{"id":17440,"date":"2021-05-26T09:00:10","date_gmt":"2021-05-26T13:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=17440"},"modified":"2021-05-14T10:58:40","modified_gmt":"2021-05-14T14:58:40","slug":"petra-cafe-in-hattiesburg-mississippi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2021\/05\/26\/petra-cafe-in-hattiesburg-mississippi\/","title":{"rendered":"Petra Caf\u00e9 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Dolmas (stuffed grape leaves) from Petra Cafe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By\nJulia Comino, VRG Intern<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\nis no secret that finding vegetarian and vegan-friendly restaurants in the\nrural American South can be quite the feat. Having been a vegetarian for the\npast four years and a Hattiesburg, Mississippi resident my entire life, I have\nmade it my mission to seek out plant-based dining in my area. While often my\nsearch has led me to make the trek to the advertised vegan restaurants of New\nOrleans and other larger cities or into whole-food groceries, I was excited to\nstumble upon the Petra Caf\u00e9 in my own hometown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Petra\nCaf\u00e9 is a small business dishing out authentic Mediterranean and Greek meals to\nHattiesburg locals with a variety of vegan and vegetarian options. The\nHattiesburg location is just minutes from the University of Southern\nMississippi, and although this restaurant\u2019s exterior is not immediately\nremarkable, any local can attest to the restaurant\u2019s uniqueness. After taking\njust one step through its doors, one is met with the heavenly aroma of spices\nand simmering flavors. The interior is vibrantly decorated with traditional\nMiddle Eastern art and elaborate wall designs. Combining the indoor and outdoor\ntables, there is enough seating for approximately 50 people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although\nindoor dining has recently been reopened for Petra Caf\u00e9, I opted to order using\ntheir limited-exposure pick-up option. I was able to easily place my order\nonline, using their website\u2019s ordering option that clearly labeled which items\nwere vegan, vegetarian, Halal, and gluten-free. Although there are multiple\ndishes that contain meat on their menu, with the removal of the Grecian sauce\nor feta cheese, most vegetarian dishes can be customized to be vegan. I only\nhad to wait 15 minutes after ordering, and then my food was ready to be picked\nup. As I entered the restaurant to receive my meal, I was pleasantly welcomed\nby the employee at the counter. During our polite conversation, she remarked\nthat Petra Caf\u00e9 was like a family and mentioned her appreciation for the\nrestaurant\u2019s owner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Petra\nCaf\u00e9 was founded in 2007 as the brainchild of Ayman Al-Bataineh. Having moved\nto Mississippi from Amman, Jordan, Ayman decided to share the flavors he loved\nfrom his mother\u2019s kitchen with the residents of Hattiesburg offering up\ntraditionally veggie dishes such as Baba Ghanouj and Dolmas (stuffed grape leaves).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For\nmy order I decided to try Petra\u2019s hummus appetizer. This thick, creamy,\nchickpea dip was accompanied by slices of warm, freshly made pita bread. The\nhummus was topped with roasted chickpeas, a drizzle of lemon, a sprinkling of\nspice mix, and a sprig of cilantro. To fully enjoy this wonderfully composed\nclassic I recommend incorporating each component of this dish into one\nflavorful bite.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For\nmy entr\u00e9e, I chose Petra\u2019s Falafel Sandwich. This item was composed of toasted\npita bread stuffed full of homemade falafel (a crispy chickpea fritter),\ntomatoes, lettuce, and a generous spread of tahini and hummus. This sandwich\nrequires two hands and biting into the packed pita is quite an accomplishment.\nAlthough I only tried a few items from their wide selection of flavors, I was\nmore than satisfied by the portions of my meal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Petra\nCaf\u00e9\u2019s exuberant atmosphere and the exceedingly well-crafted traditional dishes\noffered have ensured me that I will become one of this restaurant\u2019s regulars. I\nmust admit, I have been back once already since my initial visit. Should you\nfind yourself in Hattiesburg, Mississippi anytime soon, make sure to stop by\nPetra Caf\u00e9 for amazing veggie Mediterranean and Greek flavors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For\nmore information about Petra Caf\u00e9, visit: https:\/\/petracafe.net\/<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For\nmore information on vegetarian and vegan restaurants around the United States\nand Canada see our Restaurant Guide at: http:\/\/www.vrg.org\/restaurant\/index.php<\/a>\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Julia Comino, VRG Intern It is no secret that finding vegetarian and vegan-friendly restaurants in the rural American South can be quite the feat. Having been a vegetarian for the past four years and a Hattiesburg, Mississippi resident my entire life, I have made it my mission to seek out plant-based dining in my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17440"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17442,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17440\/revisions\/17442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}