At 1 pm, Lisa and I are out the door and headed straight for Falafel King in Downtown Crossing (Boston, MA). They have the best falafel known to man and were able to convert me, a falafel heathen into a devoted falafel follower. Don't let their location fool you, they are top-notch, respectable falafel experts. The lines are always long but move super quickly and if you happen to be pretty lady you may get a free falafel dipped in hummus to snack on while you are waiting in line.
Falafel King has no seating, so we take our falafels out to the Boston Common. Falafel is a take-it-and-go kind of food, especially in Middle Eastern countries where it's considered fast food or street food.
I always get the Falafel Roll-up which consists of lettuce, tomato, pickles, crushed falafel balls (usually 3) and tahini sauce wrapped up in lafa. The lafa is a bit dry but the wonderful contents inside truly make up for it.
My friend Lisa got a Falafel plate which had seasoned rice, falafel with tahini, lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, pickles, hummus and a pita. It's quite a generous portion of food!
The squirrels on the Boston Common do not appreciate being given lafa. They turn up their noses and wonder who they can bother for some hot McDonald's french fries. This duck, however, was very patiently waiting for any food that he could get and I doubt he would have been as picky as the squirrels. The duck even flirted with us a bit, showing off his beautiful feathers. I had already inhaled my falafel roll-up and Lisa wasn't feeling quite generous, so the duck had to look on in envy.
I hope to do more posts on Falafel Fridays and to try out a recipe myself.
I've only tried falafel twice, which is strange because I'm a vegetarian.. there's a place in Greenwich Village (I think it's a chain so it's probably in other places too) called Moaz, and they are the McDonalds of falafel! Pretty neat...
ReplyDeleteI hope you'll do a post on how to make them because I'd love to attempt that in my kitchen :)
I love your tours of local shops! We don't have many lovely locally owned food places around here, so I'm really enjoying these sneak peeks.
ReplyDeleteI've never had falafel, but it looks scrumptious! I'd be very interested in a how-to post so I could try them.
I love falafel. I usually go to the Falafel Palace in Central Square because I work close by there. It's cheap and delicious!
ReplyDeleteKate - You should really try a falafel burger if you can find it. Excellent burger alternative for a vegetarian. I will try to do a Falafel tutorial, but I need to get a food processor first.
ReplyDeleteCasey - Oh yes! Indiana, land of the chains. More the reason you should come to visit Boston. :-)
Megan - Will have to try that place!