The Best Falafel in New York?
A reader named Sara writes in with the following question: "Hi Adam! My fiance and I are coming to the city for a short trip next weekend. Our ultimate goal is to see a favorite band of ours, but other than that our visit will be focused on food. Our home (Asheville, NC) has pretty amazing food for a little southern town, but we are sorely lacking a good falafel. I've been reading your blog for several years now (and I'm a huge fan), and I'm curious to know where you think the best falafel can be found in the city. We're flexible to travel to pretty much any neighborhood. Thanks for your time!"
Well Sara, you're in luck, because I have an instant answer to your question...
...and that answer is Taim on Waverly Place just off 7th Ave.
Let's face it, falafel's hard to make fancy: it's ultimately a deep-fried ball of ground-up chickpeas. What makes Taim so remarkable is their attention to detail. Their falafel comes in three flavors--Green (with parsley, cilantro and mint), Red (with roasted red pepper) and Harissa (with Tunisian spices)--and if you order the mixed falafel platter (which I think is what you'll want to do) not only do you get all three, you also get hummus, tabouli and Israeli salad (as shown in the lead picture.)
All of it is so beautiful, that when I did a post about it in 2006 this Israeli woman saw me taking pictures and had this to say on camera:
So even if you don't take my word for it, take an Israeli's: Taim has the best falafel in New York.
My only complaint about it is that there's not a lot of seating in there and it can get crowded at lunch time. But believe me, once you take a bite you'll agree that it's worth it.
Related Posts:
