Derived from the numeric value of the component letters for the Hebrew word for “life” — Het and Yud — 18 is a number of significance in the Jewish faith. Charitable donations are commonly given in multiples of 18, and the practice is called “giving chai” or “giving life.”
So Eighteen was a natural name for Brad Perelman to choose for a new restaurant venture out of Pinsker’s Judaica, a Jewish gift shop and bookstore that has been a part of the Squirrel Hill business district since 1954. Mr. Perelman bought the business in 1983, and at age 66 he laughed off the notion of retiring or that restaurants are a young man’s game.
“A lot of people think of retiring. I don’t think of retiring. I’m enjoying myself,” he said. What would I do? Just go home and cook?”
Undergoing a soft opening for the past three weeks, Eighteen is a kosher establishment serving a wide array of cuisine from ice cream to sushi, but the specialties include the recipes of Squirrel Hill native and James Beard award-winning chef Michael Solomonov, whose Israeli restaurant Zahav in Philadelphia is regarded among the best in the state. Mr. Solomonov, coincidentally, is a keynote speaker this weekend at the Three Day Blow Festival, the local food and literary event sponsored by Wigle Whiskey and others.
Mr. Perelman said that Mr. Solomonov came to Pinsker’s with his family as a boy and gave his blessing to use his recipes during an encounter earlier this summer. Mr. Solomonov’s chakchouka — poached eggs in a spicy tomato sauce — and hummus recipes are among the most popular items.
The interior features backlit stained-glass windows extracted from a closed synagogue in southern West Virginia.
Pinsker’s is the primary distributor of kosher wine in Western Pennsylvania, and Eighteen includes a wine bar with 200 varieties of wine available by the bottle and glass.
“This has been in the works for a long time,” Mr. Perelman said. “The store doesn’t have to be as big as it used to be because of the internet, so we’re able to convert space to this activity.”
After decades of running a successful retail business, Mr. Perelman conceded that this trial by fire of learning the restaurant business has been a challenge.
“It’s a very different animal,” he said. “It’s particularly different, I’ve found. In retail, you’re buying inventory, putting it on the shelf and waiting for it to go. Retailing is about buying the merchandise in advance and waiting, and holding inventory, and turning it over a period of time.
“But with food, you buy it every morning fresh, cook it, plate it, sell it and hope there is none left at the end of the day. And that people liked it.”
No grand opening is planned yet as he continues to work out the kinks of the new venture.
“It’s sort of like one of those TV shows where they open a restaurant,” he said with a laugh.
Dan Gigler: dgigler@post-gazette.com; Twitter @gigs412.
First Published: August 27, 2016, 4:00 a.m.
