This is next gen. You probably guessed that due to the high style and chic vibes of the Baba’s brand before you even knew that this is a brother-sister act with deep roots in the restaurant industry. And like many industry kids, they kind of weren’t supposed to do this.
“Our parents thought we’d go out and be doctors or lawyers,” Rana Kamal told me while we were touring the shop. “They didn’t want us to follow them. For them, going into the restaurant business was a thing they had to do and my father spent most of his life working there. They thought we would choose something different.” The family business is the Mediterranean Cruise Cafe which has been packing people in for more than 40 years in Burnsville. Their father, Jamal, is the heart and soul of that place. He is Baba.
Though Kamal tried (she worked in journalism for a while), she and her brother, Khalid Ansari, couldn’t stay away, and launched their line of Baba’s Hummus in 2018. Based on their father’s recipe, the Jerusalem-style hummus is a monster hit, and is now available in grocery stores throughout the Midwest. Then came the rave reviews from their hummus trailer parked at the State Fair for the last two years. Suddenly, here they are, launching their own restaurant in Uptown. This is a hummus house, and while it has clear roots in their Palestinian heritage, this is their effort to bring modern Middle Eastern eating and living to the Cities.
The former uniform store on Lyndale Avenue has been fully transformed. It now houses their production site as well as the restaurant. “When we started Baba’s,” remembers Ansari, “we were making it out of the restaurant in Burnsville. Out of the basement kitchen. This is much better.” Outside there are friendly yellow umbrellas on the patio under a pink bulb-lit Baba’s sign. Once inside, it’s evident there are a lot of nods to their family’s culture.
To the right of the entrance, the siblings have created a dining space that is light, airy, and fronted by windows. The back wall is a gallery wall that makes its own statement. “We commissioned some artwork from Alizée Castel to show modern life in Palestine, and the wallpaper is meant to represent a fishing net, very central to our culture,” Ansari told me. All of the textiles, the textures, the colors have a playful welcoming effect and carry a historical or cultural significance for the owners.
Of course there’s merch. But it’s not just kicky tees and hats. Kamal and Ansari have sourced unique products from Palestinian makers, many of them women-owned, to sell here.
And, I mean … is there a more colorful grab-n-go sitch in the TC?
But let’s get down to the food, because you’re hungry. The fast-casual eatery is set up for counter service. You order at the front from the menu boards and can watch your hummus bowl being made. For now, they are just focusing on the signature bowls. Custom ordering will happen later once they hit their stride.
You can take a seat in the loungey areas or pull up at the coffee bar. The sign above the window says: Yallah Habibi. “In Arabic, yallah is like come on let’s go and habibi is like a sweet name, calling someone my love,” explained Kamal. “We end up saying it all the time, you’ll definitely hear us calling out habibi when we’re together.”
The menu is not just hummus bowls, but spoiler: there are pretty great hummus bowls! This is already a known quantity, we loved them at the State Fair, we try to make them at home and (raises hand) sorta don’t get it right, so it’s nice to be able to have a bigger portion and a place to linger. You will be able to find the ones you loved at the Fair, but also some new versions like the Super Green, above. Herbed hummus is topped with a fresh herb salad, falafel, pistachio, and green tahini. Yes, those pita come straight from the oven, and are hot and salty and perfect.
For me, the new stunner is the mana’eesh, a Palestinian flatbread that plays out like a pizza. “So, you’ll see those a lot in Palestine, and in Lebanon, Jordan,” Kamal told me, “little bakeries where you will go and get this fresh flatbread, adorned with Arabic cheese. We’ve never seen this in town, we think it’s something new for the Twin Cities and it just fits.” The crust is not pita, though the dough could become a pita too. It’s both chewy and light, with an easy density. And most importantly, it has actual flavor. The Middle Eastern cheese is tangy and refreshing, this one is topped with a cured sausage that make it one of the few non-vegetarian items on the menu. That these flatbreads come with olives and pickles and mint on the side means you get to create your best bite each time.
You’ll also find beautiful and rich coffee drinks, salads, and other surprises when you visit after they open on Saturday to the public. There’s no doubt in my mind that this hummus house has been built for growth, these kids are smart like that: Celebrate your heritage, take what you’ve learned from your family, build a brand that comes from your heart, and spread the love. That’s what this place is really all about.
Baba’s, 2220 Lyndale Ave. S, Mpls.