BEST HUMMUS IN LOS ANGELES 2020 - DR. SANDWICH

DR. SANDWICH has been recognized by a lot of middle Easterners as having the best Hummus in LA and in Beverly Hills ( They have two restaurants).  It also has unbelievable Pita bread - that tastes fresh and is very different than any other Pita's one purchases anywhere in LA. Unlike the American Pitas that are bought in Supermarkets and in many Middle Eastern Restaurants that are very thin and usually somewhat hard - Dr. Sandwich's pitas are thick, fluffy and are so fresh - they feel like they just came out of an oven.

Their Falafel is also great with a perfect taste and texture and so are other dishes they serve.

There's always a large line of people waiting to purchase their hummus - as there are a lot of middle easterners and middle eastern food lovers and the secret has been shared by all of them about this restaurant.

Now with Covid 19, there's a lot of people picking up  and rightfully so.

SO why the - BUT...

The but - is because it is relatively expensive to eat Hummus at this restaurant and they do small things that truly ruin the experience.

1. The most annoying thing is that a Hummus plate costs $10 - and it comes with a relatively small amount of hummus on the plate and only ONE!!! PITA bread.

Who ever finished a whole hummus plate with only one Pita bread? 

Most people eat 2-3 pitas with their plate - which hikes the price of a hummus plate to about $12 as they charge extra for each pita.

They will give you pickles if you ask - but those too come in a very small plastic dish. The dish is about the size of small dishes inwhich people get ketchup in other places.

Middle easterners love pickles with their Hummus - and most places are very generous about the pickles and throw also olives and other pickles vegetables to show their generosity.

Dr. Sandwich gives you pickles only if you ask - and also - in a very small portion and will fill it up if you ask.

If you want a small salad or pickled white cabbage dish which a lot of people love to eat with their Hummus that will cost you extra. Relatively a lot more extra. 

Some restaurants give these two for free if they charge an expensive price for their hummus - and other restaurants give an option to order small side dishes of these two as sides.

But this restaurant doesn't do that and forces you if you want these a salad and pickled veggies that aren't pickles- to buy them as full side dishes.

I get it - that this restaurant is in Beverly Hills - and everything is more expensive also for them - when they need to maintain it in a 90212 area code.

But usually in Beverly Hills - if you want to justify high prices - one has to look the part - and this restaurant looks far from a high end place.

The restaurants decor is very basic. It doesn't have the feel of a high end restaurant. To me it felt like a pedestrian fast food diner inside a gas station in Israel - who's main clientelle is truckers stopping for a fast food meal on their way from Beer Sheva to Tel Aviv.

BOTTOM LINE:

I loved their Hummus - and I do hope this place will survive and continue thriving.

Seeing so many middle eastern restaurants come and go in LA - I know how hard it is to keep a restaurant alive in a city where people love change and aren't loyal to even wonderful restaurants.

Because of their great hummus - they have huge lines snaking around the place - but unless they figure out their pricing scheme - and what they offer for their expensive prices - they might find themselves fighting for clients in the future and once some people will be tired of paying so much for so little food and without getting the full Middle Eastern experience - with several Pitas and a plate full of Pickles - they might one day discover that customers are leaving and never coming back.

I truly hope the owners of this wonderful Hummus restaurant realize they have the momentum right now and do the needed changes in their menu and servings to ensure their customers will realize it's not just wonderful Hummus but also a great deal that is worth coming back to again and again.

Only time will Tell - if Dr. Sandwich becomes the HUMMUS CLASSIC in LA - like PINK's is to HOT DOGS - or if it will be a fad - and a wonderful memory of a wonderful restaurant that vanished over time - like DOUGH BOYS was on THIRD STREET.

Regardless of what happens to this place in the future - I do hope everyone tastes their hummus - so that they will be able to say - LA had amazing hummus that could compete with any middle eastern restaurant in the middle east! 

THE DISTASTEFUL FIRST ISRAELI HUMMUS FESTIVAL OF BEVERLY HILLS

This blog tries to stay out of Middle Eastern Politics and focus on Hummus - but sadly -  sometimes an event occurs that forces even neutral bloggers to express their opinions about events.

The Israeli consulate of Beverly Hills, the Bait Israeli and the IAC ( Israeli American community) just launched their first Israeli Hummus festival in Beverly Hills.

The event will take place outside Beverly Hills city hall - which makes it even more symbolic.

The ad for this event states:

 " Join the IAC, Bait Israeli, and the Israeli Consulate for the the First Annual Hummus Festival! The Festival will feature a smorgasbord of hummus from various vendors, fresh pita, a Judiaca booth, activities for the children and live music in both Hebrew and English! Come early to get your hands on all the fare!"

So why is an event celebrating Hummus being criticized by a blog dedicated to Hummus lovers of the world?

Perhaps there is nothing wrong with the Israeli community celebrating a food dish most Israelis love and cherish.

It's probably a great opportunity to promote various Israeli restaurants in Los Angeles and their own Hummus dishes.

That said, in LA, most of the best Hummus restaurants based on our own personal experience have always been Arab restaurants.

The Hummus festival should not have been marketed as an Israeli Hummus festival but rather as the Beverly Hills Hummus festival.

Hummus is a dish loved by everyone - and brings much pride to both Arabs and Israelis. 

Unlike the real estate conflict between Palestinians and Israelis in the middle east - a conflict that unlike the media noise about it - at it's base is a conflict focused on a land dispute -   i.e. REAL ESTATE. 

There is no conflict between Israelis and Arabs living in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Fernando Valley etc.  Former Israeli and Arab country residents now residing in the US might have opposing opinions about the solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict in the middle east - but  in the US - their legal country of resident there is no US based real estate conflict. 

That is why, I feel the Israeli consulate erred in being a partner to this event. So did the city of Beverly Hills that approved of this event outside their city hall.

The event should have been called The first Beverly Hills Hummus Festival - without having it belonging to any one nation or it could have been the Middle Eastern Hummus Festival and have all middle eastern restaurants be part of it.

Many Israelis are Hummus connoisseurs and so when it comes to Hummus they don't care who makes it as long as it has a great taste.

In Israel - the best Hummus restaurants, in many people's opinions are owned by Arabs and are located in Arab villages not in the big Jewish cities. Also, some of the best Hummus is made by Palestinians and some are even in contentious areas like east Jerusalem. 

People who love hummus know that sometimes one has to put politics aside and just focus on the taste and choose where to eat based on taste not the opinions of the creator of the hummus.

Many Israelis living in Los Angeles love going to the Arab restaurants in LA  for the great Hummus they serve. 

That said - do we really care about the politics of the owner of the Thai restaurant we love? the Indian restaurant we love? The Italian restaurant we love?

Same goes for Hummus. 

Perhaps the idea of creating an Israeli Hummus festival - is to hint to members of the LA Jewish community it's a Kosher event with Kosher Hummus.  That's OK but then they should have labeled it for what it is. A KOSHER Jewish Hummus festival rather than an Israeli Hummus festival.

Even in Israel - not all Israeli restaurants are Kosher. Some are certified as Halal - which obey the Islamic laws - and some Israeli restaurants go by no religious laws and only obey the country's health laws.

Moreover - what does Israeli Hummus festival actually mean ? The Hummus is made by local restaurants here. They are called Israeli - perhaps because the owner might be Israeli - but the food is actually middle eastern in most cases.  

Saying Israeli Hummus is like saying American Pad thai, American Alu Gobi, American Spaghetti.

While Americans love Pad Thai, Alu Gobi  and Spaghetti they aren't American dishes even if they are served in an "American restaurants" -  Hopefully, there is no hard feeling by anyone in the US for calling Pad Thai a Thai dish, Alu Gobi an Indian dish and Spaghetti an Italian dish.

Consulates always want to promote events that promote their country and so I understand why someone at the consulate approved of promoting an Israeli Hummus festival.

 I feel for most of us - words still mean something - and words can hide behind them a lot of things - including racism and hatred.

The Beverly Hills Farmer's market  which is hosting this event could have gotten probably the same amount of response and maybe even more if they labeled this the first Hummus Festival and underneath add in the paragraph describing this event- Kosher Hummus, Halal Hummus, yes and even claim there is an authentic Israeli Hummus - which I have no clue how it tastes different than an Arab or middle eastern hummus.    They could have still added fun for the whole family including Israeli music etc..This way they would not have alienated anyone and made it into an event for all middle easterners who love hummus - regardless if they are  former Israelis, Lebanese, Syrians, Egyptians, Persians and all other Middle eastern Hummus lovers.

Hummus must continue to be a tasty dish that unites all middle easterners and not something that seperates them just like other issues seperate them.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT.

I hope those of you reading this will not think I am biased against any political view. This isn't about what the solution to the conflict should be. This is merely about how we not politicize Hummus.

Here's a link to the event. If you feel like it - let the organizers know that Hummus festivals must unite people and not be something that is separates members of the middle eastern family.

FACEBOOK PAGE FOR ISRAELI HUMMUS FESTIVAL