Friday, March 21, 2008

3 spots to find falafel in Portland, ME

I’m a huge fan of falafel and have been ever since I first discovered it in Syracuse. There was this awesome little Middle Eastern joint tucked away in an off-campus neighborhood. They sold six packs of falafel with a tahini dipping sauce. It became a major part of my diet, and has been ever since.

Here in Portland, these three restaurants keep me flush with falafel.

Silly’s falafel comes in a wrap with spinach, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle and cucumber dill sauce. (The dill sauce has dairy, so I always sub it out for balsamic vinaigrette.) The falafel is crisp and chewy.

Greek Corner’s falafel comes in a puffy Syrian bread wrapped taco-like around shredded lettuce, tomato, onion and cinnamon-flavored tahini sauce. The falafel is crisp and formed in rolls rather than balls.

Spartan Grill’s falafel also comes in a warm flatbread with lettuce, tomato, onion and tahini sauce. The falafel is crisp on the outside and very moist inside. A signature wrapping technique keeps it all together while you chow.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi, Avery! Before I read this blog, I didn't even know what falafel was! Thanks for the enlightenment. :)

Oh, and I heard Burger King is rehiring, if you ever want your old job back. ;)

Take care,
Alex

elliott said...

Thanks for the list - I love falafel. Whole Foods does a "local" falafel in their cafe which is pretty good (comes with fries).

Anonymous said...

The Kitchen has them too

elliott said...

The Kitchen now has them frozen to go. There are two kinds - one that can just go in the toaster, and the other gets fried. Apparently they will sell them in Hannafords and other places locally.

Anonymous said...

The Star East Cafe on Forest/Deering has falafel. I haven't tried it yet, though.

Anonymous said...

I get my falafel with tahini-yogurt sauce fix at Hot Suppa!

Twofrogs said...

Thank you so much for this list! As a vegetarian newly arrived in Portland (and newly pregnant), I have been craving falafel and not sure where to go.
Your blog is great.