Saturday, August 29, 2009

Amsterdam Falafel, Washington D.C.



I love falafel when it's crunchy and fresh, with really good tahini and salad on really good pita. Amsterdam Falafel Shop on 18th Street NW makes it exactly the way I like it! I asked exactly which middle eastern country their falafel came from. The answer was completely evasive: they studied falafel in Amsterdam, and came up with their recipe. Customers come from a variety of embassies in the neighborhood (Adams-Morgan). Some may be mutual enemies. So the management strictly refuses allegiance to any single source of falafel -- except Amsterdam.

I said, oh, "World Peace Falafel" -- yes, that's it. I liked it as well as the falafel in Tel Aviv and on Rue des Rosiers in Paris -- that is, Israeli falafel, maybe Israeli-Yemenite falafel. But this is pan-middle-eastern falafel.

And not far away are various African art shops with many beautiful masks and carvings for sale.

2 comments:

~~louise~~ said...

I adore falafel. I was just thinking about it today when I tried a new pita bread. And tahini, oh my...

I'll be passing this info on to my son. He's always looking for new places to try when he heads down to Washington!

Thanks for sharing, Mae.

P.S. I'm having a small give-away at my blog. Drop by if you get a chance:)

Tamar Hammer said...

You made me miss the great (sin...) taste of the "twin falafel" in Givataim Israel.