Hummus Part I: Abu Dhabi, Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv is fanatical about its hummus. Every year the newspapers publish the list of best hummus places, in Tel Aviv. And each place has its own character. My family is likewise fanatical about hummus. We make our own in Cleveland, but when we are here, we have a circuit of places we frequent. We prefer the hummus joints to any Michelin starred restaurant and it is one of the joys of being in Tel Aviv.

Yesterday we went to Abu Dhabi—to all outward appearances a hole in the wall, small tables with plastic chairs pulled out onto the pavement in front of the store front, and reggae music. Of course.

 but the hummus...ah the hummus.

We ordered three different varieties:


Meshouwsha
Cold hummus base, coarsely ground garbanzo beans with garlic and lots of lemon juice and topped with parsley and cumin and paprika, whole garbanzo beans and drizzled with olive oil. Optional (and recommended) hard boiled egg.









Machluta:
Same as above but also mixed with ful and t'hina on top.

Hummus-Ful

Hummus combined with ful (slow cooked small fava beans), topped with t'hina, olive oil, cumin, parsley and paprika and drizzled with olive oil.

Don't be shy about ordering "chips" with it.
And felafel (deep fried chick pea balls) is always delicious as well. This felafel is bright green inside from the chopped herbs with which it is made.

The pickles are on the table already.












An Israeli salad helps wash it down:

The proper technique for eating hummus is to wipe, or "l'nagev" the food from the plate with a pita. Only tourists eat hummus with a fork.

And for the hard-core, there is schug, a hot, hot concoction that was brought to the Israel by the Yemenite Jews. My husband's grandmother used to make it fresh.
It can be green or red depending on the recipe.













And now the table is set...

 The serious afficianado will leave a plate that looks like this.

Wiped clean!

And will be rewarded with a "tosefet," an additional portion of plain hummus in a plate.

And the additional portions will keep coming until the expert eater declines. Because you don't just pay for your plate, you pay for a full stomach, and they will bring the hummus until they are sure you have reached repletion.

And then comes the coffee!

The generosity is not just for the paying customer. While we were there a homeless man came and asked a waitress for money. She sent him into the kitchen to get a plate of hummus...