The places where falafel is found are as different as the people who make it. Here, according to country of origin, is a sampling:
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Falafel is one of the delicacies coming from the Golden China kitchen in Squirrel Hill, owned by Gabe Fakiro. (Robin Rombach, Post-Gazette) |
Israel
The dinner specials at Golden China Restaurant feature Won Ton Soup, Kung Pao Chicken and Moo Goo Gai Pan. But don't be surprised if when you call in for a take-out Chinese order, the phone rings and you hear the greeting "Shalom."
Golden China is a kosher Chinese and Israeli restaurant on Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill.
Israeli-born Gabe Fakiro and his wife, Gila, came to Pittsburgh on their honeymoon to visit friends and relatives 18 years ago. They stayed. After stints as a home remodeler and other exploits, Fakiro began cooking with a relative at the now-defunct King David restaurant in Squirrel Hill, where he became adept at kosher Chinese cooking. Sensing a need in the community, he and his wife opened their small eatery.
On the Chinese side of the menu are all the predictable dishes, except, of course, no shrimp or other shellfish is offered. On the Israeli side of the menu are Middle Eastern favorites: hummus, Turkish salad, shish kebab, baba ghannouj and falafel.
The falafel recipe is from Fakiro's neighbor, who brought it from Israel.
The falafel balls are the size of hushpuppies, uniformly made with a molding gizmo purchased in Israel.
Syria
"Falafel makes you hungry when you smell it," says Larry Labad, Syrian co-owner of Labad's Middle Eastern Groceries in the Strip. "I call it a vegetarian hamburger because it's so popular."
Labad says that the Egyptian version of falafel uses both chickpeas and fava beans, but the rest of the Middle East uses chickpeas alone. Labad's offers four toppings for its falafel sandwich: tahini, hummus, tabbouleh or baba ghannouj.
His dad, known in some parts as "The King of Hummus," started the store 10 years ago. He brought the recipe from Syria but added his own "secret spices."
Lebanon
Antoine Kassab is Lebanese. "All Middle Eastern people eat falafel. It's our fast food. I use my mom's recipe. Her name is Maryann, and she lives in Mount Washington."
At his restaurant, Kassab's, on the South Side, the menu is Middle Eastern and the falafel sandwich is served as a "wrap." Customers are eager to chime in with their two cents' worth.
Valerie Testa, an Italian who lives on the South Side, says, "It's easy to make and easy to eat. I have falafel three or four times a week." Phil Word, who admits to a mutt ethnic heritage, says, "You can add anything you want. It's good."
America
Jeff Margolis is Jewish, born in Pittsburgh and living in Squirrel Hill. He's the owner of Sari's Vegetarian Restaurant on Murray Avenue, where the menu is a mix of classics with a vegetarian spin -- sandwiches, salads, platters, soups and hoagies.
The pizza, you wouldn't believe. There are the plain, mushroom and garden varieties, but then there are the veggie crab pizza, the minestrone soup sauce pizza and the pasta pizza. Its deluxe toppings include fried eggplant, feta cheese, veggie meatballs and falafel.
Sari's recipe comes from Margolis' friend, Moshe Siebzener.
Sari's makes a colossal, two-level version of the falafel sandwich. Here's the blueprint: Generously spread the inside of a warm, split pita pocket with hummus -- this helps to hold incoming fillings in place. Toss in three warm falafel balls. Add a heaping spoon of Israeli salad (diced tomato, peppers, cucumbers and onion) and a good forkful of sauerkraut. Repeat with more hummus, falafel, salad and sauerkraut. Now add some sliced dill pickles and, using a generous hand, drizzle tahini sauce over all.
If you build it, they will come.
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