes and tabbouleh. Is there a restaurant you want to see featured? Send your suggestions to. It’s a warming hug on a cold day, a bite that makes the pandemic a little less somber. If you’re lucky enough to score a falafel soon after Kameel scoops it out of the pan and dots it with harissa, you’ll see why he’s a star. Before I can leave, he pours about a cup of olive oil into a to-go container, asks a staffer to wrap it in plastic, and tells me to take it home to try his morning ritual. (No deep frying here!) The oil is clean, because he changes it every day. Next thing you know, he shows me he his favorite brand of California olive oil, then comes out with the giant skillet he uses to fry falafel. It didn’t take long for Kameel to appear, and ask if I was the guy from the paper. So on Saturday afternoon, I placed an order online from the food court and lurked at a table while the server assembled it. When a reader recently asked me what I thought of Aviva, I had no answer. The pandemic delayed the July 7 opening, but having a second location in a vibrant part of town with day and night traffic has helped shore things up. Coda, which offered a food court set-up with soaring ceilings and a commodious communal outdoor space, was perfect. (Kameel’s wife, Dana, is the company’s chief financial officer.) Explore Intown Atlanta dining newsīy 2018, the family felt it was time to expand. She was his muse, the one who helped him replicate their mother’s cooking, and after four decades, her name endures as part of the brand.
Aviva helped him prep dinner service while he worked days at the office. At 21, while still in Nazareth, he opened his first restaurant, Aviva Express, named for a beloved sister. Srouji started in banking, but he felt nothing for it. But when they did, he and his two sisters were always nervous: They knew their dad was going to interview the chef and ask to see the kitchen. His son, Nas, who partners with his parents at Aviva by Kameel at Peachtree Center and their 5-month-old second store at Coda in Midtown, says the family rarely ate out.
Every morning, he drinks 3 ounces of it, followed by a glass of lemon water, and a couple of dates with walnuts. A pescatarian who does not eat butter, Srouji swears by the health-giving properties of the natural fat.
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