All Over Albany

The hummus at The Hidden Cafe

There's a wide range of quality when it comes to hummus. On one end there's smooth, creamy, get-me-some-more-pita satisfying. And on the other, there's "hmm, tastes like... chickpeas and some other stuff... ground together." Lucky for us, the hummus at the Hidden Cafe in Delmar is a paragon of the first category.

Not that you would ever guess that when it lands on the table. It's not that it looks bad or anything, it's just so unassuming. A shallow plate of hummus with a little pool of olive oil, crowned by a single kalamata olive, it waits patiently for you to dip a piece of warm pita from the accompanying basket. Then a taste and it hits you, "Wow, this is great hummus!" It's substantial and garlicky, with just enough acid to keep things light. Before you know it, the basket of pita will be empty and you'll be looking around the room for other stuff you can use to scoop up the remaining bits of the dip.

So, how do they get it to taste so great? On our last trip, we asked our server. She said they make it fresh every morning with canned chickpeas and "lots of garlic." And how do they get it so smooth and creamy? The answer: "We blend it for a long time. A really long time."

The Bottom Line

An order of hummus and an order of falafel make a nice lunch for two people.