I didn’t expect to have another falafel opportunity so soon after #10, and wow, I have done more of these than I necessarily expected. As with almost all my projects, each individual post might be the last, but I do have more persistence as I get older. And this has been fun, frequently delicious, and fruitful in terms of figuring out what I like best and find most worthwhile. Takeaway so far: favor wraps over pita, except for Yalla.
Mamoun’s is the first falafel sandwich I remember having; we used to frequent the St. Marks Place location in the 80s and 90s. They claim to be the first in NY, so that makes sense. The one near where we stay in New York opened recently and this was my first visit. The one-handed photo is blurry but it was a delicious mess! Unfortunately I didn’t take very good notes and I’m writing this weeks later, so I might need to redo these ratings at some point.
- Falafel itself: Tasty, green, not exceptional. 8/10
- Bread: Nicely toasted, decent-tasting pita. 7/10
- Sandwich fixings, taste and texture: Big hunks of fresh tomato, hummus and tahini both moist and delicious (which added to the mess), decent lettuce… overall yummy. 8/10
- Value for money: Incredibly cheap, especially for New York! Only $7.99 for a decent-sized sandwich with hummus ($6.75 for basic). More fixings cost more, but wow, what a bargain. 9/10
- Eatability: So messy that you’d almost be better off with a knife and fork. If I hadn’t ordered the hummus version, and had held off on the tahini, it might have been less of a problem, but not sure that would be worth it. Pita is inherently less tidy than a wrap. 2/5
- Bonus points: 1 for being my first falafel and 1 for being so close to our NYC location! 2/5
- Total: 36/50