Los Angeles Hummus: UPDATE: TOP TEN PLACES TO AVOID IN LA,

THE AWFUL LIST:

Seems like there's a new trend in LA. Middle eastern joints have hiked their prices to filthy greedy territory. Who would have thought that going to a run down, noisy, dirty and mediocre tasting middle eastern diner could cost as much as going out to an expensive high class steak house in Beverly Hills.
I made the decision to avoid going to these places. I believe that only if people avoid them will they either have to lower their prices or eventually close- making the point that Hummus joints cannot treat their clients like total suckers!

AWFUL Aroma: THE WINNER OF THE DISGUSTING LIST

Aroma cafe,the awful Israeli diner was one of the first to realize they could over charge for Israeli food. They realized some Israeli's are suckers and they'll pay extra to be able to sit among other Israeli's in an Israeli hangout in the Valley.

But now there are a lot of additional places that have replicated this model.

AWFUL NANA: RUNNER UP TO MOST DISGUSTING LIST TOPPER

NANA in the PICO ROBERTSON area, is another one of the places I strongly recommend to avoid. It's simply awful.
I hated the food.
I hated the service.
I hated everything about this place.
and the price ... OUCH.
It's for suckers.
Or as Israeli's call them: FRYARS.
But for some reason, it seems that there are a lot in the Pico Robertson area and it's a shame!

AWFUL ITZIK HAGADOL: ANOTHER WINNER IN THE TOP FIVE DISGUSTING LIST

Then there's Itzik Hagadol.
Gadol means large in Hebrew.
The only thing that's large in this restaurant is the bill you'll get for extremely mediocre food and Hummus that's just as bland.

CAYENNE AND ZAHLE: ET TU BRUTUS?

The sad thing is that our Lebanese friends have learned from Israeli restaurants and immitating them. Take two restaurants I used to love : CAYENNE on Beverly Blvd and Zahle in North Hollywood. Their pricing is disgusting. For now, my recommendation is AVOID!
Perhaps the hardest for me is to write a negative review about Zahle. Even thought they've hiked their prices- their Hummus is still superb.
That said: sadly, I am joining those who won't return there in the near future.

Yesterday I went to Zahle craving a Falafel plate, a small Hummus and a salad.
Very basic plate? Right?
Wrong.
They stopped having these plates and each one must be ordered separately.
They have a new super expensive menu.
A plate with 4 Falafel balls now cost $7.00

I paid for my very basic Falafel meal $25 (Without drinking anything, without desert, cofee, sides, etc...)

For a basic falafel meal with only 4 Falafels.
I left feeling angry, cheated and ripped of.(Not to mention hungry)

So for now my recommendation is avoid even this worthy place. Hopefully their prices will come down .

I looked at the menu and realized that a meat dish and some sides would bring the price of a meal easily to $50 per person.
Why would anyone waste 30 minutes driving to this place that's not in most people's way - just to sit in a cheap restaurant and eat super expensive basic food and pay so much is beyond me.

Sad that the recession has caused both Israeli's and Arabs in Los Angeles to become super greedy.

But as so many restaurants are closing all over the city- I'm sure new ones will soon open and hopefully some of them will be middle eastern with normal pricing.

USA: CALIFORNIA: POMONA

Lately I have tasted a few new and awful Hummus restaurants in LA.
I'll soon update.
Then, a chance visit to Pomona led me to discover this remarkable Hummus restaurant.
Their Hummus is great. Simply great. They also have a lunch buffet with lots of beef for about $9.00.

If you're ever in the Riverside county and would like some good Hummus. This might be the place to go.
It's not fancy. Very down to earth and close to Western University.

I tasted Aladdin Jr. II
There's also an Aladdin Jr. #1
The one I went is located at:
PPh. (909)623 4333
296 W. Second St. Pomona, CA 91766

Here's the link to their website and the address of the first one.
I give it a **** (4/5)

http://www.aladdinjrrestaurant.com/
3161 N Garey Ave
Pomona, CA 91767
(909) 593-3887

Germany: Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Koln, Munich

Germany is a large territory and we're just starting with Hummus places. We'd love to hear from all of you to update this list. We got recommendations for this group of Hummus restaurants from a friend, but we'd love to hear your thoughts on these restaurants if they deserve to stay on our list of our Best Hummus in Germany.

DUSSELDORF

Sahara
Has a shisha lounge and live music.
Hüttenstr. 1
40215 Düsseldorf, Germany
0211 2095214‎

MUNICH

Sababa, Altstadt
Westenriederstrasse 9, 80331 München
+49 89 23237881
www.sababa-munich.com

Sababa is still up in the air as to it's Hummus. It's a middle eastern place that based on it's name in Hebrew means cool/hip/relaxed/not formal ...
(It's a slang word)
The name seems to cater to Israeli tourists and to a Jewish audience that knows the meaning of the word.
Some websites have recommended their food, but we couldn't decide yet about their Hummus.

Koln
Al Salam
http://www.alsalam.de/
Hohenstaufenring 22
50674 Köln, Germany
+49 221 216713



BERLIN
Maroush
http://www.maroush-berlin.de/
Adalbertstraße 93
10999 Kreuzberg, Berlin, Germany
+49 69 536171


HAMBURG
Mazza

This restaurant is very classy and elegant. It's on the upscale and not cheap. It's a high end middle eastern restaurant which is rather unique as usually middle eastern restaurants are on the cheap side. But it's very elegant for a middle eastern place and we'd love to hear additional thoughts on their hummus- to know if the high class of the place has elevated it to new heights or has overlooked the bassis of this cuisine?
Their info:
http://www.mazza-hamburg.de/
Moorkamp 5, 20357 Hamburg
+49 40 2841917 70

USA New York: Article from NY TIMES

My friend Amy, just made me aware that the NY TIMES ran an article today about Hummus joints in NYC. I included it also in the NY section, but for those following this blog I thought to share it in real time as it's so cool that Hummus is starting to catch on in the US.

Dipping Into an Israeli Trend
o

Article Tools Sponsored By
By LIGAYA MISHAN
Published: April 1, 2009

IN Israel, hummus parlors spark the kind of furious debate reserved for barbecue joints in this country. Pilgrimages are made to track down the best chickpea purée, and recipes are closely guarded secrets.

Hummusiot, as these eateries are called, have of late begun sprouting in New York.

HUMMUS PLACE

109 St. Marks Place (First Avenue), East Village, and other locations; (212) 529-9198 or go to hummusplace.com.

The signature dish is eerily smooth, almost whipped in texture. It comes dusted in paprika, with olive oil pooling in the center. The taste is seamless, the sesame and the garlic in a state of equilibrium.

A ladling of whole chickpeas ($5.95) brings snap, while layers of fava-bean stew, white tahini, and hard-boiled egg ($5.95) give it depth and sensuousness.

Opened in 2004, Hummus Place was a pioneer among New York’s hummusiot. It’s now a mini-empire, with a fourth outpost coming soon. But its original location, on St. Marks Place, still has a cozy neighborhood feel, decked out in warm yellow and burgundy, with polished crockery on the walls. The menu, once confined to three iterations of hummus, has grown. But the newer offerings — such as unctuous stuffed grape leaves ($3.50) and cakey falafel ($3.50) — are an unremarkable sideshow.

NANOOSH

2012 Broadway (69th Street), Upper West Side, and another location; (212) 362-7922 or nanoosh.com.

Nanoosh bills itself as a “Mediterranean Hummus Bar.” It touts its organic ingredients, but has the prefab look of a franchise, with lots of blond wood and a giant blowup of a mint sprig.

Above a communal table hang light fixtures made of acrylic panels filled with dried chickpeas. Oddly, however, chickpeas are not among the many hummus toppings available, which include sun-dried tomato pesto and grilled chicken breast.

The namesake Hummus Nanoosh ($12.50), with ground beef, gets swamped by limp mushrooms and onions. Unadorned ($6.50), the hummus is appropriately thick and creamy, but could benefit from a sprinkling of pine nuts ($1.50).

HUMMUS KITCHEN

768 Ninth Avenue (51st Street) and another location; (212) 333-3009 or hummuskitchen.com.

Hummus Kitchen aspires to a lounge-y vibe, with an aesthetic that might be described as Levantine modern: brushed concrete, wood floors inlaid with mosaic tile, wrought-iron globe lamps hung from the ceiling.

The hummus has pleasing body and a pronounced nuttiness, whether paired with chickpeas, fava beans, juicy eggplant or wild mushrooms ($6.95 each; $8.50 for a sampler).

Nearly all the appetizers are in the mixed platter ($8.50). The worthiest are the falafel — surprisingly light, with the thinnest veneer of crust — and the bureka, a flaky pastry bulging with feta, eggplant and sun-dried tomato.

The lemonana ($3.50), fresh lemonade poured over a sprightly mint slush, injects a shivery tang into the garlicky palette of the meal. The drink is practically a side dish.

MIMI’S HUMMUS

1209 Cortelyou Road (Westminster Road), Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, (718) 284-4444.

The newest of these hummusiot also happens to be the best.

Mimi’s Hummus opened in February on Cortelyou Road, the Restaurant Row of Ditmas Park.

The tiny square shopfront is sunny and airy, with only eight tables. Perforated wood planks, swooping up to the ceiling, are a clever update of Middle Eastern latticework.

The owner, Mimi Kitani, is Israeli, but her mother grew up in Morocco and her father in the Kurdish region of Iraq. Culinary traces from each country surface in her well-edited selection of small plates.

The menu notes “All dishes are homemade,” and that’s evident in the vibrancy of the flavors. Ms. Kitani’s aunt grinds the za’atar spice mix by hand in Israel. Crimson-stained turnips are fished out of a pickling jar brimming with garlic cloves.

The velvety hummus takes five forms ($8 to $9). In one version, bright with lemon, it serves as a bed for whole chickpeas that have the bite of beans properly soaked overnight. In another, the same hummus base turns earthy and fragrant when finished with cinnamon-laced ground beef and pine nuts.

As a complement, the stuffed grape leaves ($6) are moist but sturdy, collapsing only once in the mouth. Cauliflower, not the sexiest of vegetables, gets a swagger from a bold toss of parsley and tahini ($5). It nearly upstages the hummus, and could inspire a following of its own.

http://events.nytimes.com/2009/04/01/dining/reviews/01unde.html?ref=dining

EU: HUNGARY: BUDAPEST

Taken from the NYTIMES:

Hummus Bar
Address VII. Kertesz u.39, Budapest
Phone 1/321-7477
Cuisine Vegetarian
Price Menu items 200 Ft-1,000 Ft ($1.10-$5.40/60p-£2.85)
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Hummus Bar
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VII. Kertesz u.39
Budapest, ,
1/321-7477
47.50219119.065161
Frommer's Review

This is the most popular hummus and falafel bar in the city. You can eat in, seating is upstairs, or you can take it with you. Either way, the food is delicious and very inexpensive. Several varieties of hummus and salads are offered to go with the falafel. While you are waiting, don't be surprised if you are offered some tea or samples of other items. All of the limited choices are made fresh.

http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/europe/hungary/budapest/70911/hummus-bar/restaurant-detail.html