I can’t remember the first time I had falafel. I’m thinking it was after I graduated from college and moved into the big city. Originally, my favorite falafel joint was Chickpea right on 3rd Avenue and St. Marks Place. However, to my disappointment, they changed owners and names multiple times since then and the remaining Chickpeas in the city now only serve healthy “baked” falafel. Umm, no thank you? I only eat FRIED falafel. My friend LTR (she has contributed on this blog before she moved to Hawaii), mentioned to me about this Dutch falafel chain called Maoz that is awesome. Apparently there was an unlimited salad bar so you could add toppings to your falafel. I was a bit doubtful about Maoz because it was a Dutch chain and what do they know about Middle Eastern food? After being heart-broken with Chickpea’s demise and unimpressed with Mamoun’s, I was scared to try a new place and be disappointed. I admit, I only tried Mamoun’s once, but I clearly remember my sandwich being full of shredded lettuce and like two falafel balls and a ton of tahini sauce. Also, I don’t recall their falafel being very flavorful. I prefer falafel with a lot of cilantro so that they’re green and not brown like Mamoun’s.
One fine day, my friends and I met up at Maoz in Union Square. I ordered the Maoz Sandwich with hummus. I was really impressed with the salad bar. They have many toppings to choose from (olives, tomatoes, pickled eggplant, fried cauliflower/broccoli, and more). They also have a number of sauces (tahini and hot sauce of course). I’m not much of a condiment girl. I never have french fries with ketchup. I skipped all the sauces. I focused on the fried cauliflower/broccoli. I don’t know how Maoz makes their broccoli, but it’s so tasty. It’s probably because it’s salty (check) and fried (check), which are two things I like very much. The Maoz Sandwich is pretty huge. It contains five falafel balls along with a good amount of lettuce (not over-whelming) and hummus. I was pleased to find that the falafels were green which meant there was a lot of cilantro. The broccoli was delicious as well. It was a very filling meal. The only problem with Maoz? There’s very limited seating. There is at most 8 stools at the bar area. There have been times where I’ll buy my sandwich and then go to the crazy Whole Foods and eat in the food area.
Yum, I want more broccoli!
After I went back to Maoz to confirm that it was a good falafel place, I informed JRA, my boyfriend. I don’t know how many people know this, but our first “date”, I was crazy enough to take JRA to my beloved Chickpea. I had just met him in person at the airport for the first time. I knew that he had never had falafel before, but I was oblivious to the fact that maybe he wouldn’t like this “exotic” food. Anyhow, ignorant me took him to Chickpea and we bought our sandwiches and sat at their bar area because all the table seating was full. We had a romantic first dinner at Chickpea. I soon learned that JRA is an extremely fast eater. He tells me it’s because he comes from a “big litter”. Since when did four children equate to a big litter? I on the other hand struggled with eating my sandwich like a lady. I failed to realize that falafel is quite a hands-on meal. I managed not to make a huge mess. I have no idea what JRA thought of me at that point. I was just glad that I survived the meal without any issues. He also told me that he really liked the falafel sandwich. Yay! I do not recommend Maoz for a first date. It might be better for a third or fourth date.
JRA's Maoz Creation. Yummy.
I took JRA to Maoz for the first time and he went crazy. He loves olives and they have both green and black there. He filled up his sandwich with olives and hot sauce. He even put a few broccoli in there since I told him I was obsessed with them. He thoroughly enjoyed his sandwich. He even said that it was better than Chickpea because of the salad bar. Recently, I have downgraded to the Maoz Junior because it only has three falafels and this means I can load up on even more broccoli. Lately, Maoz, has been featured on Groupon, so I’ve been stocking up on Groupons. Whenever JRA comes to visit me in NYC, we definitely try to go to Maoz for a quick lunch.
Maoz
38 Union Square East (between 16th and 17th Streets)
New York, NY 10003
212.260.1988
Takes Credit Cards
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