Yemen Cafe
Hamtramck, MI
I tasted middle eastern food for the first time yesterday. Okay, we all know that isn’t true. But it sure does feel like it.
Every once in a while, I experience food so authentic that I can feel it. It happened yesterday at Yemen Cafe.
Set among a host of storefronts on the main drag in Hamtramck, there is nothing outwardly appealing about the Yemen Cafe. Most passersby would do just that, pass it by. Thankfully, I did not. (Okay, I am fessing up. I wasn’t just strolling by. I had read about the cafe and sought it out.)
A true cafe experience awaited me inside, complete with booth seating and tabletop napkin dispensers. There is nothing I admire more than an eatery that spends more time concocting scratch made dishes than worrying about ornamentation.
At first glance, the menu was a bit off-putting: both meat-heavy and cheap. The anxiety compelled by the former I am fairly used to, the latter had me nervous. (I know, there is a lesson here. Inexpensive does not mean unsavory.) My fears were quickly assuaged by the sweetest server, ever. Naser and I tackled the menu together. And per usual, I took my server’s advice on the best vegan options: Yemen bread with hummus and veggie gallabah.
The Yemen bread was a gorgeous, thin naan-like bread served on a 16-inch pizza pan! It was like carb Christmas came early. Fittingly, I tore into like a present on Christmas morning. Light, warm and perfect for hummus (and garlic sauce) dipping. I had to talk myself into slowing down, for fear I would never have the stomach real estate to eat my entrée!
I’ve never eaten veggie gallabah, but what Naser suggested I ordered. This gorgeous spiced rice and veg dish came out so hot that steam was literally billowing from the platter. This created an Aladdin-like, near magic vibe that I just couldn’t get over. (See pic!) Honestly, I have pans on the stove that don’t steam like this. It was nothing short of glorious.
With fork in hand, I scooped up my first bite. Miraculously, I didn’t burn my mouth (magical, like I said). I was then transported to a land far away. To a bustling street market with Arabian smells and sounds. I was so transfixed that it took me a few minutes and blinks to realize that the soup slurping sound was actually coming from the table behind me. I turned to see the chef, enjoying the fruits of his labor. Soup slurping, totally acceptable in Asia and apparently in Yemen as well.
I embraced every morsel of my gallabah (wonderfully spiced with Turmeric and friends) and every bit of my experience.
My advice? Treat yourself. Visit the Yemen Cafe and allow yourself to be transported to a far-off country, just north of Detroit.
