(sorta!)

we named them one of the best vegetarian restaurants in los angeles in 2010, only to hear they were shutting down six months later. now it looks hummus king is on the prowl for a new location in silverlake, but until then they’ve launched an all vegan delivery/catering service!

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wahooooo! a new mediterranean restaurant called amwaj has opened up in los feliz, and it has an entirely separate vegan menu. i’m not talking about your run of the mill, normal meatless options, either…amwaj is packing all kinds of surprises such as “beef” shawarma, meaty pastas, “chicken” sandwiches, and 5 different pizzas. hot damn!

i first heard about amwaj from @tikidoll on twitter (tweet me anytime if you have tips!), and when i peeped their vegan menu online, i knew i had to check it out. i hightailed it to amwaj with brittany, my eating partner in crime, and we feasted it up like we were on death row. while it was clear to us that amwaj is still working out a few kinks, i know i will be back and i encourage everyone to check out this new restaurant that bothered to create a separate vegan menu.

first up: brittany’s meal, because it really stole the show…

vegan beef stoganoff: beef strips, roasted garlic, shallots, mushrooms, vegan cream cheese sauce, straw potatoes. $15.95

britt went with the vegan beef straganoff, which was fucking epic. i’ve never had the non-vegan version of stragonoff, but this thing was so creamy and decadent, it felt like i was eating the real deal…

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UPDATE: hummus king in thee valley has closed down, but they are offering catering and free delivery until they hopefully re-open in silverlake!

you people better get over there and eat at hummus king, because this is NEVER a good sign. the entirely vegetarian restaurant in valley village has slashed its hours, and is now only open sunday through friday until 4pm. they used to be open until 10…so that means they’ve chopped their hours IN HALF, and will no longer be serving dinner.

Vegan Shwarama Sandwich at Hummus King

hummus king is one of our favorite restaurants in los angeles, so this news is pretty worrying to us…

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UPDATE: hummus king in thee valley has closed down, but they are offering catering and free delivery until they hopefully re-open in silverlake!

ever since we posted brittany’s glowing review of hummus king, an all vegetarian restaurant in valley village, we have been dying to go there. we finally made the trip this weekend, and i can safely say that it’s one of my new favorite spots.

the menu at hummus king is large, inexpensive, and almost entirely vegan (i think the only animal products at the restaurant are eggs as a topping). they’ve got several platters, salads, and sandwiches filled with your choice of homemade falafel, spiced vegan shwarama, and SEVEN different kinds of hummus to choose from. the second we walked in, a friendly fellow behind the counter started whipping out spoons filled with hummus, offering us a chance to try each flavor. they were all super tasty; i knew immediately that we were in for an awesome meal.

falafel platter: small hummus plate, eight falafel balls, two sides, two pitta breads, and a fountain drink. $9.95

we decided to share the falafel platter, which isn’t a platter at all, but rather several small plates of food. this would probably be enough to feed 2 people, or one VERY hungry person. our platter came with 8 falafel balls (a mix of normal and fire flavor), a side of salad, a side of shwarama, a side jalapeno hummus, 2 pieces of pita bread, and fountain drink.

lemme start by saying the falafel was FANTASTIC! some of the best i’ve ever had. super fluffy in the middle and crispy on the outside, yet not burnt to a crisp. it wasn’t overly oily, and it was perfectly seasoned. i highly recommend doing what we did and asking them to throw some “fire balls” (spicy falafel) into the mix, because those were even better than the normal falafel.

the side of shwarama that came with the falafel platter was huge, i couldn’t believe it was just a side when they brought it to our table. one bite of this stuff and i was in love—thinly sliced and super meaty, it was all mixed up with fantastic mediterranean spices and little bits of grilled onions. i’m definitely gonna work this shwarama into my order every time i go to hummus king.

the salad was very nice as well, light and refreshing with crispy cubes of cucumber, plump tomatoes, and shredded cabbage. it went great stuffed on top of the falafel in the warm pita bread.

the last component of the falafel platter, the small side of hummus, was probably my favorite thing on the table. there were so many flavors to choose from, but we went with jalapeno and were not disappointed. this was some of the creamiest, most flavorful hummus i’ve ever tasted and it was finished off with a chunky scoop of chickpeas and some spiced oil. TO DIE FOR. i honestly wanted to pick up the plate and face palm it.

the falafel platter was so good, i would highly recommend it! i mean just look at the four pictures above—all that food for under 10 bucks! and you can’t even see the pita bread!

vegetarian shwarama sandwich: pita bread with choice of hummus, filled with mediterranean spiced shwarama, chopped vegetable salad, green tahini and mango sauce. $6.95

oh, but that’s not all my friends. not knowing how epic the falafel platter would be, we also got a shwarama sandwich to share. this was a very generous portion of the same tasty fake meat described above, shoved into a soft pita picket with salad, hummus, and green tahini. i would order this hefty hand held meal again any time, it was wonderful! it was all the deliciousness of the shwarama, salad, and hummus i described above neatly tucked together in an easy to eat sandwich. if i were at hummus king on my own for lunch, this would be my go to meal. it’s the right size for one person without having any leftovers.

our first experience at hummus king was phenomenal, and just thinking about it makes me want to drive over there right now. the place is pretty basic on the inside (as you can see in the picture above), but the food is out of this world. plus, the service is friendly, the prices are low, and you can sample pretty much anything you want before you order. oh, and it’s kosher!

get over to the valley and show this vegetarian business some support! you will thank me later.

hummus king
12422 burbank blvd
valley village, ca 91607
818-509-7999
sunday – friday 10:30am-4:00pm

click here and here for the menu.

UPDATE: hummus king in thee valley has closed down, but they are offering catering and free delivery until they hopefully re-open in silverlake!

i walked in to work the other day and happened to swing by my fellow vegan coworker’s office (to talk about food, of course, not work) after making my usual morning stop in the company kitchen. much to my surprise, she holds up a menu for hummus king and tells me she’s going there for lunch because it says “vegetarian heaven” right on the menu. i was intrigued, especially after taking a gander at the menu and seeing vegetarian shawarma. i’d brought my lunch but i said i’d go along to try some things (and to take pictures for you lovely people).

four of us ended up piling into a car and heading over to valley village. when we walked in we had a lot of questions re: dairy, eggs, etc., and the guy at the counter was more than happy to answer. when asked about the shawarma, he quickly produced a plate for us to sample.

vegan shwarama!

this stuff was fucking aweeeeeesssssssooooommmmmmmeeee! i’m pretty sure just it’s just seitan that’s been seasoned and cooked, but it is damn good. i immediately regretted eating before my field trip because i imagine this shawarma stuffed in a warm pita with some hummus is just glorious.

while i was hogging the shawarma samples, snapping pix, and texting QG about how awesome the shawarma is, i look over to see my coworkers being given samples of all of the different types of hummus. i got in on the sample action a little late so i only got to try 3 of them, and all of them were really good and super creamy. my favorite of the ones i tried was the jalapeno.

my coworkers ordered and all got their food in a snap, and let me try a few bites.

okay. i. loved. this. falafel. SO good! not super greasy or over-fried. it was perfectly seasoned. once again i immediately regretted having already eaten lunch and started thinking about having a shawarma/falafel pita. IT WILL HAPPEN.

i’m not a huge fan of eggplant but i also liked this as well. once again, not overly greasy or fried tasting, and well seasoned!

so, in conclusion, hummus king is the king of kings. the food is great, the staff is super friendly, the prices are reasonable, there is ample parking… there’s no reason not to check it out!

hummus king
12422 burbank blvd
valley village, ca 91607

sunday – thursday 10am-10pm
friday 10am – 7pm

PS: here are some snaps of the menu, since i can’t find it anywhere else online.

click to enlarge

click to enlarge