I’m going to a Mediterranean Restaurant tonight. Afrah this place was featured on Guy’s DDD.
Anyway, one of the standard side dishes they offer is hummus. I’ve never had hummus before, so I intend to try it. But I thought hummus was a dip. Is it normal to have it as a side dish?
Its normal, I have it at this mediterranean place near me, but I usually dip the pita bread in it.
You should eat hummus in every way you can possibly manage. 
I eat it with a spoon.
I eat out at Mediterranean places frequently, and I’ve never just eaten the hummus by itself (though I don’t see why you couldn’t). I’ve always eaten it with soft pita or pita chips, which are often provided for free. Same with a lot of the sides in a Mediterranean place, actually. I guess I just look at most of the stuff as a pita delivery mechanism. 
yummm pita.
On a hot muggy night last week I had basically nothing in the refrigerator and was too hot and tired to cook something or go out. I ate a whole container of roasted red pepper hummus with some Triscuits. WTH. The hummus was 500 calories, the Triscuits another 200, not all that bad. It was from Aldi’s and it was damned good!
Jeeze, I keep reading this thread title as “Humans as a side dish?”
THANK YOU! I’m going to try the chocolate dessert hummus!
As has been said Shakes, it will probably be served with some kind of flat-type bread. I hope you like it.
I LOVE the stuff and make my own. We eat it every day.
Green hummus is people!
Didn’t soylent green come as wafers? You could use them to scoop up some hummus.
I had hummus on sourdough bread for breakfast this AM. It was the only food left in the fridge. It was delicious.
Hummus is classy, exotic adult food because it’s foreign and has only become common in America within the last 10-15 years…
But basically, a plate of hummus is like a plate of peanut butter.
And peanut butter is kid’s food, so nobody would dare serve it at a restaurant.
But if you call it hummus, then it’s okay.
See, wasn’t that easy ? 
Oh, if it’s a side dish…: you’re supposed to get pita with it. For free.
Then you “wipe the hummus” with the pita.
If the hummus is on a plate shared with others at the table,then you tear off a chunk of pita first, before you wipe the plate with it. If it’s your own plate of hummus, then you can “dip twice” with the same pita after you’ve taken a bit out it.
Hummus is a main dish.
Its a side dish. Its also the worst food invented by the mind of man.
I’ve only seen hummus as a side dish/appetizer with pita or even used kind of like a condiment. Made well, it’s delicious. Even better, for my tastes, is baba ganouj, which is like hummus made with roasted eggplants instead of chickpeas.
Hummus, baba ganouj, tzadziki (yogurt dip), kibbeh, stuffed grape leaves, olives, falafel, fatoush salad, grilled vegetables of any and every kind, grilled kebabs, grilled/warmed pita bread… are all a weekly staple in our home. There are few warm weather meals we enjoy more.
I will not abide anyone who speaks ill of hummus. I’m looking at you AK84.
God I love baba ganouj. I love hummus too, baba ganouj is fantastic. I don’t have any good Mediterranean food (other than Italian) near my current home and I really miss it.
Anyway, as Shakes has probably learned by now hummus isn’t really a dip in the way you would normally think of a dip. It’s more like refried beans in terms of consistency (though not in any other respect) and is a substantial food item. It totally makes sense as a side, or even a main dish. It’s not a condiment, at least not like ketchup, though it can be an ingredient. But yes, you do use it mostly as a dip.
What did you think Shakes?
When I say I see it used somewhat as a condiment, I mean that it is used on felafel (like for dipping) or put into pita sandwich with the same or in a schwarma. I suppose in the latter case, it’s more an ingredient, as beans in a beef burrito would be, but I almost think of it as a condiment. Then again, I guess a wouldn’t call bean dip a condiment, so I suppose I should be consistent.
It’s not a dip. It’s a wipe.
Dips are eaten with hard carbs (crackers, nachos) using a dipping motion. Hummus, OTOH, is eaten with soft carbs (pita) using a wiping motion. Hence, wipe.
