Pitaz in da Hood

Last night, Mark and I went to see ouor friends The Beets play at Cake Shop on Ludlow, which used to be a record store with a cafe and record shop upstairs and venue downstairs, at least last year, which is the last time I was in there, I think. Now they don't even sell records anymore. They just use the super shitty mildly tounge-in-cheek-schticky covers to decorate the ceiling of their "upstairs lounge" where the vinyl browsing bins used to be. Gee, come to think of it, I should have checked to see if they even sell cake anymore. But I digress...

After the show, which would have been good were it not for the overbearing and frankly unnecessary amounts of reverb going on, we were headed to the subway when I happened to glance up at a sign that said "Best Falafel in New York".

I scoffed, of course, because to Mark and I (and countless others who've been), Oasis in Williamsburg right off the L Train has what I consider to be the best Falafel in all of New York. Hands down, and all for just $3. (It's the pickled cabbage and onions that you just can't beat.)

But that's the claim that Ashkara Falafel makes: their "Urban Pita", as they call it, is the best around. Urban Pita. PITAZ FROM THE GHETTO, BITCHEZ!!! REZPEKT! Sounds so gritty and tough for a bunch of fried vegetable matter in a fluffy whole wheat sleeping bag.


Ashkara - Urban Pita. 189 E Houston St, New York, NY 10002
So I throw on the brakes, realize my stomach is filled to the brim with wine and beer and that, as I sway a little, I haven't eaten any dinner. I prompt Mark for his current hunger status and we decide to venture in. Their menu was fairly large AND, most importantly, filled with things that our vegetarian stomachs could ingest, which is somewhat of a rarity even around the five boroughs. (Whether or not any of this is vegan though, I can't say. Most chain restaurants - this place exudes chain-food-restaurant-style - don't acknowledge the vegan diet and when you ask if it's vegan they usually look at you like you're speaking Russian.)


The choice is yours.

I was a little too drunk to notice their veggie burger (a mushroom burger with soy) or their "Urban Delight" (eggplant, hard boiled egg and hummus), which could either be ridiculously delicious or a textural, mushy taste nightmare.

We settled on the regular small Falafel & hummus sandwich ($4.40...not bad) and then I realized something wonderful: they had their own sandwich fixins bar, filled with pickled goodness and sauces galore.

Oh the glorious freedom of choice

They had carrots, fried cauliflower, cucumbers, pickles, tabouleh, cabbage, lettuce, slaw, tahini sauce (this they had in squirtable containers all over the place like ketchup. What a blessing!), beets (I think)...they had it all. And being the condiment/fixins junky I am, I of course attempted to stuff everything possible into my pita to get my money's worth and test the elasticity of their home-made pita bread, which is an essential element in judging a good pita. Here is where Oasis fails.

Delightfully, my pita was fluffy and stretchy to the max, and even though I mashed as much in there as I could with the aid of a plastic fork, there was zero breakage - even with extra squirts of tahini!


Fluffy and filling

Left: Lemon juice & Olive Oil. Right: Mark approves of this falafel message

I was so overjoyed that I almost wanted another pita after gobbling down the first, but decided to moderate myself (I'm still trying to take it easy on my stomach) and opted instead to eat there anytime I'm in the LES until I make my way through their veggie menu. I of course can't say what their meat dishes are like, but if my little fried balls of chickpea were any indication, they are probably delish.

The place was clean, the staff was friendly, the price was right and the food was fresh and tasty. What more can you possibly ask for, really? Best falafel in New York? They might not be lying. Still, what Oasis lacks in garnish and pita-fluff, it definitely makes up for in surly Mediterranian dudes cooking your shit up right while blaring the Indian VH1 channel in the background. Bonus points for authenticity.

(05.05.09) **UPDATE** I will say that the 2nd time Mark and I went back there for dinner (a couple months ago), the place was a mess. The condiment bar was depleted and what was there was totally room temperature - a major food safety no-no - and totally intermixed with each other, which I guess is only gross if you don't want weird sauteed eggplant topping in your pickled cabbage. (Vom.) The counter tops and floor were littered with food refuse and I refused to go downstairs to use the bathroom, knowing it had to be full of roaches given the unclean state of the dining area. SO, although I still recommend this place because it was totally awesome the first time we gave it a go, be aware that as with all eateries staffed by lazy 19 year old fuck-wads that like house music, sometimes nobody wants to clean.