Garlic aioli. I know it’s a distinct food product. But, wouldn’t it be more economical to use mayo?

I recently went to a restaurant that served a carrot hummus. Carrot hummus, made from carrots roasted to a perfect Maillard-forward reaction then mashed 200 times by hand, old-fashion artisan style. Garlic aioli, crème fraîche, and first press organic tahini are added to the carrot-pâté and whipped into a hummus-like spread. This will set you back $50.

That’s how I heard the description. My partners didn’t hear it that way. I think it was the “crème fraîche”.

I’m sure the restaurant prepared the hummus the way they described it. It tasted good. But would it have tasted as good if they told me it was “carrot dip”? Probably!

Roast or boil some carrots. Mash them up. Add some mayo, add some tahini, and add some sour cream. Maybe salt, pepper, and some cumin. Boom! Carrot dip. Why make it so complicated?

I can’t ask that question though. Social norms prohibit me from confronting the server and saying “who are you kidding here? First… hummus actually means ‘chickpeas’ in Arabic and what you’re calling ‘hummus’ is usually known as ‘hummus bi tahini’ and second, why not just be honest that this entire explanation is to justify the $20 price tag on what’s essentially roasted carrots mashed with tahini and some mayo and sour cream?”

So, I sit. Quietly . Calmly. I smile. But, inside I am boiling and roiling with discomfort seeing this obvious asymmetry and even more, observing the obvious absurdity —

Without the long and bougie description, would it have tasted just as good if it was called “carrot dip?”

That said, I pleased there was a course of artisan-milled, slow-fermented, twice-proofed wheat flour slabs, toasted to a Maillard-forward golden crust, accompanied by a whipped, cultured cream fat spread.

Last modified on 2026-03-11