If you live in Fairfield County and love healthy, homemade style Mediterranean fast-casual food, then you need to check out Yalla Organic Hummus & Grill. I had the privilege of sitting down and talking with the son of family who founded this flavorful food haven to get a better understanding of the eatery's backstory.
Family Comes First
Yalla is family owned and operated. All hands are on deck in this eatery. The dad of the family is a chef who owned a catering company in New York City called Magic Hummus. The mom of the family is a health coach and holistic therapist. The son is the face of Yalla by getting to interact with customers. When their family realized that there weren't any organic Mediterranean restaurants around, they combined their professions and created Yalla.
Mission
Yalla is founded on the purpose of feeding the world healthy food. In order to do so, they tried creating an inclusive menu featuring all organic vegetables, dairy free and kosher styled mixes. Additionally, nearly everything is gluten free, excluding the pitas, and vegan (besides some dressings). Sounds like the perfect place to bring your family since everyone is always on some kind of diet these days.
Picking Your Meal
Similar to Chipotle or Chopt, Yalla operates through a build your own Mediterranean bowl, salad, pita or wrap system. The base of course is what Yalla is known for, their hummus. Let me remind you, it's all homemade- no additives or preservatives unlike traditional hummus you find in supermarkets. Next you're able to pick a protein and unlimited toppings (only for bowls and salads) which is strongly encouraged. The workers at Yalla want you to try all their flavors and experience the combination of them. Such toppings include, kale salad, beet salad, tabouli salad, and so much more. To top of your master piece, they offer five different dressings, once again, all homemade.
Take Away
One thing that distinguishes Yalla from their competitors is their take away section located inside to the left of their restaurant. Their grab and go section is loaded with individual packages of their toppings as side salads, cold pressed juices, and all of our favorite, desserts! The selection on display is constantly changing to fit their customers' demands.
Added Plus
If I haven't convinced you already to go check out Yalla then I'd like to add on by talking about their packaging. You may be thinking, who cares about packaging, but Yalla clearly does. All of their packing is biodegradable. There's only one "trash" bin in the place. All food remains and packing goes into the compost bin at the end of the day. So all you environmental advocates out there, go check out this place!
I think it's safe to say that Yalla is the next big eatery you need to check out. Their ability to create fresh and organic homemade recipes for an extremely reasonable price makes visiting Yalla a no brainer. Next time your belly starts grumbling, hop in your car and head to 222 Post Rd in Fairfield, CT and ask for a bowl or salad with a juice (I recommend the mint lemonade or hibiscus ice tea) and a dessert on the side for a filling, nutrient-packed meal. You won't regret it!