The Scene
ZuZu's customers are the sort who've been eating at the more casual Middle East (this restaurant's older sister next door) off and on for 10 or 15 years. The rich red-and-yellow, very vertical space positively glows from indirect yellow neon tubes overhead.
The Food
You could make a night of it here by simply lingering over bottle of wine and several delicious small dishes, called mazza. Or you could instead concentrate on the main courses. "Middle Eastern" usually conjures visions of mushy eggplant and pasty hummus, but the chef here gives this cuisine of rich spices, nutty grains and legumes and roasted meats the attention and care it deserves. The Middle Eastern bouillabaisse has enough fish (bass, salmon, scallops, mussels and shrimp) heaped up in the bowl of delicately seasoned tomato broth to feed a family.