Mamoun's Falafel Review: Shawarma sandwich at Mamouns Falafel
A long time ago, when I was still trying to overcome my social retardation (I’ve since given up), I found myself at this bar. Someone asked me how I got into food blogging, like what influenced me. Was it my mom? My grandmother? Besides the fact that I really didn’t know how to return the small talk, there wasn’t an answer. See, some of you might have noticed that I don’t post as regularly anymore, and that’s because neither writing nor the exploration of food tickles my fancy. The reason I started was because I saw a shit ton of food blogs out there and thought, “How hard could it be to buy a big camera, take three pictures, and spew out some nonsense?” This obviously poses a problem for a blog that should have three posts a week, and also because sometimes food itself just doesn’t make me go berserk. What does make me absolutely ga-ga is cheap food. Maybe it’s the thrifty gene that’s embeded in many Asian folks, or maybe it’s that I’m absurdedly cheap… but I just love food when it’s not expensive.
It’s safe to say that even though I’m perpetually hungry, food really has to be cheap to completely capture my fancy. The rapture over exquisite food is there, but it’s not the same as $0.40 wing nights at Buffalo Wild Wings. When I was in school, the cheapest and tastiest thing was the falafel sandwich. In particular, those at Mamoun’s falafel restaurant. It’s basically this hole-in-the-wall with enough seating for 8, and back then, a falafel sandwich was $2 dollars (now $2.50). Think about it, a whole sandwich for $2 dollars. A fucking hot dog outside of The Metropolitan Museum of Art would have cost that much.
When you walk into Mamoun’s, the most imposing thing is not a pile of fried chickpeas though. It’s actually a giant hulk of shawarma. Of course the falafel sandwiches were nice, but I always needed two to be full. And back then, for $4 (now $5) one could get a shawarma sandwich. Real meat in a sandwich for $4!
Of course I had to try that, and after the first time trying the shawarma at Mamoun’s, I kind of stopped getting falafel sandwiches there. Crispy bits of lamb roasted on a spit was just awesome. Of course memory of such meals always taste better in my mind. The memories grow fonder over time as do the memory of the taste. I tried it again last week and it wasn’t as mind blowing as it was when I went to school. It certainly wasn’t the price, because at $5, the sandwich is still a good deal.
I think back then I just really loved this sandwich because of the price. Instead of eating some greasy take-out from Sammy’s, I could just get filled up on a relatively healthy lookin shawarma sandwich for less money. As a college student, this just blew my mind. These days I still look for cheap deals that excite me, but somehow it’s just not the same. The takeaway from all of this is just that while you’re eating something, just enjoy the experience. Sometimes you won’t remember what you love about it at a later date.
Mamoun’s Falafel119 MacDougal St.New York, NY 10012212-674-8685
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