Stylish new eatery to open soon on Antique Row
Mazie Baker would be proud. Her grandson, the chef, has taken inspiration from the foods of her émigré youth in Brooklyn, put his modern spin on it and helped build a new restaurant concept in her honor.
Mazie’s, the upscale-casual restaurant chef Eric Baker has created with partners Jason and Sandra Lakow, is expected to debut next week on West Palm Beach’s Antique Row.
“The overwhelming support and enthusiasm from our neighborhood has me more excited than ever to cook my heart out,” says Baker, former executive chef at Max’s Harvest in Delray Beach. The Lakows, who are husband and wife, are no strangers to the restaurant biz — Jason Lakow was general manager at Café Boulud in Palm Beach, and Sandra Lakow is a sommelier and former New York bartender.
The partners aim to give Mazie’s a neighborhood-gem feel and a menu focused on approachable classics presented in big-city ways. Food service ranges from daily brunch to nightly dinner, with happy hour somewhere in between.
The brunch menu lists allday-breakfast items t hatinclude smoked salmon latkes ($16) with apple compote and fried capers, sour cream pancakes ($12) with blueberries, carrot cake French toast sticks ($13), egg sandwich ($11) and a smoked fish platter ($19). More lunch-focused dishes include classic soups and salads,
and specialties like pastrami and pierogi with creamed endive ($18), a pastrami and Gruyere-topped burger ($16) and trout almondine ($19). Add to those a batch of openfaced sandwiches like pork schnitzel on focaccia, red cabbage, avocado and fried egg ($15) and grilled hanger steak on garlic bread ($17) and several sides.
At dinner, the menu notches up the global references in dishes like Moroccan lamb knishes ($13), warm curried crab dip served with naan ($16), snapper Francaise ($27), chop suey spätzle served with stir-fry shrimp and a soft egg ($15), and sweet and sour brisket ($25). Adding some deli flavor to the menu are items like handmade pierogis ($19), horseradish crusted salmon ($28), stuffed cabbage and spinach strudel. The eight dinner entrées on the menu, served with a choice of two sides, range in price from $19 to $30.
The restaurant, which will have garden patio tables in addition to its main dining room, offers a full bar with crafty cocktails priced at $15.
Mazie’s will join a local dining scene on the rise, taking its place along the buzzy Dixie Dining Corridor, where such spots as Grato, Kitchen, Lynora’s, Table 26 and Cholo Soy are thriving. Although the restaurant has been built from the ground up, it will operate on the lot that formerly housed Gulfstream Bistro & Seafood Market.
The restaurant’s tentative opening date is March 24, according to Mazie’s publicist. While the restaurant will accept reservations, Jason Lakow says management will set aside 40 percent of Mazie’s seats for walk-in diners. This more casual flow goes to the restaurant’s intended function, which Baker describes as “all-day café meets neighborhood bistro.”
Says the chef: “We cannot wait to start inviting people in.”