Whether it’s called Mediterranean food, Greek cuisine, or Middle Eastern delicacies, it is always a total treat when it’s done well. Over the past few years, the one place that's done it for me is Hummus Mediterranean Café, located at 811 SW 19th St. in Moore.
Without a doubt, it is some of the best Mediterranean food, Greek cuisine, or Middle Eastern delicacies the world over.
Or at least south of I-240.
A classy lunch spot in the classiest neighborhood in Moore, I stopped by Hummus with my mom and girlfriend late last week. The menu offers many things I've never even heard of, so for this review, I forwent my everyday Okie-Med usuals and took things in a new direction.
Feeling at ease with the smoothed-out atmosphere, I first picked our appetizer, the Labaneh ($8.99) – a special yogurt dip served with olives, their oils, and various herbs and spices, alongside the requisite slices of pita.
This was a phenomenal start to our Hummus experience. The dip was rich and creamy, while the olives provided the necessary tang. I was completely enamored with its luscious simplicity, heartily consuming it and the warm pita while my mother and girlfriend talked.
With the Labaneh carefully filling our bellies, this sonic whirlwind of food continued with my mother’s meal, the Zatar Pie ($7.99). It consists of a chewy flatbread with a crispy exterior, topped and coated with a mixture of zaatar, sumac, sesame seeds, and olive oil. She also got a side of Vermicelli Rice ($5.99).
Although it may look like an out-of-left-field appetizer, when paired with the rice, it became a whole lunch that really had my mom's vegetarian tastebuds going. She enjoyed the whole thing with some hot mint tea as an afterthought.
My girlfriend, on the other hand, had the Rotisserie Chicken ($12.99), a half-chicken marinated overnight then roasted and rotated to perfection. It was served with Toum (Hummus’s homemade garlic sauce!) and a Greek side salad with feta.
Like any rotisserie chicken not bought in a bag at the supermarket, this was very aromatic, very fragrant, and very delicious. Slicing into the bisected bird, with the creamy toum expounding on the flavor, it might not seem like an adventurous choice, but under the surface, there is a world of passion—in a chicken.
I had to take another bite when she wasn’t looking!
Finally, I had the Kofta Sandwich ($11.99) – a pita-packed sandwich filled with skewered ground beef that's rolled with tahini sauce, tomato, parsley, onions, and pickles. With the aid of Hummus’s signature house French fries, it was ready to go.
Like the stereotypical gyro but much beefier, all the spices and vegetables danced in my mouth. The kofta, to be fair, does all the heavy lifting, with every bite a total workout on the jaws—not to mention that dipping my French fries in the aforementioned toum with the leftover pita bread is truly amazing.
I thought about taking a dessert home for a later treat, but I had the last dollop of Labaneh on the pita remnants instead. This, I thought, was better than any piece of cake as I ran my fingers around the bowl and into my mouth.
Cómpralo ya!
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Follow Louis Fowler on Instagram at @louisfowler78.
