Tahini Hummus at Mimi’s Hummus: When it comes to hummus, lets face it, I’m a traditionalist. I like it the way you find it a Podunk cafes dotting the Arabian peninsula, or that funny little lone Syrian restaurant in the Moroccan village where I spent a summer studying. The tahini hummus at Mimi’s Hummus is some of the best I’ve ever had – super creamy, a little lemony, topped with perfect, smooth tahini and sprinkled with crunchy fresh garlic and pinenuts. The other varieties – fava bean, mushroom, and meat – look delicious, but I’m not sure I’ll ever have the chance to try them. This stuff is just too good.

Brooklyn Sorachi Ace by Brooklyn Brewery: Imagine a beer that smells too good to drink. As the latest release in the Brooklyn Brewery’s Brewmaster’s Reserve, this is truly a surprising take on the Belgian Saison style. Described as “sunshine in a glass,” the Sorachi Ace will be one of my go-to summer drinks while supplies last. It’s brewed an ancient Japanese secret — OK, really it’s a unique and non-rare hop strain developed by the Sapporo brewery in 1988. The Sorachi hop is a hybrid of the British Brewer’s Gold hop and the Noble Saaz hop, resulting in a refreshingly lemon taste. In all, Sorachi Ace comes off very dry, unusually hoppy for a Saison, but still very refreshing because of the lemony scent. The one problem with this beer is that it smells so heavenly — lemon, pear and apricot in the nose — that I can never draw my nose away long enough to take a sip.