Fawaz Algazali displaying arayes, harisa and coffee.

HAMTRAMCK — Arabic food is as diverse as Arab people. While Levantine dishes like shawarma and hummus have become familiar names in American culture, a lesser known cuisine from the Arabian Peninsula has been flourishing in Metro Detroit. Yemeni restaurants are a growing option for those seeking Arabic delicacies in the area.

Maslah Thabet, a chef at Yemen Café in Hamtramck, said people from all backgrounds, including fellow Arabs, frequent the restaurant.

“We have people coming from Dearborn, from Detroit, from Sterling Heights,” he said. “A lot of Americans love Yemeni food.”

Yemen Cafe has been in business for 25 years. According to Thabet, Yemeni cuisine is growing in popularity. He said the Internet is introducing it to Americans in Metro Detroit. “And once you try Yemeni food, you will come back,” he said.

“I’m totally hooked,” reads a comment about Yemen Cafe on Yelp, illustrating Thabet’s point. Online reviews of Yemeni restaurants in Dearborn and Hamtramck are mostly positive. Yemen Café, for example, has 4.5-star rating on Yelp. Arabian Village Restaurant in Dearborn has a 92 percent rating on UrbanSpoon.com.

A plate of haneeth.

Yemeni families traditionally eat from a communal plate, according to Thabet, so it is common to see three or four men dipping their bread in the same plate at local Yemeni restaurants.

Thabet said individual plates are offered to customers, but some diners prefer to observe the tradition of sharing their food.

All Yemeni dishes are usually accompanied by hot flat tandoor-baked bread. A Tandoor is a cylindrical oven used across south Asia.  

Among the most popular Yemeni dishes are haneeth, rice served with lamb and potato; fahsa, a vegetable and lamb stew served in a skillet; and fasolia, refried beans. A hot green sauce made of ground jalapenos accompanies most dishes, and all Yemeni meals traditionally start with marag, a soup of lamb broth. 

Thabet said strong flavor and fresh ingredients attract people to Yemeni restaurants. 

A chef at Sheeba, another Yemeni restaurant in Hamtramck, echoed Thabet’s comments on the freshness of Yemeni cuisine.

“Nothing we serve is pre-made,” said Majed Aljahdari. “Everything is prepared upon order, and that’s why people like it.”

A giant Yemeni-themed mural on the outer wall of Sheeba gives diners an idea on what to expect in the restaurant. Pictures depicting different aspects of Yemeni culture are hung inside. Guests and staff greet everybody who walks into the restaurant, as the TV transmits Al Jazeera Arabic. 

The restaurant, which is named after the biblical kingdom of Sheba, serves a few Levantine dishes like hummus and baba ghanouj. Aljahdari said sometimes guests mistake Sheeba for a Lebanese restaurant, because it is Middle Eastern, and ask for shawarma or kibbe. Hence, Sheeba is planning to expand and serve such dishes, said Aljahdari. 

Besides the appetizing food, friendliness and Arabic TV news are common features in Yemeni restaurants.

Yemeni food is influenced by Indian cuisine due to Yemen’s proximity to southern central Asia. 

Fawzi Algazali, the owner of Mocha Cafe, a pastry shop in Hamtramck, says his eatery is the first restaurant to serve authentic Yemeni sweets in Michigan.

While typical desserts like baklava and French pastries are displayed in Mocha’s showcases, the menu boasts some unfamiliar items for those who are not accustomed to Yemeni cuisine.

A tray of grainy orange paste lies behind the main counter. Algazali said it is his shop’s specialty: Harisa, a mush of sugar, flour, milk and nuts. Mocha also serves halawa, jelly-like Yemeni candy.

Algazali said arayes is one of the most popular items at Mocha cafe. It is a mango smoothie, with chunks of cake and fruits in it and nuts and honey on top.

The cafe takes its name from the Yemeni port city of Mocha, a major producer of coffee beans. The coastal Red Sea city is the origin of modern day Mocha drinks. But the coffee that the Hamtramck pastry shop serves differs from the Mocha you order from corporate drive-thrus. Coffee at Mocha cafe is made with crushed, not ground, coffee beans, and served in a clay cup. The coffee beans’ shells add to the bitterness of the drink, according to Algazali.

Algazali said coffee is typically served with harisa. “The bitter coffee balances the sweetness of harisa,” he explained.