Jack's Wife Freda's Maya Jankelowitz: My New York (PHOTOS)

Maya and Dean Jankelowitz, both veterans of the Keith McNally universe (Balthazar, Schillers, respectively) have spun off their own creation called Jacks Wife Freda . JWF, which just opened on Spring street, seems to be an instant neighborhood joint. Named after Deans grandparents, the breakfast-to-dinner cafe serves the Israeli (Maya) and South African (Dean) comfort food the couple has come to love.

And it really is homey. Already Jacks Wife Freda has regulars, and as I sat trying to talk with Maya she kept getting up to say hello to newcomers, and make people feel welcome. One such regular even told me the fittingly charming secret to the key lime pie dessert special: the sous chefs wife, a city planner, comes to the restaurant after work to bake the pies so she can hang out with her husband.

The place has created some good buzz since opening. The Village Voice noted their Zucchini Chips ("Once you pop, you just won't stop"). Serious Eats highlighted their rosewater waffles . New York magazine dubbed the food South African Israeli Jewish Grandmother Cuisine , and that JWF had "effortless charm and simple, delicious grub." It's a sort of elevated comfort food -- everything is familiar but has a twist, like soft-boiled eggs served with challah "soldiers", or the peri-peri giblets, which are sublimely prepared gizzards and liver (PHOTOS below).

Being comfy and cozy and cash (is that the correct shorthand for casual?) was essential to Maya and Dean. Its really important to me that people feel that its not cool," she says, "that they can come with their parents, they can come with their boyfriend, they can come on a date, they can come by themselves. Just not intimating but comfortable. I dont know if its like that in Paris, but when you go into cafes its not a big deal. There are so many cafes. You go in, you know that the food is decent, and thats it! Its not like a big deal.

HP: Describe your food.
Maya: Everything has a little twist to it. The waffles have rose water, and then the Lebanese yogurt. The green Shakshuka is my favorite. Do you like spicy?

Not really.
Its not too spicy, it has a mild flavor, just has a little kick. Its a traditional Israeli baked eggs dish, and the sauce is green tomatillos and green peppers. And the challah toast is sweet, so its nice to mix it up together.

Or try the grapefruit: Its a small girly dish. I love it, though.

How did you and Dean meet?
We met at Balthazar. Then we ran into each other one morning at Tomkins Square Park and we had cigarettes and he came over in the evening, and he never left.

Do you have any favorite places to go in NYC?
My favorite place is Caf Mogador. Dean proposed to me there. And Ive been going there since 1999, in my single days. I like the way it feels. Its the only place we go to. I go there sometimes on automatic pilot. And we sit down and Im like I dont even want to eat anything, but I just need to sit there, kind of. Sometimes its about how you feel in a place.

And you want JWF to feel the same?
We wanted the feeling to be clean and simple. I talked it over with [designer Adam Tihany] that people dont come in and wanna start analyzing [the decor]. We didnt try to overdo it. We didnt have a huge budget.

Why'd you decide to start Jack's Wife Freda?
We cant get into any places. I mean there are a handful of really great places, and we go to the same places all the time, but whenever we wanna try a new place, its a disaster. We went to a place on Houston. We just wanted to look, maybe have a drink at the bar. They wouldnt even let us go in without a reservation to look!

I like going to a place that feels familiar. Thats why I go to Mogador.

Tell me about the name.
Everyone hated the name. Like when youre pregnant and you tell people what the name of your baby's going to be theyre like no, i dont think so... But now people are really taking to it.

Who comes in here?
Kind of what I hoped for, which is weird. Old people, boring people, interesting people, celebrities. I really didnt want it to have that hipstery thing. Were not really hipsters, so I guess its obvious that it didnt work out like that. Oh! The Beastie Boys came in.

And you have regulars already?
Lots of people have come back all the time, so thats a good thing. I feel like crying every time someone comes in. You dont even understand. There's a scene in the movie Cars, the cartoon? They're on Route 66 and nobody goes there, and one car -- Luigi, the Italian -- anytime a car passes hes like "customers! Customers!" I feel like that every time. I dont know why people come. Its like having a party and everyone shows up.

Everyone here seems nice.
Nice people! You realize youve been in the city long enough, you know a lot of people from the streets. We worked in the restaurants for so long, so lots of the staff come in. Keiths kids come in.

What do people order the most?
People love saying Shakshuka its kind of funny hear Americans --

Shakshuka
[Turns to her friend] How funny was that? [laughs]

What?
Its really funny hearing people try to say Shakshuka.

But Im an example of saying it well.
You said it well! but its still cute because you dont now what it means, because youve never said it before in your life.

What language is this?
I dont even know. Its probably a Moroccan thing.

Jack's Wife Freda
224 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10012 (map)
212-510-8550
http://jackswifefreda.com