First day in NYC/Chickpea Falafel

YO YO YO LTH,

Whaddup y'all? Da Hungry mothah F***in Rabbi in New Yawk, kickin it wit da posse old school and whatnot, knowwhatI'msayin'??

Ahem...

Greetings, my dear fellows and ladies, from the city that never sleeps (and only smokes outdoors)....

Before I got down to business in Brooklyn, beginning the clean out and sale of grandma's place and the journal of Avenue U food, (which will get the proper inauguration on Sunday as GAF and co. and I meet at Pirosmani, one of only 2 or 3 Georgian restaurants in the city... see "Events" for more info...), I decided to give myself the first day here in Manhattan, where I met up with my dear friend Michael, the gay rabbi (albeit a real one - both gay and a rabbi, that is) and one of the funniest people on earth (he got started on the product Mrs. Dash - don't ask me how - and started riffing, saying that she now uses her maiden name Ms. Moskowitz after she found Mr. Dash in bed with Mrs. Butterworth... etc..). Having spent time in Israel, Michael has a nose for falafel and took me to a favorite of his, a new-ish place in the village called Chickpea. Quite simply, this is the best falafel ever. As much as I love the Shawarma and falafel at City Noor and Semiramis and other places on the great Kedzie strip, this simply blew them away. I mean, no contest. Pure fava bean, a little smaller than usual, and crisp, greaseless, exploding with fresh, deep flavor. They load up the pita with a variety of pickled salads, tahini, and an incendiary hot sauce. The bread itself was wonderful - puffy, chewy, with an almost pretzel-like taste, it was the perfect base for the sandwiches, supporting the copious filling and balancing the tastes. The shawarma was, possibly, even better. I had the Turkey (the chicken wasn't quite brown enough) and was amazed - crisp, thin sliced, tender morsels of bird, imparted with hints of lemon, onion, and a light spice dusting. Incredible. Homemade lemonade with mint leaves and a piece of delicious honey cake topped off this feast. I really need that digital camera. Great, great stuff, and hopefully an auspicious beginning and indicator of things to come. Keep checking in for the Great Avenue U report, coming soon.... Shalom...

Chickpea
23 Third Ave (@ St. Mark's Pl)
New York NY

Greetings HR,

Besides the great felafel, Chickpea might also be one of the hippest kosher joints I've ever been to.

http://chickpearestaurant.com/

Best,
Michael

I was a little underwhelmed with Chickpea. I was much happier with a falafel sandwich I had over on Ave A at a place called Damask Falafel. I thought the quality of the falafel at Chickpea was good but not great; although you can't beat the made to order freshness. The salad, however, was pretty subpar and the amount of hummus was almost nil. Damask, on the other hand, piled in the hummus, tabouli, baba ganoush and salad, which made the sandwhich a little hard to handle, but damn good. Both were about the same price.

Overall, I don't think either place makes a better falafel than Salam on Kedzie. The best falafel I've had in New York is just west of Union Square on 17th at a little place that's only open for lunch--Rainbow (or somethign like that).

The schwarma at Chickpea did look good, but nothing--nothing ANYWHERE, compares to the chicken schwarma at Karam in Bay Ridge.

CMC wrote:The best falafel I've had in New York is just west of Union Square on 17th at a little place that's only open for lunch--Rainbow (or somethign like that).

17th just west of Union Square, that's Rainbow Falafel. Pretty darn good. South side of 17th about 25 yards in from Union Sq, in a storefront barely bigger than a closet, no tables.

Best, bar none: Azuri Cafe, just east of the corner 10th Ave and 50th St (could be 51st St). The best, best best. Last year it was the one place we went to twice over a week's stay. And we weren't sorry either. Exc pastes too. Cramped seats at compact tables for about 15 folks. Closes around 8:00 PM. Take a few minutes and admire the precision of the operation, its extraordinary.

Both are Israeli style (chickpea based, not Fava based).

Ouch, people. I guess falafel is a touchy subject around here. In fairness, I should qualify that I had the falafel platter as opposed to the sandwich, and had the Shawarma sandwich (as opposed to the ... right.) Also, I was told by Michael that if anything, the place (in his opinion) has improved over the months and gotten more streamlined and efficient and consistent. Again, to my tastes, Chickpea got it exactly right - the freshness of the salad and pickle toppings, the pita (hot, chewy, dense, tasty) and the crisp, pure tastes of the falafel and meat were right on the money. De gustibus, etc...

HR