Baba's Cafe brings Minnesota State Fair's hit hummus bowls to Minneapolis restaurant
MINNEAPOLIS – A Minnesota State Fair favorite, Baba's hummus bowls can now be found year-round at a sit-down restaurant in Minneapolis.
"We wanted to bring something new and fresh and healthy and playful," said co-owner Rana Kamal.
Baba's Cafe offers its visitors modern Middle Eastern food. The new restaurant is the brainchild of sibling duo Khalid Ansari and Rana Kamal.
"It really represents us. We're Palestinian and we're American. We're proud to be both, so it's a mash-up of both," Kamal said.
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"Me and Rana and our brothers grew up going to Palestine, going to Jerusalem," Ansari said. "And over there we were so accustomed to this smooth, creamy hummus. And being in the United States and having the stuff in the grocery store was always like, 'This isn't what we grew up eating.'"
So, they took the family recipe and gave it a Minnesota twist.
"So we basically took a very authentic, old school recipe and added fun things like Buffalo chicken and different flavors that you know brought that Minneapolis, Minnesota culture to it as well," Ansari said.
Baba's hummus got a boost when it was featured at the past two state fairs. They even shared their food with WCCO viewers.
"We saw that attention and love for our food," Ansari said. "We determined that it was something that we had to showcase in a place that could be done more than just 12 days a year because people were asking for it so much, and it just really drove this concept even further."
Their new home features a curved counter, colorful murals, and artwork that features iconic Palestinian cultural moments.
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Baba's hummus is being embraced by many. It can be found in 600 grocery stores across six different states in the Midwest.
But it's at Baba's Cafe that these siblings hope to share their love of two cultures with a community that has supported them from the very beginning.
"We're just excited for people to get a taste of our home," Kamal said.
Kamal and Ansari grew up at their parent's restaurant, Mediterranean Cruise Cafe in Burnsville. They hope Baba's Cafe at 22nd and Lyndale is just as successful.
