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!
