Saturday, April 16, 2011

NYC's best falafel

Okay, this has been quite a quest for a while, and I finally have my votes! Hopefully it will make it worth your while, next time you wonder where to eat! I've ordered them by preference and added points of appeal/dislike. If you favor the hot sauce over the pita or falafel over the toppings, this will help you pick!

1. Azuri cafe:

Hands down, this has to be #1 for the most authentic, yet delicious falafel experience.

The yum:
  • Crispy and tasty falafel
  • A plethora of amazing toppings that go into the sandwich
  • Fluffy and authentic pita
The meh:
  • Well, the owner is kinda like a soup nazi. If you are persnickety and want more hot sauce, just don't request it here. You may get kicked out.
  • You only get about 3 falafel in your sandwich. The toppings more than make up for it though.

The yum:
  • 3 varieties of falafel. All are yum, but i'm partial to the red pepper ones.
  • Great hot sauce, fluffy pita
  • The flavor layers are pretty nice.
  • Also reccommend: The Sabich sandwich, not a falafel sandwich, but extremely tasty!

The meh:
  • Not exactly authentic food
  • There is no place to sit and eat. You have to take it to go.

The yum:
  • Very authentic, green crispy falafel
  • Face it, you are not going to find a cheaper sandwich. $2.50 is an awesome deal, even if you have 2!
  • Their hot sauce means business. Its super hot. They also sell it it bottles, though i've never tried that!
  • If you don't like bells & whistles, this is your simple & clean falafel!
The meh:
  • Only lettuce & tomato in my falafel?!
  • One sandwich may still leave you hungry.


The yum:
  • Pretty authentic, crispy & tasty falafel
  • Pickled turnips!
  • You can ask for fried cauliflower in your sandwich, and it is definitely yummy!
  • Nice hot sauce with harissa flavors.
The meh:
  • A tad pricier than the others on this list, additives cost more.
  • Downtown, and closed during weekends.

The yum:
  • You can stuff anything from the salad bar onto your falafel, and it is yum.
  • Not one but like 10 sauces.
  • Yummy sweet potato fries with garlic sauce!

The meh:
  • I feel too full after I eat here.
  • Falafel are nothing extraordinary
6. Baba Ghanouge:

The yum:
  • They add anything you want from the salad bar to your sandwich. I love pickles, carrots & beets in mine
  • The hot sauce here has a very different flavor profile.
  • They have a fresh smoothie bar as well.
The meh:
  • The falafel is quite standard, nothing too impressive.
I didn't care much for university pita. I felt the toppings, though unlimited were stale. Nor did I like chickpea, the baked falafel were mediocre. I'm yet to try crisp, which I hear is good.

A few others I like:

Pita joe, for their unlimited tahini,hot sauce & amba tubes, The cart outside 200 west st on west side highway for bad for you but so yum falafel over spicy rice with white & hot sauce. Ok now that is just so New York :)