Oh, dear falafel, how you sate thee.
I feel the same way about you as I do about croissants or pistachio ice cream: if a person does not like you, then I don’t trust that person.
I’m also convinced you’re healthy for me. Your warm, crispy goodnesses mesh so well inside that soft, warm pita of yours. And when you’re drenched in hummus and tahini and mixed with Israeli salad and sprinkled in all those exciting spices, well, then, it’s on—and I want to eat you. (For what it’s worth, my favorite place to get down in Brooklyn is Chick P. Get the Popeye Delight, which comes with spinach and mushroom falafel; the Sabich is a close second.)
And for those of you who feel the same way: rejoice. Now there’s an entire day dedicated to the celebration of these savory chickpea creations. That’s right, today is International Falafel Day (it seems there’s a day for everything now, doesn’t it?), which was created by the same person who organized International Hummus Day. The website for the celebration shows a map, which shows some falafel joints around the world, and links to some recipes, but I’m not sure what else is going on there. But it looks like there are some deals posted to the event’s Facebook page.
In any case, check out some of Tablet’s falafel-related coverage throughout the years. It’s delicious:
— Food Fight by Etgar Keret
— Israel Goes Vegan by Dana Kessler
— A Vegetarian Food Truck Called Shhmaltz by Rachel Lavin
— Israeli Chefs Bring a New Spin on Middle Eastern Food to America by Leah Koenig
— The Humble Pita Bread Gets a Culinary Makeover by Dana Kessler
— Stations of the Fork: A tour of restaurants in the Holy Land by Joan Nathan
— Good Cop, Bad Cop: Israel Diplomacy Edition by Sam Apple
— Egging on Sabich in Israeli Cuisine by Tablet’s Editors
— Israeli Food Big in Japan (Alright!) by Tal Trachtman Alroy
— Jamie Geller, the ‘Kosher Rachael Ray,’ Dresses Up Simple Family Meals by Lucy Cohen Blatter
— Sundown: Fifty Pounds of Chickpea by Marc Tracy
Jonathan Zalman is a writer and teacher based in Brooklyn.