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Best falafel in DC: part one in a series
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NOT the falafel I ate, but a good representation.
I'm passionate about a lot of foods but most of all, I'm passionate about falafel. For the uninitiated, falafel is a Middle Eastern dish consisting of small, spiced, but not necessarily spicy, chickpea patties, and are, more often than not, fried and served as a sandwich in a pita. (I've had baked falafel before -- not really my thing but it's healthier, and if you've tried it and liked it, then great.) I'm such a falafel fan that I once wrote an ode to it. It was terrible, but an ode nonetheless. I've also waxed philosophical on the merits of pie, and its ability to affect world peace, but that's an other story for another day.
The reason why I'm so passionate about falafel is because its the first vegetarian food I ever had. That's not to say I'd never had vegetables before -- of course I had -- but there's a big difference between salads, roasted potatoes, and greens (cooked, of course, with animal parts) and having something exclusively vegetarian as the entree. And I remember thinking that if all vegetarian food could taste like this, that switching to vegetarianism would be easy. Slightly less than three years later, I was completely off meat.
Most of my falafel experiences have been in New York (City), where I went to school; hell, I practically lived off the stuff senior year. Now that I've relocated back home, the question plagues me: where can I find the best falafel in DC? And as this is the first article I've written for the Examiner, what better way to start than with the food that introduced me to vegetarianism?
I decided to start my search at the U Street location of Busboys and Poets, local vegetarian-friendly coffeehouse, restaurants, bookstore, performing arts space, and one of my favorite hangouts. So let's break this sandwich down:
Packaging: wrapped almost burrito style in a thin pita with greens, tomato, and red onion, grilled, and sliced diagonally. Comes with your choice of potato wedges, sweet potato fries, or potato chips. Tahini, a chickpea-based dressing, comes served on the side in a tiny espresso cup. Cute, right?
The falafel: Definitely had a nice flavor and the touch of heat -- cayenne, probably -- was nice. However, upon biting into it, the patties turned to mush. When I asked the server if the falafels were baked or fried, he told me they were fried, so it's pretty safe to say that my falafel was left to sit for a while and/or was reheated. (FYI: he also told me that Busboys fries their meat separately from their vegetables, so, fellow vegetarians, feel free to eat your fries without fear.) When I asked him about this, he told me no and that there were no microwaves in the kitchen, which was all well and good, but the mushiness of the falafel and discoloration along the sliced edge (brown, whereas the inside was chickpea beige), the slightly burned but soggy state of my sweet potato fries, and the generally higher quality of the fries a friend had ordered leads me to believe otherwise.
The tahini: Very mild, and I could definitely taste the dill which was good, but little thin for my taste, and served cold. Cold enough, in fact, to cool what little warmth was left in the falafel.
Bottom line: Priced at $6.95, it's a pretty good deal. Good falafel, just served poorly.
Busboys and Poets has three locations: 2021 14th St NW, near the U St stop on the Green and Yellow lines; 1025 5th St NW, near the Mt. Vernon Square stop on the Green and Yellow lines; and 4251 Campbell Avenue in Arlington.
Want to see your favorite falafel featured here? Let me know!
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