I must confess it’s been a few weeks since I’ve actually eaten at Nanoosh. I’ve been here (and to their other locations in the city) a handful of times and have always gotten exactly what I wanted to out of the visit – simple, vegan, quick, and cheap Mediterranean eats. Nanoosh is one of those not quite fast food but not quite sit down places that hits the spot when you’re in a hurry, looking for a quick take-out, or a quick meal without a lot of fuss. The reason it’s taken me so long to blog about this recent trip is that I had a touch of trauma after visiting. This had nothing to do with the restaurant itself and everything to do with my utter lack of self-control while coming out of my juice cleanse. Needless to say, I just couldn’t bring myself to blog about the hummus and falafel until now…

So what can I say about Nanoosh? Well it has some really awesome hummus and your choices are basically how you like your hummus. Next to my avocado addiction, hummus is a close second for the food I eat every single day and could eat every single day for the rest of my life. And Nanoosh knows hummus. I order mine with some baked falafel and call it a meal. The creamy hummus bowl is the perfect choice for me – it comes with little chopped up pickles on top and while some people think this is weird, I absolutely love it.

Nanoosh has 3 locations in NYC – I happened to be at the one in my neighborhood, on the Upper West Side. This one is conveniently located near Lincoln Square and right next to one of the movie theaters in the neighborhood. It’s also not too far north, making it a good option for meeting friends or former coworkers post-office since it isn’t all too far from midtown either. Which is essentially how I ended up here to begin with. That, and they make a mint lemonade that’s to die for.

For you gluten-intolerant folk out there, they do offer a gluten-free wrap instead of pita with the hummus bowl and it’s actually decently tasty. I decided to go with the gluten-free because I was coming off of the cleanse. I think at that point, any grain would have had the same effect.

Nanoosh also has that Le Pain Quotidien or communal/community table feel to it, where you’re lucky if you get one of the tiny tables in the place, which makes the service quick and the customers turnover rather quickly. But let’s call this what it is – not a place for a date – but a place for a delicious quick bite that’s easy on the wallet. In my opinion, there simply aren’t enough restaurants like this in NYC, and definitely not enough Nanoosh locations.