Flatbread in the Shape of The Brooklyn Bridge

A new restaurant opened up on Atlantic Avenue on Friday night, complete with 50 Cent on the sound system, a restaurant comic book for every customer, and house-made kale chips while you wait for your food.

The restaurants name, Maimonide of Brooklyn, is named after the scholar and physician to King Saladin, Maimonides, who was also known for his extensive knowledge of the health benefits of produce and seasonings.

"The restaurant is a project of Cyril Aoizerate," said manager Serena Price. "He loves Brooklyn and believes in a diet of fruits, vegetables, and spices."

Instead of mounted deer and bear heads, the walls of this restaurant are covered with individually mounted fruits and vegetables. In white, painted letters is an epitaph for each piece of produce, reading, "R.I.P Lemon, Died for Salad Dressing," or "R.I.P Cucumber, Died for Pickles."

The homage to fresh produce does not end here. This entirely vegan restaurant is a self-titled "love letter to Brooklyn and deliciously healthy food." 

Menu items include oven baked veggie nuggets with whole grain honey mustard, olive oil roasted yucca fries, and creamy corn soup with popcorn. The main entree is a house baked, whole wheat flatbread, with toppings such as roasted shiitake mushrooms, sauteed kale, tagine of eggplant, sauteed sour apple, and almond milk. Each flatbread dish has a name based on the nutritious benefits of the ingredients, including "Iron Man," "Belly Charmer," and "Glowing Skin."

The flatbread is served on a plate shaped like the tower of the Brooklyn Bridge, which is also the insigne for Maimonide, the restaurant's comic book hero who eats fruits and vegetables to gain superpowers.

Restaurant owner Aoizerate wants the restaurant to feel like a welcoming, communal space. The tables, for instance, fit up to twenty people, so that, as Price said, "guests will have the opportunity to meet other guests."

Price added that the menu items, ranging from $3 - $8, are meant to compete with fast food prices, "making eating better accessible to everyone," and even the restaurant's location in Boerum Hill was chosen because "it connects many communities." 

"Everything in the restaurant is about sharing," Price said.

 And whether or not you make a life-long friend during your next visit to M.O.B., you can rest assured that the food is healthy, the ingredients are fresh, and nobody can turn down flatbread in the shape of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Maimonide of Brooklyn, at 525 Atlantic Avenue, is open seven days a week from 12pm-12am.