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A collection of small plates from Susie & Esther
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(From left) Husband-and-wife team and co-founders of Susie & Esther, Tony Hacker and Yael Cantor
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Sabich, crispy eggplant with potato slices, tahini, hummus, an overnight egg and more stuffed into a fresh pita, available on the Live Laffa Love menu
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A chicken schnitzel sandwich on everything challah bread
“I took the first bite, and I was a kid again at my grandma’s table,” Yael Cantor says of a matzo ball soup recipe she tested recently in preparation for Hanukkah.
Cantor and her husband, Tony Hacker, founders of the Mediterranean and Jewish-American pop-up Susie & Esther, will offer a multiday menu featuring holiday specials set to debut on Friday, Dec. 11.
Named for her grandmothers, Susie & Esther is a homage to Cantor’s heritage, every warm laffa, bowl of cous cous and loaf of rich challah a reflection of the meals and memories that shaped her. She credits both grandmothers for teaching her, and later Hacker, how to love and appreciate food.
“My mom is Moroccan-Israeli, and my dad is Jewish-American,” says the former Saison and Mamma Zu’s bartender. “Growing up, [my family and I] would go to Israel and eat cous cous and Moroccan stew at my Moroccan grandmother’s house and then come to my American grandma’s, where I would have matzo ball soup and brisket and potato latkes.”
Through Susie & Esther, the duo are sharing the flavors of their family with Richmond through a weekly residency in The Jasper’s rotating cast of dining pop-ups dubbed the Friends and Family Series.
“This has been our dream for a really long time,” Cantor says, noting that travel and food are at the forefront of her relationship with her husband. The pair have backpacked through Europe and Southeast Asia and took a three-month cross-country trek through the United States.
When the pandemic struck, the pair were in Tel Aviv, Israel, visiting Cantor’s parents and were initially unable to leave. Sequestered inside, they often found themselves gravitating toward the kitchen.
“We started cooking nonstop every day and going off of my grandmothers’ recipes and learning,” says 28-year-old Cantor. “Cooking kind of saved us.”
Upon returning to America, the food and beverage workers struggled to find jobs in the industry, as restaurants and bars across the country shut their doors or paused indoor dining. While the newlyweds, married just over a year ago, were trying to figure out a plan, they got a call from The Jasper — Hacker was once a bartender at the Carytown watering hole — about a potential gig for an upcoming pop-up series.
Debuting Susie & Esther at the end of August, both Cantor and Hacker have stepped out of the front-of-house realm and made the shift to the kitchen, since then serving food two nights a week out of Carytown Cupcakes along with appearances at Helen’s in the Fan and even catering an intimate wedding.
With eyes on a future brick-and-mortar operation, Cantor says the opportunity with The Jasper has granted them a chance to test out potential menu items, see what dishes people like and stay connected to the hospitality industry.
Typically, Susie & Esther dedicates each pop-up night to a specific themed menu. At “Yaeli’s Deli,” diners can order a collection of sandwiches from schnitzel with matbuha, a Moroccan roasted pepper and tomato salad, served on an everything challah roll to a Reuben with house-made pastrami and Cantor’s favorite, the sabich, crispy fried eggplant with potatoes, an overnight egg, spicy tomato salad, hummus and tahini in served on a pita. On “Live, Laffa Love” nights, chicken shawarma, beef and lamb, and falafel are served in laffa, a pliable Middle Eastern flatbread, while hummus nights showcase the possibilities of the staple dish.
Often viewed as an appetizer or snack in Western culture, hummus is one of the creations Cantor has been most excited to share with the community. Susie & Esther's version is made fresh each day and served warm.
“When I was raised it was lunch — you eat it, and you are taking a huge nap afterward because you’re so full,” she says with a laugh. “We’re trying to introduce people to that version of hummus.”
Small plates from past pop-ups have included the strained yogurt labneh, Jerusalem pretzels, beet salad with feta, tabbouleh, the Israeli hot sauce schug and tahini cookies.
Starting Friday, Susie & Esther will feature four nights of Hanukkah meals — Dec. 11 Cous Cous Night, Dec. 14 Hummus Night, Dec. 16 Yaeli’s Deli and Dec. 18 Live Laffa Love. In addition, potato latkes, matzo ball soup and fresh jelly doughnuts will be available each night.
While this holiday will undoubtedly be different, Cantor says she knows firsthand the magical power of food and its ability to bring people together despite distance or differences.
“The only way I could relate to her was through food,” she says of her grandmother Esther. "She didn’t speak English, so she would feed me all the time, and that was how she showed love."
Embracing the values, recipes and lessons the two inspirations behind their venture have taught them, they hope to do the same through Susie & Esther.
"As much as I love food and I love hospitality, that’s what I got from my family: Feeding people is showing love," Cantor says.
