DASH Goes Truckin’ with Yoffi

Some build brick walls, visionaries build the village.

David Abes, through his DASH Hospitality, has honed in on Dunwoody Village where he established his vision to create not just dining choices, but “a happening, neighborhood scene,” reminiscent of a town square or a quaint European town where neighbors mingle to eat and drink.

In July, Abes added Yoffi, yet another cuisine and concept to join the circle of fun. That’s why Abes calls it “Funwoody.” To seal his spot as a local legend, Abes dressed elaborately in a red, white and blue costume to lead the Fourth of July Parade through Dunwoody.

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Some outdoor tables have spinning blades as bug detractors. The roasted green beans after shakin’ in their spice bag were enough to share alongside mains.

Yoffi is Mediterranean “fast food” leaning more towards the Israeli palette. It is permanently housed in a fun, bright orange food truck complete with a digital ordering screen and easy-serve window. But wait, a truck is not a truck, when Abes recounted its history, “I drove by this empty looking trailer marked Taste of Asia, in Cornelia, Ga. When I inquired about buying it, the fella said, ‘just take it off the property.’” Meanwhile, Abes has used it for a test kitchen for the various concepts and taken the air out of the tires so it’s not a “roving” truck.

Abes shared, “I love the flavors of the Mediterranean, and wanted to infuse that into our already bustling group of restaurants in Funwoody.”

Yoffi serves lunch and dinner complete with vegetarian options. Yoffi translates as “way to go” or “beauty” or “all good” in Hebrew — there are several translations while serving “street food,” like falafel, shawarma, pita.

Menu items include a variety of house-made dips (served with fresh pita) like roasted pepper and feta and silky-smooth hummus. Entrees include five different bowls including falafel with tahini, wood roasted mushrooms with harissa dressing, rotisserie chicken, za’atar with a mild red chili relish, a traditional gyro burger, and a double cheeseburger smeared with simcha sauce. (Abes declined to define “simcha” to retain the mystery.) All of these are also offered “outside” a bowl, but with a piping hot pita.

Falafel and ‘Shrooms entrees were table favs.

The brown bags (ours was white) are fun shareables that have already become uber popular due to their “shakeability.” Diners can choose to shake up their roasted green beans or Yoffi fries with a tangy mix of malt vinegar and salt and pepper, or a savory seasoning of oregano and lemon zest, or top them with harissa dust for a little heat.

One of the best parts about Yoffi is that guests order and take a seat anywhere in the grand, outdoor courtyard. The open-air space is complete with a large screen for sports, concerts, and movies as well as a raised stage where live, local musicians and weekend DJ’s filter tunes throughout the family-friendly space.

Our best dish was Shroomin’ ($13), a roasted mushroom bowl over lemon quinoa, Israeli salad, charred scallion stems, hearty strips of “meaty” mushrooms, with harissa sauce. A clever touch was layering the hummus on the side of the bowl. The same ingredients are available in a pita for $12.

Abes takes delight in forming a community and having a place for neighbors to meet under the bright jib sails.

The falafel pita was a generous portion of several “logs,” not balls, with a bright green interior. The pita is not a pocket, so the circular flat bread makes for delightfully messy eating. The Sack of Sides is a conversation piece. Our sack of roasted green beans ($6) was cooked just “snappy” right, and brought tableside by Camron Woods, culinary director, who came with directions of how to apply the spice choice and “shake it up, baby.” Yoffi fries are the other sack option.

Yoffi serves anywhere from 50 to 200 meals a day … some through delivery and catering. Outdoors guests are also welcome to order from any of the four dining concepts (Yoffi, Morty’s Meats, bar{n}, or Message in a Bottle) or bars while dining thanks to the hand-held point of sale systems used by the service staff.

Abes told the AJT that son, Mitchell, a graduate of the University of Maryland, would soon be joining “the biz” as DASH brand manager.

Always a plus, Yoffi has free parking just steps away. Located at 5521 Chamblee Dunwoody, Yoffi is closed on Monday. 770-338-6992.