Yummus Hummus is worth the walk off the beaten path. — Photo by Scarlett Lindeman
In the industrial wilds of East Williamsburg, near ice-cream truck housing and next door to the new venue space The Acheron, is Yummus Hummus. The name is corny, yes, but the café is anything but, serving baked eggs with harissa on the weekends, homemade croissants doctored with nutella, and of course, loads of hummus.
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The 12-seat eatery was pulled together from street scraps, repurposing industrial whisks into lamps and hand stitching the seats of chairs. The counters and doors are made from found wood, charmingly unpolished, brightened with bell jars of preserved lemons and tiny vials of golden olive oil on every table. Owners Jay Leritz, his wife Elissa, and friend Sean Biloski envisioned a small neighborhood joint, hand-built the space with an eye towards design (Jay also owns Kiln design studio), and started peddling the tasty legume paste.
Elissa, tells us that after their mention in New York magazine, business has been rolling in: “lots of young people, Israelis, hummus aficionados, even people from out of state.”
The smooth hummus is made from dried chickpeas, soaked and then skimmed of their skins, which makes for an ubercreamy texture. The hummus is served on handcrafted earthenware dishes topped with stuff like heads of roasted garlic, falafels, and hard-boiled eggs. The “Hummus Hot,” drizzled with a fiery yogurt jalapeño harissa sauce, house hot sauce, red pepper flakes, and feta, will send you lurching for the lemonade. The falafel is gluten-free and vegan, made from coarsely pulsed garbanzos, cilantro, and onion. There are pockets, made from their own house-baked pita, layered with hummus, red onion and tahini, perfected salads of cucumber, tomatoes, and feta and little dishes of pickles and olives.
On a Wednesday afternoon, girls in draping tank tops take breaks from their studio spaces to scarf hummus platters while metal dudes are chowing down on dainty scones. Beer and wine might be added but for now it’s BYOB.
To top it off, ignore Kool Man’s jingle and go for the icy tart grapefruit anise sorbet with pink salt.
dustingrime August 13th, 2010 at 4:21 pm
best of luck, the hummus was delicious!!
soma August 13th, 2010 at 6:57 pm
a falafel plate is the perfect companion to death metal at acheron. thank you yummus hummus.
Amanda Voss August 15th, 2010 at 8:34 am
you would be remiss to miss. get the baked bulb! and i too can vouch for the grapefruit sorbet. lately i’ve seen them offer a free drink with your food too. agreed on the name, though. and how long can they stay at that location with so much business coming in? i don’t see the size supporting so much incoming business for very long…
Michael DiSanto August 16th, 2010 at 5:34 pm
This place is great
dustingrime August 17th, 2010 at 9:21 am
completely agree with amanda voss— yummus will need to step up their game to meet the demand. mo money mo problems.
anna August 18th, 2010 at 6:13 pm
i am obsessed with yummus hummus. love it! congrats guys!
elissa August 19th, 2010 at 10:40 pm
wow! thanks guys for all the kind words. who new everyone was going to like our little spot so much. perhaps we should consider taking the room next door, squeeze a few more tables in. come in soon, it’s pear and fig season so we’ll be having some delicious specials. cheers!