"There’s hot sauce, and then there’s the red schug at Yafo Kitchen. Chef Shai Fargian’s empire, popular for its Middle Eastern spin on the fast-casual, build-your-own-bowl model, is also popular because he stays true to his fine-dining roots; simple, quality ingredients can be transformative in the right hands. That goes for the red schug, made from the highest quality chilies, which beget a condiment approaching Beelzebubian levels of fire, as well as the hummus, made from scratch and blended until it is smoother than the smoothest of silk. Both are required additions to the chicken schnitzel here, not because the chicken lacks flavor (on the contrary, it’s crisp, fried-to-order, and wonderful on its own), but because, as he will love to tell you, “This is how we eat it back home.” Which, come to think of it, isn’t that how everyone describes the dishes they most love?" - Timothy DePeugh