Las Vegas’ global street-food scene has an exciting addition. Miznon, which means “kiosk” in Hebrew, recently opened at the Venetian, in the space formerly occupied by David Chang’s Moon Palace. It serves Middle Eastern food from chef Eyal Shani, known as the father of modern Israeli cuisine. To date, he has 43 restaurants around the globe, and his fine dining HaSalon is set to open this year across from Miznon.
Miznon’s menu has a distinctly Mediterranean flavor profile with French influences, delivered in the form of pitas and dips, but there are distinct dishes that you probably haven’t encountered elsewhere—unless you’ve visited other locations, which can be found in seven countries, plus Boston and New York City. On a recent visit, the counter-service seats were full of CES conventiongoers eagerly attacking handheld pitas bursting with fillings ranging from vegetables to various proteins.
The menu, by the way, is on plain printed paper in Comic Sans font, lending an air of playfulness to the whole dining experience. It’s divided into “In-a-Pita” and “Out-of-the Pita” selections, and you’ll find that repeat visits are necessary to fully appreciate the wide-ranging menu.
To start, you need to order the Original World Famous Baby Cauliflower ($12), because it’s typed in all caps and is calling for your attention. You’ll be glad you did—you won’t be able to stop noshing on the tender, roasted crucifer, drizzled in olive oil, lightly salted and charred on top. It’s also good to take home as a leftover if you don’t want to fill up.
Pair it with the hummus plate topped with melting chickpeas ($18), billed as “the best hummus that you will ever eat,” and you’ll have the beginnings of a vegetarian feast. Also consider the Bag of Green Beans ($11), prepared with olive oil, lemon, salt and garlic. Served at room temperature, it’s as addictive as a bowl of edamame at a Japanese restaurant.
Miznon is a boon to plant-based eaters, with four distinct vegetarian pitas on the menu: the Lavan ($15), with roasted cauliflower, tahini, tomato salsa, spicy green peppers and scallions; wild mushrooms ($17), an earthy concoction with scallions and sour cream; the Ratatouille ($16), with eggplant, zucchini and onions, topped with a hard-boiled egg; and the falafel burger ($16), with tomato, pickles, tahini and spicy green peppers.
But Miznon is an equal-opportunity omnivore pleaser, featuring grass-fed beef and lamb pitas. There’s ribeye minute steak ($19) and the familiar lamb kebab ($18). The rotisserie Broken Chicken ($16) is particularly notable, with moist chicken pieces enrobed in a za’atar spice mix. And while you might not necessarily think of seafood for a pita, there’s fish ’n’ chips ($17)—branzino with potatoes, parsley and pickles—and crystal shrimp ($17).
For all its innovative menu offerings, the two things that make a visit to Miznon truly stick in your culinary memory are the Israel-imported tahini and pillowy-soft pita. The latter is a warm carb cloud you’ll happily dip in hummus or wrap those toppings around. It redefines what you think a pita is, and you will undoubtedly keep coming back for more.
MIZNON Venetian, 702-607-3062, miznonvegas.com. Daily, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
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