Falafel Tanami

ISRAEL 🇮🇱

Sometime last spring a new falafel shop popped up in Midwood, Brooklyn, owned by the former operators of Famous Pita on Coney Island Avenue up in Kensington. More recently, this branch has opened in the heart of Borough Park, a block away from the main shopping avenue.

While I was waiting for my first taste, an orthodox man approached the small counter and exclaimed "This really reminds me of Israel!" Online reviews seem to agree, although to be honest there is not all that much in the shop. A small table carries a bunch of fresh toppings and add-ons for your pita, maybe that is the trick.

While your fresh falafel balls are in the fryer, the man who constructs your sandwich will run through these and start adding as desired. Hummus, Israeli salad, fried eggplant, fries, pickles, etc... it is all included in the price. For $7, a loaded falafel pita comes your way, topped off with a good dousing of tahini sauce.

The pita itself, while presumably from a package, is quite enjoyable and soft. The falafel balls remain gooey on the inside while fried to perfection and a nice crisp. None of these are sitting around and all fried on demand, ensuring a fresh sandwich.

A self-serve condiment bar is available as well just in case you were too shy with the toppings when prompted.

Next time back I am looking forward to trying a sabich, another sandwich within a pita that consists of slices of both fried eggplant and hard-boiled eggs. This breakfast sandwich is all the rage in Tel-Aviv these days.

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BOROUGH PARK Brooklyn
4305 12th Avenue

Map of Eat the World NYC:

My Grill Bar

ISRAEL 🇮🇱

For some years, the location at this address was called Shawarma Ave, an enticing name to be sure. In the last two years, the owners have rebranded more generically as My Grill Bar, but things look even nicer inside and the shawarma spits rotate with even better looking meats.

Given the neighborhood, the restaurant is glatt kosher like most places in Midwood, and describes itself as an "Israeli Grill." Otherwise, it would be hard to tell from most standard Middle Eastern restaurants solely from the menu.

Photo courtesy of mygrillbar.com

What was not immediately apparent but became a point of much interest was the access to the small salad bar (above) that opens up when you order a platter. Normally the salad bar can be purchased by weight, $3.50 per 1/2 lb. The beets, eggplant, and pickled vegetables were all fabulous, and a second plate had to be filled up. Unsure of the proper salad bar etiquette, this was done as quietly as possible.

A plate of hummus with falafel ($10, below) also brings a basket of warm, fresh bread. While the falafel fall flat, the hummus is very creamy and smooth and could not be much better. Shawarma and hummus always make a good combination, so having this plate around also made sense for the rest of the order.

The beautiful spits of shawarma mentioned earlier consist of chicken on the left and the house special turkey and lamb mixture on the right. We stuck with the normal chicken shawarma platter ($18, below) as the first choice, a very large plate of meat knifed off with their special shawarma blade, fresh salad of cucumber, tomato, and onion, and Israeli rice and beans.

The turkey and lamb shawarma is called "My Shawarma" and costs an extra $2 for the platter. A quick discussion after the meal with the proprietor about their specialty piqued the interest for next visit.

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MIDWOOD Brooklyn

1022 Avenue P

Taam Tov

UZBEKISTAN
ISRAEL

**14 August 2009 update:

I took a full two stars from Taam Tov today because many things had happened since I was there last time, the most important of which was the quality of the food had fallen off a cliff. In the diamond district of Midtown, this little lunch counter use to be the actual diamond in the rough, but has since moved across the street (their old building is now a large hole in the ground) into an expanded dining room, and seemingly concentrated on turning the place from an Uzbek kebab takeout to a sit down Israeli joint.

I was looking over the menu when I reached the third floor and the pushy manager must have requested we take a seat at least three times. I was with a vegetarian, so I told him we were just checking to make sure some of the salads and hummus dishes would be adequate for her, but instead of directing us to look at the baba ghanoush or many other vegetarian items on the menu, all we got was "please go inside, there are many tables."

We were already set on eating here or the experience might have pushed us away. I guess they get a lot of stray tourists walking up the three flights in curiosity and try to get them into tables before they change their mind, but I told the manager to calm down and stop rushing us. The problem with Midtown is that there just are not a lot of good options, and I knew from a couple years ago that this place had excellent food.

Unfortunately I will stop recommending it with such vigor to those around Times Square, probably just mentioning its existence when someone needs a quick lunch tip in the area instead. As stated before, the Uzbek style of the meal here has been all but lost except for the appearance on the menu of things like lagman (a common soup) and lepeshka, the bread that highlights a good Uzbek meal. The kebabs are still good, and go for around $12-13 for two with a side dish. Ordering them a la carte also used to be possible but seems to be out of the question now.

Paired with a half-loaf of lepeshka ($2), the baba ghanoush ($5, small order, above) is actually quite good, stinging of garlic in every bite. The only downside is that the eggplant is diced up so fine that you hardly notice it.

I could not remember ever ordering the Uzbek pilaf ($10, below) so I decided to give it a try. I should have known I would not like it simply for the fact they spelled it this way instead of "plov." It came out so quickly that even before chewing yesterday's rice I could tell that the thing had been microwaved, especially since my plate was warm. The carrots were lifeless and the meat was mostly fat, I guess what they meant by the word "juicy" on the menu.

I will certainly still come here for a lunch when in the area of Times Square, but I've learned my lesson and will stick with the kebabs. It's a shame that this gem has decided to lose its Uzbek roots and sharpen its image, all for the worse in my opinion. It's now not the super-cheap takeout it used to be, with all prices rising across the menu.

MIDTOWN Manhattan

41 West 47th Street, 3rd Floor

Hummus Place

ISRAEL 🇮🇱

Old East Village storefront, location no longer open.

On a recent visit, we arrived just before a downpour and watched as many passersby took refuge under the awning outside. We were dry and had our minds on the food making such delicious smells in maybe my new favorite non-Japanese place in the East Village. Hummus Place is both comfortable and warm. There is really not much of a selection here, but that is no problem because what they focus on here is done very well. A trip would be incomplete without the delicious shakshuka ($6.95), a stew of tomatoes and vegetables with two eggs. Add the cheese chunks for $2 more, worth all 200 pennies. One of these and a hummus appetizer is plenty sufficient to feed two people, making a very economical meal.

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UPPER WEST SIDE Manhattan
305 Amsterdam Avenue


WEST VILLAGE Manhattan
71 7th Avenue