The Best Hummus in Wichita!

Determining Best Hummus!

For the past two months, I’ve been trying to get the logistics put together for my friends and I to determine where the best hummus is in Wichita.

Over roughly 60 days, I worked on putting together a list of peoples most favorite hummus spots around the city. I called every single place to see the hours they were open. I needed to coordinate a time that every restaurant would be open at the same time for people to pick up hummus at and get it to a central location in a good amount of time. When it comes to logistics, I’m really anal about the details and wanted to make sure everything was done right.

Well……it finally happened sort of. Looks like nearly every place was open on Saturday at 11 am. After calling back again it looks as though only once place was closed over Memorial Day weekend and that was M.I.F. Deli. By this time it was too late, I had already gathered friends together and determined a meeting point. So of all hummus that was purchased, M.I.F. was purchased the night before, stored in a container and within a ziplock bag and refrigerated.

I’d like to thank Jason, Emily, Kim, Nicole, Justin, Kristin, Luke, Greg, Deanna, Samantha, and Brandon for all assisting me in driving around town purchasing hummus from various locations. And once again to Brandon for getting me the location to have this little shindig at. Everybody was given a location or two to pick up hummus from and have it at our meeting point in an hour.

The hummus was transferred from the container it came in to a plate that was numbered. Everybody was given a voting sheet and told to rank their favorite six hummuses. The key was to vote just on flavor alone. They were allowed to use a pita chip to taste test each hummus or use spoons set out. So after $160 of hummus, an hour of tasting and never wanting to eat hummus again for the longest time, here are the results of the Best Hummus in Wichita as decided on by a dozen people:

In order from worst to first:

15. College Hill Deli and Catering

Voter Comments: Just ok – Oil is Flavored – Lack of Spices – Good but not distinct enough – Oily

This was the only hummus that received a single Top 6 vote.

14. Adrian’s Cafe

Voter Comments: Too Thick – Very Tahini – Cumin!!!

13. Mediterranean Grill

Voter Comments: Kind of bland but smooth – Salty – Pretty Creamy – Nice bite to it – Good enough, nothing special.

12. Le Monde

Voter Comments: Pretty decent – Mix of flavors was great – Very beany – Nothing memorable – Starchy taste

11. Zaytun

Voter Comments: Good but nothing else to say really – Pickly Vinegar Taste – Sour and Not Bad but Not Great – Lemony – Very Assertive Taste

10. Dillons

Voter Comments: OK but too chunky – Grainy pre-packaged taste – Bland and too thick – Garlicky – Nice and Thick – Great – Way Too Thick

9. N&J Cafe and Bakery

Voter Comments: Plain – Dill Flavor Maybe? – Really Good Flavor – Smooth and Interesting – Too much oil – Thick!

8. The Monarch

Voter Comments: Very tasty – Nice spice and bite to it – Flavorful – Sweet – Spicy – A lot of red pepper – Good spice

7. Rain

Voter Comments: Good, not just a plain hummus – Really like the heat – Spicy but good and bold – Good flavor – Peppery, Smokey, Spicy – The only one with a kick.

6. M.I.F. Deli 

Voter Comments: Extra Kick and Yummy – Good nice oregano flavor – Creamy and Smooth – Classic and Traditional but good

5. Byblos

Voter Comments: Different and good; complex – Sweet I really liked this one – Very good flavor – Nice additional flavors; a little pasty – Tomato and garlic stand out

4. Cafe Maurice

Voter Comments: Smooth – Nice consistency, lemony, freshness – Very clean and well balanced – Nice mild flavor – Creamy and flavorful – Great mix of flavor

3. Kabab’s

Voter Comments: Lots of chick pea flavor – Really like this one – Good spice and balance – Extra creamy – Very tasty – Refreshing – Good flavor – Good garlic

2. Meddy’s

Voter Comments: So good – I liked this; nice texture and balance – Very well done – Mayo flavor with pickles – Good flavor and blend of spices – Is this Bella Luna? – Great balance of flavor

which leaves us at the best hummus as determined by the voters:

1. Bella Luna 

Voter Comments: Creamy – Good consistency – Great mix of spices – Great texture and taste – Great flavor – This is Bella Luna – Smooth and balanced

Bella Luna received a top six vote from 10 of the 12 people. The most of any hummus.
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You can see opinions ranging everywhere on the hummuses. I think most people will be shocked that Meddy’s finished second on this list; I know I was.

Before I started the project, I was told that Byblos, Cafe Maurice and Bella Luna would all score very high on the list. Oddly enough, the lady who told me was correct as all five would finish in the Top 5.

I’m sure people will have some differing opinions. My reply to you would be, go get all 15 hummuses yourself and try a blind taste test and see what happens.

Overall it was an interesting project to do. I guarantee most people won’t even be able to decipher what hummus is from what location. Having all 15 hummuses was nice to taste and be able to distinguish which ones tasted better than others. By the end of of it, I believe everybody was hummus’d out and not wanting to have hummus again for a long time!

I want to thank everybody for helping make this event and blog possible. My friends are all awesome. Its nice to have people around who will assist me in blowing money, time, and stomach pains to answer questions I have like where is the best hummus in Wichita.

Rest assured, I won’t be eating hummus again for a LONG LONG LONG time.

Happy Dining,
Eddy

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