Falafel Baribua, Tel-Aviv - surprise, there's hummus!

Lunch is a big part of my day.

It's an opportunity to get out of the office, stretch my legs, grab something delicious to eat, and practice my abstinence while avoiding unhealthy stuff in favor of trying to get thinner, sexier and less explosive when it comes to my liver.

Hummus is a great option, since it's one of my favorite foods, and when it's actually made fresh - it's not as bad for you. Sure, hummus, tahini and olive oil are fats, but they're the good kind, and when you eat with a fork instead of a pita - you win!

Below is today's lunch, from a place that specializes in falafel but actually serves a decent hummus.

A photo posted by אוכל בחוץ (@food_out) on Jan 4, 2016 at 7:56am PST

Most talked-about hummus in Jaffa (and Israel)

While hummus, like most foods is a subjective matter, one of the most debated, appreciated, talked-about and recommended places for hummus is Abu-Hasan.

While other dishes tend to be easier to classify, hummus, being basically a mushy paste with toppings is a tad harder to pinpoint. Thus, there are several go-to hummus masters, venues and genres used to ease the definition of what you are eating.

Abu-Hassan is one of them, if not the main one.

This specific location is so popular that the owners opened another branch right across the street and they are both packed at all opening hours (although they start early).

They close the doors as soon as the hummus ends (rather than making new batches) which usually occurs in the early afternoon; you'll be lucky to visit around 15:00 and find any food left.

While hummus enthusiasts might pick other (obscure) places as their all time favorites, this hummus is a touchstone frequently name-dropped in every hummus discussion.

It's also hailed by most as the best hummus ever, the best msabbaha ever, and other titles of grandeur.

I had the pleasure of eating an early morning plate of hummus with fava beans, whole chickpeas and msabbaha (hot hummus mixed with tahini) just several day ago.

The food arrived to our table within a minute, and was delicious to say the least.

It's even better than it looks

The food is great, they always deliver, within moments of your order and the prices are on the lower side of the hummus pricing scale.

There's aren't many options - this is a place you go to for hummus, with an addition of falafel and fries, but that's it. They're good at what they do and there's no need for new ventures.

The place is a must whether you're a tourist or just looking to grab a plate of good hummus.

It might not be your personal best as hummus styles vary, but you owe it yourself to try them at least once, and if you do ask for the triple dish (as seen in the picture) - to get a taste of several styles of hummus. 

Bottom line:

Location: clean, well lit, nicely designed, but quite loud - there's plenty of shouting from the staff, it's a thing

Staff: courteous and helpful, great and fast service

Pricing: relatively low

Food: some say it's the best hummus in the universe

Verdict: worth coming back to, again and again

Falafel Baribua | Yad Harutzim 15, Tel-Aviv

Although named Falafel Baribua (which means square falafel), the venue (part of a chain) also offers quite the mean hummus - and a vegan take on shawarma (doner).

On this occasion I had a wonderful plate of hummus, with fava beans, chickpeas, tahini, parsley, olive oil and a garnish of paprika.

Complementary falafel and pickles were also provided.

While the price was rather costly for a plate of hummus - there were the added side dishes (albeit some places add them for free).

The service is great - but it tends to get confused if you choose to sit at the outside tables.

The place is clean and well designed, with a good lighting which really ads to the mood.

The service is really friendly, and the place itself is also vegan friendly which makes the experience even more positive.

Overall - the food is delicious and there's a vast menu considering this is a falafel based location.

Hummus Bahadunas | Yad Harutzim 11, Tel-Aviv

Bahadunas is a well known and rather popular hummus franchise, with most branches operating around the times people go to lunch and located near office populated areas.

They specialize in hummus and ful (fava \ broad beans), and are known for adding unorthodox toppings onto your hummus plate - they almost insist adding chopped onions (which horrify me) and propose salads and pickles as well. The pickles are actually a good option.

In the image above is a plate of hummus, with ful, chickpeas, tahini, chopped parsley, olive oil, spicy coriander (cilantro) paste and obviously pickled cucumbers.

It was rather great, although it took more than a while to get my plate due to poor service skills.

The place is clean, well designed, not too costly and the slow service comes with a friendly smile.

Hummus Said | Another day, another chickpea.

Lunchin' with the missus and my work friends is fun.

The only downside is when you have a bunch of people trying to decide where to go for food.

On this occasion it was surprisingly easy; everyone wanted to eat at Said's Tel-Aviv branch.

Who am I to disagree? It's nearby, delicious and fairly priced.

msabbaha: a mix of hummus, tahini, chickpeas, lemon juice and hot sauce

The missus ordered a msabbaha and was very pleased with it.

The warm, spicy and savory dish is a great take on hummus, with the chickpeas mixed into the hummus-tahini mash-up, as well as added on top for texture and flavor.

Freshly chopped parsley is a colorful garnish but also adds lots of fresh flavor.

mahluta: hummus, ful (fava beans) chickpeas, tahini, spicy lemon sauce, olive oil and paprika 

The mahluta is my favorite spin on hummus in this fine location.

The hot fava bean stew is a great contrast with the room-temperature hummus and the cold tahini.

The warm chickpeas add a texture play to every bite, and the lemony-spicy sauce that is added makes you want to dip your pita again and again.

Bottom line: while the original Said (located in Acre, Israel - locally known as Akko) is well known for an amazing hummus - this branch has a hummus paste that is average by itself, and is usually upstaged by the supplements.

However, to get to Akko I'd have to take a train, so this is pretty good for a work lunch.

Also: if you're there - try the shawarma.   

Food Porn: The Little Things

Can't quite recall why was it that I stopped doing compilation posts, but here's a comeback!

A digest of various meals, dishes and stories.

Descriptions below each image, just like I used to do.

Hope you like it, drop a line if you do, drop a line even if you don't, I've been getting mostly spam comments for several weeks now, it's quite disappointing to find bot generated nonsense each time I expect something real, don't people have opinions anymore?

Come on, ask me something, it's getting lonely here!

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people from Kurdistan and with Kurd genes can't eat green fava beans cos they lack the G6PD enzyme so they can die

Just some of my home cooking.

Fresh green fava beans, cooked in crushed tomatoes, with cumin, paprika, garlic, black pepper, date syrup and mustard seeds.

The rice has some garam masala in it, and sumac too. And also some mustard seeds, I was adding them to everything that evening. It was delicious.

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mushroom pizza with sriracha

I had several horrible experiences with Pizza Seret and was glad to see they returned to their marvelous norm. All it took was a bite from this slice with mushrooms and a bit of sriracha, I was in pizza heaven again.

It's bad when good places turn wrong, but it's great when they relapse.

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pizza flavored bourekas with a hard-boiled egg, crushed tomatoes, pickles, tahini and a hot chilli pepper paste

Pizza bourekas with the works. I had the exact same post a while ago, but it wasn't the same bourekas.

This was after an early Halloween party this Friday, it was also a housewarming party for a couple of friends.

We walked the streets, slightly drunk, looking craving for a pizza. Mama's Bourekas was the only thing open in the immediate area. It was pretty good. 

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soft smelly cheese

Lately I've started purchasing funky cheeses. I mean moldy, smelly, pungent, soft, covered in weird colors, the kinds that make your fridge and pee smell weird.

They're delicious.

Here's me enjoying them on a walnut rye. Good times.

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eggplant and tahini ciabatta

Ciabatta, with a big chunk of eggplant baked into its top, and lovely thick tahini hiding beneath the layer of eggplant. A touch of coriander was the garnish added to it by the baker, I added some coarse salt when I got home and ate it like a madman, not stopping for a second, completely disregarding my surroundings.

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pickled cabbage

Hummus Asaf which is my favorite hummus got their pickled cabbage recipe back. Their last few batches were unlike the amazing sweet and savory cabbage strings I used to devour, but like I said, they recreated the original recipe after a few mediocre months.

It's worth a visit even if you hate hummus, just order anything, you'll get the cabbage anyhow.

Forget that, just walk in and ask for a tiny bowl to go, they're good people.

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chicken selects, McDonalds

A two image feature.

Lunch at McDonald's, indeed one of the simple joys. I don't eat burgers, prefer to avoid ground meat and generally dislike what McDonald's represent and do, but every once in a long while I eat a chicken meal.

The ultimate junk food, but still, I'm lovin' it (and feeling guilty about it).

McDonalds: fries, ketchup, BBQ sauce, sweet n sour sauce

And that's it for now.
Don't forget to write!
Also, if and when you do, please add an animal that starts with a C, just for fun.

Hummus Porn

Following some appreciation from r/foodporn I've decided to gather some of my latest hummus photos, the ones I didn't post here yet, knowing that they'll be well enjoyed. 

Here you go:

Ronnie Ful: Hummus with an egg, and a msabbaha

Hummus Sayid: "Meshuleshet", hummus, tahini, msabbaha, fava beans, chickpeas

Hummus Assaf: Soft chickpeas and tahini

Bethlehem Hummusm, Tel-Aviv

Another meshuleshet by Sayid's Tel-Avivian branch

Another one by Assaf

Nadim's Hummus

Danny Ful, Jaffa

Hummus Sayid are back!

After a many doubts and a very long hiatus, Hummus Sayid is now open again!

I promise I'll do a more informative post soon, with a full coverage and some more pictures, but for now here are two photos I took today:

Hummus, cooked chickpeas, olive oil, a hard boiled egg and touch of tahini and parsley

Hummus, ful (fava beans), tahini and msabbaha, with parsley and spicy lemon sauce on top

Food porn: all kinds of good

Lots of corned beef, a slice of aged goat gouda cheese, some BBQ sauce and a tad of sweet mustard. It was simple, delicious and since both the meat and cheese were at room temperature - they just melted in my mouth.

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Argentinian style rib area beef.

It was soft and juicy, with one side covered in fat that sort of melted upon touch but was also fun and crispy in some bites. You can see the rib bone on the bottom.

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Fava beans over white rice. They're cooked with crushed tomatoes and lots of confit garlic cloves. This was easy to make and a pleasure to eat.

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A slice of pizza I grabbed at some remote location. It was amazing, with this old-school flavor to the sauce, and the cheese was creamy and soft in a manner I've yet to encounter.

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Open pit asado style BBQ chicken. It was a smoky heavenly deliciousness. There was some rub involved but it wasn't really coated in a way that traditional American BBQ is.