GREAT BALLS OF FALAFEL
CHICKPEA SANDWICH MAKES A COMEBACK IN CITYWIDE JOINTS
By ANDREA STRONG
June 24, 2007 -- TO get your falafel fix in Manhattan, you usually had two choices: Rainbow, the Union Square pita pocket-size shop with a perpetual line (26 E. 17th St.; [212] 691-8641), or Mamoun, the university-crowded hut in Greenwich Village (119 MacDougal St; [212] 674-8685). But now, the appeal of a cheap and reasonably healthy sandwich has caught on, and falafel joints are popping up like weeds. Here's a run down on the newest balls in town.
Falafel Chula
436 Union Ave., Brooklyn; (718) 387-0303
Located in the former space of the Egyptian café Uncle Mina's, this slim shop comes to us from Taco Chulo partners Dija Amer and Greta Dana. (Uncle Mina is actually Amer's distant cousin, and she bought the shop from him when she heard he was selling.) Chula's falafel is based on Amer's Egyptian family recipe, which uses a mix of fava beans and chickpeas, soaked for two days and ground in-house. She adds handfuls of cilantro, dill and parsley, along with anise, fennel, coriander, sesame seed, hot chili peppers and fresh green onions.
Golden and crisp on the outside and bright green and soft on the inside, her falafel is wildly flavorful. The basic Falafel Chula is topped with a chopped salad of cucumber and ripe tomato and tahini ($3.50), while the Deluxe adds a minty fried eggplant salad and dill pickles ($4.50). You can also design your own dream sandwich from a list of toppings ($1 each) that includes tabouli, Greek salad, roasted red peppers, chickpeas, olives, hummus, baba ghanouj, tzatziki, Moroccan spiced carrots, torschi (house pickled peppers, and olives), and even french fries.
Maoz Vegetarian
38 Union Square East; (212) 260-1988
While it's new to the city, Maoz has actually been around since 1991, where it began in Holland and then spread across Europe, opening more than two dozen locations. When it opened its bright lime-green shop in March, the lines quickly started forming. But Maoz is as worthwhile an endeavor as any.
A Maoz falafel ($4.50) comes in a whole-wheat or white pita filled with well-seasoned falafel balls made with just a bit of chili pepper for a spicy kick. Choose from falafel with hummus ($5), grilled eggplant ($5.25) or feta ($5.25), and then your only task is to fill'er up at the Maoz salad bar - an unlimited fixin's paradise that includes a dozen choices daily, from dill pickles and spiced carrots to fried cauliflower, pickled eggplant, couscous and more. To finish, there are three pulpy salsas (cilantro, tomato, spicy green chili) and three sauces (yogurt, tahini, garlic). The only issue is getting it all in the pocket without somehow dropping the fillings and sauces all over yourself.
Chickpea
210 E. 14th St.; (212) 254-9500
23 Third Ave.; (212) 254-9500
The oldest of the newcomers (the first store opened in March 2004), Chickpea's claim to fame is its fresh, house-baked pita. It's thick and puffy, and far more substantial than your average thin pocket (no leaks in this bread). But the falafel itself is lackluster compared to the newer competition. The balls are bright green and nicely seasoned, but they're quite mushy, and are only given a modest heap of hummus, a bit of limp chopped salad. There are also two hot sauces to choose from, one sweeter and one smokier, but both are fiery. Those who stay away form falafel because it's fried, take comfort: Come the end of the month, Chickpea will be rolling out its newest invention - oven-baked falafel.