Tag: food

First time eating my favorite falafel with a review in mind – and it did not disappoint, on the contrary! Everything about this sandwich is top-notch.

• Falafel itself: Just about perfect. Very crunchy on the outside; soft, moist, and green on the inside; the ideal size. 9/10
• Bread: Yalla is justly famous for their fluffy, pillowy pita which they now distribute to stores. It doesn’t have a natural pocket from what I can tell – they slice it open to fill it – but maybe that’s what helps it stand up to the fillings. It’s delicious on its own as well. 10/10
• Sandwich fixings, taste and texture: Wow, so many ingredients to enhance the sandwich: hummus, fried eggplant, chopped salad (lettuce, tomato, and cucumber with olive oil), herbs with cilantro, green cabbage, red cabbage, pickles, “a 3 to 12 hour hard-boiled egg for creamy texture and smoky flavor.” (They smush it into the bottom of the sandwich). Plus self-serve tahini, onions with sumac and cilantro, tatbila (SO good!), fermented vegetables. Sounds like too much, but they all sing together. I skipped the spicy skhug but asked for everything else, and they volunteered the egg, which I didn’t see on the menu board (but I’ve had it before, and it’s great). 10/10
• Value for money: $12.84, a bargain for an amazing sandwich that’s quite huge! (You can get a half for ~$9, but I always get the full and enjoy every morsel.) 9/10
• Eatability: Remarkably high for this style of pita. They carefully butter the inside of the pita with the hummus, which helps its integrity, and it held up to the last bite. You do need both hands and full attention, and it’s a bit of a nosebag situation – I’ve had to wipe tahini off my face multiple times. 4/5
• Bonus points: The people are so nice! A child behind me in line was offered a teeny pita, slightly bigger than a golf ball, which kept them entertained. Free stickers. The help-yourself fixings are nice and a kind staffer encouraged me to serve myself extra tahini in a cup. Great view of Main Street Brattleboro. I’d take away a point for the long, awkward line, but there are toys to look at and they are in the bonus zone already with the bonus points! 5/5
• Total: 47/50

I stopped adding “treats” posts a while back… ran out of steam and motivation. But I’m glad I did them, especially since not a single one of those items is still available. I absolutely love falafel sandwiches and I’ve been on a quest to find good ones wherever I travel. And they vary so much – the falafel itself, but also the bread, the fixings, and the overall eating experience (is it a tidy bundle or a freaking mess that drips all over and falls apart?) We are lucky to have excellent falafel right here in Northampton (Pita Pockets!) although so far my very favorite is Yalla Vermont in Brattleboro.

So I’m starting another writing experiment which may or may not last. I searched for other falafel rankings and found a couple (both regional – wait, here’s a US list, and a short global list). Getting at least one falafel on the side to see them in their native state seems like a good idea, but also a bit of a hassle. I skip onions and don’t want it spicy, but otherwise I’m into whatever the shop offers to put on, from pickled turnips to Yalla’s 3-hour boiled egg. I’m going to score up to 10 points on five categories, for a perfect score (very unlikely, I’m picky) of 50 – but Jonathan made an excellent point that eatability isn’t as important as the others, so I’ll reduce that to 5 possible points and add bonus points.

When I’m out on a day trip, typically I’m visiting a museum, running some streets, and looking for other interesting things to do. I use Google Maps looking for “falafel near me” and pick a high-rated one. Sunday, May 17 was Syriana Cuisine, a large but quite empty restaurant in a strip mall in New Britain, CT.

• Falafel itself: Well-cooked crunchy outsite, decently moist on the inside. Not as green as I prefer, but good. 7/10
• Bread: Thin, not greasy, savory, great for wrapping, well-toasted. A little tough but that helps it hold up to the fillings. 7/10
• Sandwich fixings, taste and texture: Excellent additions include lemon zest and mint. Tahini and also pickled vegetables on the side, very nice. 9/10
• Value for money: $10 before tax & tip, decent for a fairly small sandwich. 7/10
• Eatability: Excellent! Tightly-rolled, held together until the next-to-last bite, hands stayed clean, ingredients well-distributed. 4/5
• Bonus points: a well-lit, spacious restaurant with comfortable booths, a very nice greeter/cook/server (just 1 staffer running the place!), and the side pickles. 4/5
• Total: 38/50