Mendel Segal of Mendel’s Kansas City BBQ to Open Kosher Italian Restaurant at Eton Chagrin in Woodmere

“I am going out of my comfort zone on this one,” says Mendel Segal, a man who made his name on the kosher barbecue circuit.

Early last year, Segal opened Mendel’s Kansas City BBQ (20314 Chagrin Blvd., 216-266-0035) in Shaker Heights – a northern expansion for the restaurateur who also once owned and operated Mendel’s Backyard BBQ & Brew in Miami.

Next up for the “rabbi pitmaster” is a higher end Italian restaurant in Woodmere, specifically the Mabel’s BBQ space at Eton Chagrin Boulevard. When it opens in late summer or early fall, the restaurant will offer a full roster of Italian favorites like salads, wood-fired pizzas, housemade pastas and fish. What it will not sell is chicken, beef, lamb or, obviously, pork.

“Being kosher, a dairy place can’t have meat and a meat place can’t have dairy,” Segal explains.

Therefore, he adds, the restaurant will serve as the perfect complement to his barbecue eatery for Cleveland’s kosher-keeping diners.

“I’ve had this idea for a while,” he says. “This is one of my favorite cuisines as a consumer. I’ve become mildly obsessed with Neapolitan-style pizza. I’ve discovered that there’s a big hole in the market.”

The centerpiece of the “modern Tuscan” restaurant will be a unique Fiero Forni wood-burning pizza oven from Italy. Segal’s model will be a rotating oven that has one opening on the kitchen side, where the pies will be tossed, topped and loaded, and a second opening on the dining room side, where the pies will be removed, finished and plated.

Segal says that as a barbecue master, he feels a certain kinship with Neapolitan pizzaiolos.

“I’ve spent some time with Neapolitan pizza makers and I felt a very similar connection with that process,” he notes. “They are all about fire and literally like three ingredients. To get your best results you need to keep it simple and you really have to master your techniques.”

Segal is calling his new eatery Fiamma, which is Italian for flame.

While a meat-free Italian restaurant might seem like a challenge for a chef, Segal is used to finding replacements in vegetables, grains, pasta, fish, seafood and, naturally, cheese.

Mabel’s customers will find a completely different vibe when they return to the space, says Segal. He’s going for a more upscale feel, hipper atmosphere and lively bar scene.

“This should be the nicest kosher place between New York and Chicago,” he asserts.

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