Restaurant Review: Mamoun's Falafel Restaurant

Since I am staying in a closet with a teeny kitchen with room only for fairies to do their cooking, I am eating out a lot.  Luckily I am living in a great neighborhood for just this type of situation.  From what I have been reading, New Yorkers and New York tourists and posing New Yorkers rave their socks off about Mamoun's falafel.  Seriously.  Even Bethenny Frankel mentioned it on her show when interviewing the Napoleon Dynamite assistant.  Anyway, tonight I went there for what is supposed to be the quintessential falafel sandwich.

First Impressions:

This place is not meant to be a lingering location.  Stand in line, walk through the narrow "dining area," exchange awkward glances with the people in front of you when it's your turn to squeeze up to the counter to place your order, order your falafel sandwich (or lamb shawarma, which will be my next choice), pay $2.50 for said falafel sandwich, and 1.5 minutes later, your lunch/dinner/late night snack is ready.

The Food:

Yum!  However much one could rave about a falafel sandwich, and even if the raving could ever be excessive, this sandwich was really good.  The falafel is not overly anything, just right, and it's nestled into a pita stuffed with shredded romaine, tomatoes, and tahini sauce.  Real green leafy stuff!  It's pretty much  worth every bit of the two dollars and fifty cents that I spent on it.

It looks messier than it is.

The Service:

Quick. Quick. Quick.  I feel like this category is almost n/a for take-out this quick.  What do I say?  The cashier's eye contact was really meaningful?  The way he took my money made me know that I was a valued customer and he really appreciated that I stood in line for five minutes? 

Food     mmmm

Service     mmm

Decor     mm 

Je ne sais quoi     mm (this place is not meant for je ne sais quoi, and for this place that's not necessarily bad)

Overall     mmmm

119 MacDougal Street

New York, NY 10012

http://mamouns.com/

p.s. Please forgive typos.  If there are ever any, I never notice them until a post is published.

About the ratings:

mmmmm        would eat there again tomorrow

mmmm           looking forward to eating there again

mmm              not in a hurry to eat there again

mm                 likely not going to eat there again

m                    would try my best never to eat there again. ever.

I reserve the right to grade on a curve for the overall score, despite the average.

Restaurant Review: Soho Sushi

First Impressions:

Even for the brief second I was in here, the place is very inviting.  Mellow green walls, simple tables, not a lot of swag.  I could happily dine in.  They have a tv showing the World Cup.  

The Food:

I just wanted a quick cheap Sunday lunch.  My roomie and I decided to share one of the lunch specials, a three roll option that comes with soup or salad.  She got two rolls, and I got a tuna avocado roll plus the miso soup.  If you want quick food that isn't pizza or a hot dog, this place is for you.  We called it in, and in five minutes, it was ready.  A huge bonus of this place is that the lunch specials run on the weekends, too.  It's hard to mess up a tuna avocado roll, I know.  Well, this one wasn't messed up.  Next time I will be more adventurous.  For today, though, this was exactly what I wanted.

The Service:

Quick and friendly.  They chatted us up about the World Cup a little.  Not much to complain about, which makes sense because it was a take out order. 

Food     mmmm

Service     mmmm

Decor     mmmm

Je ne sais quoi     mmmm

Overall     mmmm

231 Sullivan Street

New York, NY 10012

http://www.sohosushinyc.com/

p.s. Please forgive typos.  If there are ever any, I never notice them until a post is published.

About the ratings:

mmmmm        would eat there again tomorrow

mmmm           looking forward to eating there again

mmm              not in a hurry to eat there again

mm                 likely not going to eat there again

m                    would try my best never to eat there again. ever.

I reserve the right to grade on a curve for the overall score, despite the average.

Food Addiction: Coffee

I love La Colombe Corsica blend coffee.  Food and Friends (where you can buy food stuffs while dancing to the best indie music) sells it for ten dollars a bag.  That's a great deal on delicious coffee.  Said ("Sayid") at La Citadelle brews La Colombe, but I am not sure what blend.

For coffee-on-the-go, I really love the medium roast from Good Karma on 22nd.  It's just a nice flavor of coffee to help me actually enjoy drinking it during my morning commute.

As for corporate coffee options, I go to Starbucks or Dunkin's, depending on a number of factors: (1) proximity; (2) shortest line; (3) whether I am getting a medium iced coffee (Dunkin's is a little cheaper, or at least my brain is trained to think so based on the shape of the cup); (4) whether I have my coffee cup with me (Starbucks will knock off ten or fifteen cents I think); (5) time (Dunkin's is a little faster); and (6) whatever justice or fairness requires at the time.  Nothing precludes me from balancing additional factors, should they manifest.

Now that I have been in NYC for a week, I have been having corporate coffee in the morning once I get off the subway and along the walk to work.  Yesterday, since I wasn't going to work, I walked around the corner and bought a $1.50 travel-mug-sized cup of coffee plus milk from Cafe Reggio.  It was delicious, with really frothy milk.  But, I can't buy coffee every day, can I?

I am trying to live reasonably within my cheddar this summer, so I bought Folgers instant coffee.  I am trying it out this morning.  I just don't think I can do this every day.  It's not good.  Sorry, Folgers, you were not the best part of waking up for me today.

If you have any advice for how to make it taste better, please share your tips.  Should I try Starbucks Via?

Restaurant Review: Miguel's California Mexican Cocina and Cantina

A couple weekends ago I was in California, visiting family and attending services for my Grandma, who recently passed away.  Although funerals are never fun, being in California allowed me to visit with a lot of family.  Included in the family round abouts was a nice lunch with my sister, my brother, and his family at Miguel's in Corona.  He has been asking for a California entry, so here it is, much belated.  Thanks for lunch/dinner, Beebs. 

Me, Shanna, Brian, Kami, Dalen, and Christina outside of Miguel's

First Impressions:

It's pretty here.  The restaurant is situated in a promenade of shops where the scenery includes a reservoir, walking paths, and foothills in the distance.  This must be one of the reasons why people move to California.  The restaurant itself is pretty spacious and comfortably casual.    

The Food:

Since I was eating there while en route to visit with more family in Costa Mesa, I kept it pretty simple and had a spinach quesadilla.  Sidenote: we were staying with my grandpa, who keeps a pantry pretty well stocked for three Armageddons although with nary a fresh vegetable.  Back to the quesadilla.  I have to be honest and admit I wasn't expecting much except for a lot of cheese (okay by me) with a sprinkle of spinach.  I was pleasantly wrong.  My quesadilla was packed with spinach AND cheese and was the perfect mini-meal.  I even had enough left over for the next morning (it doubled as breakfast - I should have put a fried egg on top of it but didn't).  

The Service:

Kept us full and happy.  They were all very nice.  

Food     mmmm

Service     mmmm

Decor     mmmm

Je ne sais quoi     mmm

Overall     mmmm

2715 Lakeshore Drive
Corona, CA 92883

p.s. please forgive typos!

About the ratings:

mmmmm        would eat there again tomorrow

mmmm           looking forward to eating there again

mmm              not in a hurry to eat there again

mm                 likely not going to eat there again

m                    would try my best never to eat there again. ever.

I reserve the right to grade on a curve for the overall score, despite the average.

Food Foto Friday

A Two-fer.  

Today my roommate and I walked 4 miles over 4 hours, during which I consumed the following:

Magnolia Bakery's Famous Banana Pudding!

Dreamy, Creamy, and Whipped.

Papaya Dog's Papaya Drink and Turkey Dog.

At $1.50 each, my pocketbook was smiling. 

Food Foto Friday

Super Snack!

Restaurant Review: Mexico on the Square

Okay don't get too excited because this Mexican spot is not right on the square, but it's close enough that you could order your food, and five minutes later (they make it super fast!), take it with you to a sunny or shady spot in Rittenhouse Square.

When I lived in Baltimore after Hurricane Katrina, there was this amazing place that served tacos al pastor.  They had a beautiful patio with a spit where they roasted the little piggy right there (vegans, vegetarians, and weekend-atarians please forgive the imagery). But there were margaritas and a mariachi band so we hardly noticed.  Those tacos al pastor, however, were more expensive and less delicious than the tacos I discovered on Pine Street, between 15th and 16th.

First Impressions:

It's a little corner shop, it used to be a little corner deli, and they have tables outside.  There are no fusses or frills here, and the food is the focus.  The refrigerated display shelves were empty, though, except for a few cakes that didn't look like tres leches or flan.  I wanted to see some flan.    

The Food:

I only had the tacos al pastor and a cup of something that was like a coconut custard (but lighter than custard).  Both were really fantastic, but my stomach hurt a little afterward because maybe I ate my coconut treat too quickly.  The tacos have pineapple chunks in them, which made them even more delicious.  Next time I am going to get a sope so I can have some avocado.  Each of my little tacos were $2.50, and they definitely filled me up. 

The Service:

Very friendly and helpful.  

Food     mmmmm

Service     mmmmm

Decor     mmm (fill up the display!  show me some flan!)

Je ne sais quoi     mmm

Overall     mmmm

1511 Pine Street

Philadelphia, PA 19102
 (215) 732-1907

p.s. please forgive typos!

About the ratings:

mmmmm        would eat there again tomorrow

mmmm           looking forward to eating there again

mmm              not in a hurry to eat there again

mm                 likely not going to eat there again

m                    would try my best never to eat there again. ever.

I reserve the right to grade on a curve for the overall score, despite the average.