Montclair couldn’t be more lucky to have him. Vaknin cooks the same way his mother and grandmothers did: with deep respect for food. Dinner at MishMish starts strong with dips: the silky dairy-based, the za’atar-dusted and tahini-kissed dips. I’d heard rave reviews about MishMish’s hummus and was certainly not mislead. Extremely fresh and topped with olive oil, paprika and whole chickpeas, bites of hummus are pleasing to the eye and palate.