#67 – GREEN FALAFEL at TAIM FALAFEL AND SMOOTHIE BAR

For the third year in a row, I’m going to attempt to eat every single item on Time Out New York’s annual 100 Best Dishes list. In no particular order, here’s my take on their Top 100. Let the gluttony continue…

Flavors are something I usually associate with ice cream parlors – certainly not with falafel joints. But husband and wife Einat Admony and Stefan Nafziger prove that flavors don’t need to refer to just their smoothies (which come in delicious combinations like date/lime/banana and pear/mint/lemon).

They’ve reinvented Israeli street food and now you can try their ground chickpea balls (the definition of falafel) in three recurring flavors: Red (with specks of roasted red peppers), spicy Brown (tinged with harissa chili), and the traditional Green (glowing with fresh mint, parsley, and cilantro).

As you may know, I’m a man of indecision and whenever I come to Taim (certainly one of the best examples of falafel in the city), I get the sampling, which enables you to try all three flavors plus some tahini sauce.

But Time Out singled out the green falafel and so on my last visit (which was before a Private Food Tour I put together of the West Village, including Taim), I got myself an all green falafel pita.

The sandwich was stuffed to the brim with onions, tomatoes, pickles, cucumbers, etc. There was also a generous helping of the round, tender falafel balls.

The greennesss gave it a nice fresh, herbaceous quality with a hint of  sweetness. As usual, the falafel was crunchy on the outside with a soft, warm interior.

I’m not sure I’d be able to single out the green falafel alone as being the best, but I sure love that Taim gives us options usually reserved for an ice cream cone. Just be careful because both could end up dripping down your arms.

Would Taim’s Green Falafel make my Top 100 of the year? It’s hard to ignore Taim’s other stellar falafel options, but they would all get a 9 out of 10 for their ingenuity and flavors.