Middle Eastern and Greek Food

On Friday night my roommate Katy and I decided we’d go out to eat, I figured we’d try Falafel King. In the past I have had falafels from there, but this time I was going to be a bit more adventurous. I wanted to try something I don’t often eat, instead of going for the safe falafel.

Katy tried the chicken platter and I ordered the Kafta Kabob with some mango juice. The food was absolutely amazing. The kafta was made up of ground beef, parsley, and onions served over basmati rice with hummus, pita bread, and taboleh on the side. The portions were large compared to the American restaurants I usually eat at, and Katy and I both had to save half of ours for today’s lunch. The mango juice was great but so concentrated I had to dilute it with an extra cup of water. The restaurant also had a small store in the back, full of all types of Middle Eastern and Greek food. They sold hookah, called shisha with all different types of flavors. I decided to buy fillo dough and attempt to make baklava.

When we ordered our food I only noticed one other couple in the entire restaurant – the sun was still up, but by the time Katy and I were well on our way stuffing our faces the restaurant had filled and the sun had set. A pair of couples walked in, one woman was pregnant and wearing a veil and long draped clothes, the other pants and a t-shirt. They talked to the owner in Arabic for a little while and then ordered their food and left. In the Islamic religion Ramadan, a full month of fasting from sun up to sun down, is observed this time of year. My father used to participate in this religious observance every year before he passed away. As a practicing family physician it was extremely difficult to go throughout an entire day of work without food or drink, and long naps we’re usually what held him over before dinner in our home.

There were two white males that came into the restaurant and when they ordered their food they never said what they wanted to order, only the order number placed next to it. However, all of the other customers that came into Falafel King, seemed to speak Arabic and actually named what they wanted and not just the order number.

Everyone in the restaurant was very friendly. The owner, who was actually the real owner’s son, Waseem, came and sat next to us, and we talked about Arabic music. I asked him if he could play any, and he took out his iphone, programmed it to the online radio station shoutcast.com, typed in Arabic music, and in an instant Arabic music was coming through all of his restaurant radio speakers. It made the atmosphere very relaxing and brought back great memories with my dad.

Middle Eastern restaurants have always been a fascination of mine, since it’s a part of my culture I don’t often get to experience. Most of my Egyptian family still lives in Egypt and my father has passed, so I mainly experience my mother’s Irish traditions which are great as well. When I lived in Long Island my father used to take me to this restaurant in New York City called Mamoun’s Falafel. I try to go back every summer when visiting family in New Jersey. I noticed that the falafel restaurant in NYC experiences more cultural diversity than the one here in Gainesville, everyone seems to be eating at the CiCi’s Pizza next to it. Everyone should try Middle Eastern and Greek cuisine once in their life, if not for the food but the entire experience.
For information on both restaurants you can visit their websites at FalafelKingSandwiches.com and MamounsFalafel.com.