What’s better than Falafel for the first post? You can find this Israeli classic almost anywhere here, but even though Falafel can be a real treat, most Falafels are kinda boring tastewise, so you really got to have some experience if you want to find the good Falafel places. My personal favourite Falafel store is called “Super Falafel” and it’s on the corner of Allenby and Lilenblum streets, Tel Aviv. Don’t let the cheesy name confuse you – This is a serious place for serious Falafel addicts from the Allenby street area, and it tends to get somewhat crowded at lunch time (Which, of course, is what you’re really looking for in a good Falafel place, because this means you get the hot and fresh Falafel balls straight from the oil). They have really good Pitas (somehow they never fall apart!), and they always serve fresh and tasty Falafel balls. Also, they offer a good complimentary variety of salads and pickles to go along, and all that with a nice attitude and for very few shekels (one pita is ~13Nis, and you can also get a half-pita for less, but you shouldn’t). If one of the two owners of “Super Falafel” recognizes that you are a first-timer, you might get a quick show they sometimes put on for newbies, including some lame jokes and very basic Falafel-acrobatics. You should then take your Pita and go sit in a Rothschild st. Bench, where there are small lawns and you can eat quietly and stare at locals.
Like many good Falafel places, there aren’t too many ordering options here, other than some choices of salads to go in your Pita (More is less, I suggest you go with only Hummus, Salad, Tahini, and maybe one or two other additions) . BUT- Three very important things you should know are:
- Never ask for French-fries in your Pita. Only mediocre Falafel places serve french-fries, maybe because they try to conceal the Falafels bad taste this way.
- Most people add some kind of a hot sauce to their Pita (in Hebrew: “HARIF” which literally means “spicy”). “Super Falafel” offers 2 kinds of hot sauce: the red one which is off-the-wall spicy, and the green one which is milder. In my opinion, if you’re not sure about this, that means you probably shouldn’t take any of them – if you go over the limit just a tiny bit, that can sometimes ruin the whole “Pita with Falafel” experience.
- You can sometimes see Near the Bottle of Thina, a Beige-Colored Bottle. Beware! This Contains “Amba” which is a pickled-Mango-sauce, which is both spicy and mean-tasting. I heard that if you eat this, it affects the smell of your sweat (!)
“Super-Falafel”. 113 Allenby st., Tel-Aviv (next to “Super-pharm”). open 10:00-16:00 weekdays. Price is ~20NIS (~5$) for one Pita with Falafel and a cold drink. Bus: take the 4 or 5 line to Allenby-Rothschild corner.
