I've never been to Israel, where apparently falafel is as common as, say, peanut butter & jelly is in the US - but sold on more street corners.
I also didn't try falafel until I was... I want to say about 21, which is fairly recently. I'd never heard of it, & listen, falafel seems pretty foreign & hippie-esque to a girl who counts Kraft macaroni & cheese & the entire Applebee's menu among her favorite foods. (Yeah, insert Midwesty Crapplebee's joke here, jerks.)
But I really, really love falafel. A lot. And I was reminded of this glorious fact on Saturday night, when a gaggle of my friends & I left an Adam's Morgan party to make a late-night falafel run at Amsterdam Falafelshop. Their website says "Simply, the best falafel," & while I dont know why that errant comma exists after "simply," I otherwise agree -- though that's also probably not saying much, given everything I've just told you about my lack of passport stamps (OK, I don't even have a passport) & my culinary palette. It's basically a falafel bar, where you pick a size (three balls or five) & a pita (white or wheat) then go to town with your choice of fillings. I'm pretty unadventurous (um, surprise), so I always go with hot pepper flakes, hummus, cucumbers & parsley - & I am never dissatisfied. They don't have plates or forks, either, so it's all finger food - & a lot of napkins, as evidenced in the photos provided below.
I hit up Amsterdam Falafel again this evening with my friend Jill, & this food was even better when I was stone sober. Bet you've never said that about a late-night pizza joint!
And then, wonder of wonder, miracle of miracles, I returned home tonight to find a package on my proverbial doorstep (or set right inside my apartment so it isn't stolen, because my front desk receptionist likes me a lot & has a master key). Inside the package? FALAFEL!!! I forgot that I won a Pesach giveaway from Pop Judaica last month - & the prize was a bunch of Manischewitz swag, including chicken soup, bread crumbs, matzoh ball mix & falafel mix.
Now who wants to let me borrow their kitchen?
won't you have one of your own soon?
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you hadn't been there before! That is ALWAYS my drunk late-night stop when I'm out in AM. There is nothing better... not jumbo slice, not enchiladas, NOTHING!!!
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