Hummus Place

We recently tried out Hummus Place at 109 Saint Mark’s Place in Manhattan. Hummus Place is vegetarian and just about everything can be made vegan if you ask.

Health Salad

This was a healthy serving of healthy veggies- tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions in a super light dressing. Although a simple salad, there’s nothing like tiny niblets of fresh cool veggies to balance the face-stuffing that will ensue, what with the piping hot pita bread and ultra creamy hummus. Your tummy will thank you for filling it with some of this. -Ev

Side of Felafel

I've never really had hummus as a meal before, so I ordered falafel to make it feel more like a meal. Well, it turns out hummus makes an awesome meal, but I don't regret ordering the falafel. The falafel at Hummus Place is the kind I like: the moist, crispy ball variety that you get at Israeli places in NYC, as opposed to the dry patty you get at suburban Greek places. You get four balls on a little plate with Tahini and delicious green hot sauce. It's easy to get overly full at Hummus Place, but if you think you'll have room, I recommend the side of falafel! -Jim

Hummus Masabacha

To paraphrase our good friend Eppy, this was the hummus-y nail in the coffin of the Tribe of 40 Sheiks. It was a few years ago that I learned that Israeli-style hummus blew all other kinds away. And after years of enjoyment sampling here and there, the Hummus Place reigns supreme. (Just writing this review has me drooling and wanting some.) The Hummus Masabacha is a large bowl of fresh, creamy hummus with chickpeas and olive oil on top. I wish I could adequately describe how perfect this hummus tastes. Instead, I’ll focus on what it’s not- it’s not dry, lumpy, bitter, overly sesame tasting, overly lemony tasting, heavy or artificial in any way. The chickpeas on top are delicious in their own right, slightly sulfurous, almost eggy but really tasty. FYI, they’ll ask what kind of pita you want: regular or wheat. I always get the regular. Best pita bread evar. You’ll burn your fingers tearing it open but it’s so worth it. Sometimes they’ll ask if you want egg on top of the hummus, so just say no. They also bring out hot green sauce. Slap that shiznit all over. It is so spicy but AMAZING. Hummus is Yummus. -Ev

Hummus Mushroom

I wasn't sure what to expect when I ordered this dish. The menu said it was mushroom stew and hummus, and I didn't understand how those two things could go together. It never crossed my mind that you can take a bunch of hummus and make a bowl-shape in the middle of it and fill that bowl-shape with mushroom stew, but that's exactly what this dish is. And it's DELICIOUS. The mushroom stew by itself is awesome. It's kind of hearty and earthy, but at the same time it's got a tangy, almost pickley edge to it. As for the hummus, well Evelyn already told you how creamy and delicious it is. The two go together wonderfully. -Jim

The Bottom Line

It's so easy to write a bottom line for a restaurant that is so good. The bottom line is you need to get your hummus-lovin self over to Hummus Place and eat. The restaurant itself is really cute and deceptively large. You may think that it's just the small front room but it actually winds back to two other larger rooms. Plus the bathroom sinks are really cool. Not that that should be the reason you go somewhere, but still. OK stop reading now and go. Jim will probably just say the same thing. And we'll be here when you get back. So bring us some hummus. Thanks. -Ev
I have advice and a warning. The advice is that, whether you order The Hummus Masabacha or the Hummus Mushroom or some other Hummus entree, get the health salad and the felafel side, and combine it all together to make one big awesome meal. The warning is that what I have just described is enough food to feed a several people, so I recommend going to Hummus Place in a group and splitting things. Otherwise you will be terribly full of delicious food. -Jim