Falafel and Hummus and Salads, Oh My!

I dream of tahini. I dream of other foods too, to be fair, but by far my favorite meal on the cheap is falafel. Served in a pita or on a platter, it doesn’t matter.

My friend Hot Tamale Man and I headed to South Street last week only to discover that Mama’s Grill, the South Philly outpost of Mama’s Vegetarian in Rittenhouse Square, had been replaced by Chickpeas Falafel & Grill. The “chickpeas falafel” tautology wasn’t inspiring, but the staff spoke in Hebrew and I was jonesing for falafel and the food actually turned out to be quite good.

We ordered the Falafel Platter ($11), which was enough for two, and shelled out a few extra bucks for a side of baba ghanoush. The platter included falafel, fries (or “chips” as Israelis, like Brits, like to call ‘em), a side of hummus and a selection of four salads. The salads were incredibly fresh. We ate our meal mid-afternoon and it’s hard to believe that any of those salads were prepared any earlier than noon that day. The sweetness of the roasted sugar beets was countered by the bite of raw onion. The classic “Israeli salad” of cucumber and tomato was simply dressed in olive oil and lemon juice, as were the salads of lightly blanched carrots and red cabbage with parsley.

The loose-packed falafel balls were fried to perfection and had a nice, nutty flavor. The smooth, Lebanese-style hummus was dressed up right with a drizzle of olive oil and a dash of paprika. The baba ghanoush had a pleasantly smoky taste but a just bit too much lemon juice for my palate.

A way serious notification: I am undertaking a comparative review of the better-known and lesser-known joints where folks in Philly can get their falafel on. Stay tuned for reviews of Saad’s, Maoz, Bitar’s, Mama’s Vegetarian and food trucks here, there and anywhere accessible via SEPTA.

Suggestions welcome, as always.

Chickpeas Falafel & Grill
630 South Street
(Closed Saturday for Shabbat)