How Covid Helped a Neighborhood Rediscover Its Restaurants
March 16, 2021 In Press No Comment Read More

In Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, the pandemic brought more change to a neighborhood in flux, as locals rallied around their restaurants.

 

Avi Shuker, an owner of Mimi’s Hummus (and husband to Mimi Kitani, the chef), said he knew immediately that the pandemic could be an extinction event for New York restaurants.
“I woke up the next day and decided to survive,” he said.
Like many other restaurateurs, he and Ms. Kitani, both 40, started hopscotching from one new idea to another. He hauled all the tables and chairs out to the sidewalk, and brought the wine cellar and beer stash up to street level. They finally started selling hummus to go, which he had resisted since the restaurant opened in 2009, fearing that it would leach away restaurant customers. He watched lines of panicked shoppers build outside nearby food markets like the Flatbush Food Co-op.
Mimi’s had long sold Middle Eastern specialties like tahini and rose water, but Mr. Shuker began making runs to wholesalers in Brooklyn Terminal Market, stocking up on staples like milk, strawberries and salad greens. Extra produce from the kitchen was sold from tables out front. Neighborhood regulars began stopping by every day to shop, instead of once every couple of weeks to eat.
“The street was empty for two months, but the people who did come were so grateful, it was a really different vibe,” he said. “At the same time that we were being asked to separate, people really came together.”

The Wall Street Journal – Special Report / Navigating the Coronavirus
May 8, 2020 In Press No Comment Read More

The Power of Rediscovering Your Neighborhood

The pandemic has shrunk our worlds. But it has opened our hearts to the places closest to us.

In the past two months, I have ventured farther than nine blocks from my front door exactly once. I don’t own a car. I’ve been lucky enough to work remotely. And, while friends and colleagues decamped for vacation properties or relatives’ homes, I have been stuck in my Brooklyn apartment.
Except I haven’t felt stuck. As the fear and frustration of living in the global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic settled over New York, a fragile source of joy emerged for me: my own neighborhood.
Ditmas Park is a small, residential slice of Brooklyn known for its colorful Victorian houses. In the past, I had an abstract sense of gratitude for living in a neighborhood that is safe and clean and walkable. Now, that sense is almost physically palpable. The aimlessness and repetition of my near daily walks has forced me to pay attention in ways that I never did on my commute to work as a Wall Street Journal editor.
Places I never noticed suddenly feel essential. The Italian restaurant I’ve visited a handful of times is an open-air market—stocked with tiny cartons of strawberries and loaves of oatmeal sourdough that feel like a gift. On Albemarle Road, a wide, tree-lined median has become a sliver of park, full of socially distanced families and dog owners.

Grub Street – New York Magazine
November 30, 2018 In Press No Comment Read More

The Absolute Best
Modern Middle Eastern restaurants are easy to find across New York City these days. But Mimi’s Hummus, which opened here in 2009 before spawning Manhattan outposts, remains one of the best. The hummus, capped with softened chickpeas, spiced, sautéed mushrooms, or a tomato-and-eggplant stew, is ethereally smooth and rich without any lingering heaviness. Other must-tries include the gently caramelized roasted cauliflower with garlicky tahini, and the Iraqi pita, called sabich in Israel, which jumbles fried eggplant, sliced boiled egg and potatoes, shredded cabbage, and dollops of smooth tahini and the tangy pickled mango sauce amba into an overflowing flatbread pocket. Brunch brings several delightful takes on shakshouka, including one that pairs the eggs poached in rich tomato stew with spicy lamb merguez sausage, and another that swaps the familiar tomato base for braised Swiss chard and sheep’s-milk feta.

April 25, 2018 In News No Comment Read More


Mujaddara
December 19, 2017 In Mimi's Blog No Comment Read More

Mujaddara is a simple dish, served often in the Middle East. Some restaurants will serve it as a small dish, aside many other salads.

 It can also be served as a side to meat dishes. I eat it as a main course, served with some goat yogurt and fresh salad on the side. To make it at home, you can follow my recipe below.

Traditionally, mujaddara is made with rice, but I typically use bulgur wheat. I soak the lentils in water over night and strain them in the morning. (more…)


Moroccan Farina Cake
February 22, 2017 In Mimi's Blog No Comment Read More

The farina cake is a very popular dish and has many different versions throughout the Middle East. In Arabic, it is called basbusa, which means “kiss.” It is very fitting for this particular sweet cake. 

I have created my own personal version of the recipe for a few reasons. At home, I use spelt, rather than white or wheat flour, as it is much healthier, creates a better texture and has a sweet, nutty taste that compliments the cake well. (more…)


From Instagram: Make Mimi’s roasted cauliflower your signature dish this Thanksgiving. Link to recipe in bio! #thanksgiving #dinner #tahini #DIY #mimishummus #mimisblog #recipeshare #foodshare #parsley #cauliflower #eastvillage #unionsquare #nyc #instafoodie #foodie #chef #instafood #foodstagram #brooklyn #cortelyou #wecater
November 21, 2016 In News No Comment Read More


on Instagram: http://ift.tt/2eZPEAI


Roasted Cauliflower in Retrospect
November 19, 2016 In Mimi's Blog No Comment Read More

Hot days call for food like this! Cauliflower in tahini. #whatsonyourplate #foodiesunite #foodblogger #food #foodstagram #foodblog #foodoftheday #foodie #nycfoodie #brooklynfoodie #eatingnyc #nyc #newyorkfoodie #edibleart #cauliflower #vegan #whatveganseat #roastedveggies #cleanfood #cleaneating #cleaneats #unionsquare #ditmaspark #bayrigde #flatbush #instafood #instafoodie #israelifood #mimishummus #wecater
It’s been almost eight years since we’ve opened Mimi’s Hummus. I remember it was all I dreamed, talked & thought about for a long time; now, I find so much joy in looking back on the milestones that have made Mimi’s what it is today.
A few months before we opened, I started to play with different recipes, in pursuit of building my first menu – one of those recipes was the roasted cauliflower salad, which has become one of the longest running items on our menu. I first presented the dish to a group of friends at a tasting that I did at home and as soon as I saw the reactions upon my friends’ first bite, I knew it was a keeper. So almost a decade later, I am offering the recipe to you for a tasting of your own!

DIY Tahini Carrot Cake
October 8, 2016 In Mimi's Blog No Comment Read More

The tahini carrot cake is a favorite at the restaurant. I got the recipe a few years back from my mom. It is a really easy cake to make and goes great with your breakfast coffee, tea,  or even as a light pound cake for dessert. 

At home, I bake it with whole spelt to make it even healthier and it works great.

Hope you will enjoy it as much as I do! 

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Tasting Table Review
August 10, 2016 In Press No Comment Read More

Screenshot 2016-08-10 13.39.30

Brought over from Sephardic Jews from northern Africa, shakshuka has become a staple dish in Israeli cuisine—and a brunch favorite at restaurants, Middle Eastern and otherwise, across the U.S. In the dish, a rich tomato saucespiced with cumin and cinnamon serves as the base for poaching eggs until they’re just set. Here, Mimi Kitani of the beloved Mimi’s Hummus in NYC offers her recipe, which she serves at the restaurant with house-made pita.
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