Photo: Kenneth Chen/New York magazine [1]
To the uninitiated, the word "hummus" may invoke images of mucuous secretions. But at the aptly named Hummus Place in the East and West Village, their namesake dish is as decadent as butter.
The Hummus Place subscribes to the philosophy of doing one thing and doing it well: on the menu are hummus tahini (plain chickpea puree with a swirl of olive oil), hummus masbacha (with whole chickpeas) and hummus foul (with fava beans and a chopped hardboiled egg), all for about $5. The waiter said the hummus, which Time Out magazine [2] called "vegetarian foie gras," was merely chickpeas, tahini (sesame butter) and garlic. 😕 I’ve made hummus with those ingredients, and it didn’t make my mouth sing. He neglected to mention that the tahini was imported from Nablus in the West Bank.
The gigantic platters come with two thick pull-apart pita breads with which to grab the creamy goodness. The pitas are the best I’ve ever tasted: they’re thick, soft and hot out of the toaster. They surpass the ones at the respectable Damascus Bakery in Brooklyn and put Aladdin’s sawdust-like pitas (which should be banned from supermarket shelves) to shame.
Or, you can get the $2 sandwich special: an overstuffed pita with hummus, fresh tomatoes to cut through the richness, and a hardboiled egg to once again, make it rich. It’s a better value than McDonald’s value menu and better executed than a $150-private dinner at the Park Avenue Cafe [3]. I actually had to scoop out a large portion of the hummus, or else gobs would have plopped out. It was so good that I had the leftovers for breakfast the next day. It takes a lot for a sweet tooth like me to start the day on a savory note.
All the dishes come with a side of pickled cucumbers, onions and peppers. Their crunchy sweet-and-sourness provide a foil to the nutty hummus.
According to the Sephardic Heritage Update [4] (scroll to the second to last article, "A Bit of the Middle East in the East Village"), the Hummus Place is also planning a third shop on the Upper West Side. All the more easier to get gourmet food at fast food prices.
The Hummus Place
99 MacDougal St. between First Ave. and Ave. A, (212) 533-3089
109 St. Mark’s Pl. between Bleecker St. and Minetta Ln., (212) 529-9198