Huda New Levantine Bistro

Restaurant Beer Menus Are Going International in NYC | Eater NY

"A Levantine bistro in Williamsburg with a beer list that is "small but carefully chosen." There might be a sumac and sour cherry gose that "plays up the sour cherries in the kebab karaz," while a crisp lager, balanced with Persian blue salt, "offsets the tang of the smoked labne." Both are made by Back Home Beer, a Persian and woman-owned beer brand that produces on Staten Island. The decision to serve Back Home Beer was influenced by shared points of view: Zahra Tabatabai makes beers "inspired by the ones her grandfather brewed in Iran." The owner notes that "She’s taking recipes that her family had back home and applying them here in the city," a parallel to the restaurant's culinary approach. The beverage program is also expanding into arak — an anise liquor typically distilled from grapes — with the goal to introduce diners to different flavor profiles and to "start building that knowledge base," and the menu even includes a Yonkers-distilled version of the Persian spirit, aragh sagi, made with raisins." - Bettina Makalintal