Bite Of The Day: Feasting On Moroccan Pancakes & Shakshuka At Mimi's Hummus

Photo by Ditmas Park Corner

When brunch rolled around the other weekend, and we realized we had one sad, expired egg in our refrigerator, we decided to head to Cortelyou — where Mimi’s Hummus (1209 Cortelyou Road), as it so often does, drew us in with the sight of one free table and, of course, the smell of sizzling olive oil that conjures up images of brunches past: kebabs and shakshuka and hummus and the Mimi’s sandwich, always the Mimi’s sandwich.

As soon as we sat down, we fell into the menu stupor — you know that place, where only the prospect of coffee draws you out from your internal debate: do I get the Aija (a potato herb frittata)? The Iraqi plate (eggplant, potato, egg, tahini, and pita)? Heaps and heaps of hummus?

The shakshuka mergeuz and Moroccan pancakes. Photo by Ditmas Park Corner

Finally, we decided to get the Moroccan pancake ($10) — honey butter pancakes with fresh strawberries that, sacrilegiously, I’d never had at Mimi’s before — and the shakshuka merguez ($14), a favorite dish with spicy lamb sausage, tomato stew, roasted onion, and sunny side eggs. To help disintegrate the sleep still in our eyes, we sipped on the strong and delicious Turkish coffee.

The Moroccan pancakes. Photo by Ditmas Park Corner

The Moroccan pancakes were perfectly sweet, the strawberries being a delicious accompaniment to the bread that immediately transported me to the mountain town where I lived in Morocco. There, years and years ago, I’d rise early almost every Saturday to buy the downtown market’s pancakes and honey that reminded me so much of the Mimi’s dish that I could immediately smell my former town’s permanent scent of cumin and coriander.

A view of Cortelyou from Mimi’s Hummus. Photo by Ditmas Park Corner

Plus, the pancakes were filling, but not so heavy that I was left to roll myself down Cortelyou. And the shakshuka! Oh, shakshuka merguez, you will always have a place in my heart. It’s the priciest item on Mimi’s brunch menu, but it’s so worth it — a steaming dish filled with fresh tomatoes and spicy sausage and eggs; it’s a feast of a brunch that will make you fall in love with this Middle Eastern food oasis of ours time and again.

What about you? What’s your favorite brunch item to get — at Mimi’s or anywhere in our neighborhood?

Mimi’s Hummus is located at 1209 Cortelyou Road, between Westminster and Argyle Roads. It is open daily from 9am-10:30pm, with brunch being served on Saturday and Sunday from 11am-4pm. You can reach the restaurant by calling 718-284-4444.