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Many countries claim the Middle Eastern falafel, but anyone can enjoy it Thursday, October 10, 2002 By Marlene Parrish
If you want to start an argument, talk to any Arab or Israeli about falafel. A heated discussion of what it is, how it is eaten and who owns the eating rights is sure to follow. We're talking here about a food, not politics. Or are we?
Falafel is made of chickpeas, one of the earliest-known cultivated plants, and it is eaten throughout the Middle East. Basic falafel is a fritter made with chickpea paste that has been seasoned with spices and herbs, formed into balls and deep-fried. You can eat it as is or in a sandwich. The recipe is as much Syrian, Lebanese and Egyptian as it is Israeli or Palestinian.
So much for the food. Enter the politics.
Palestinians in particular are ticked off lately because they say that falafel is a traditional Arab food and that the Israelis have stolen it and claim it as their own.
Indeed, the Israelis have adopted falafel as their national dish. Falafel is Israeli as opposed to Jewish, and it is loved by all the different communities that live together in the country, no matter which religion. Every Israeli cookbook has a falafel recipe and it is hailed as "Israel's National Snack."
It's likely that the very lack of country ownership is why this "one taste fits all" food was adopted as Israel's national dish, not stolen, because it works for everyone.
But hey, does anybody own the eating rights to falafel? Not unless you want to give pasta and pizza eating rights to Italians only. Or hot dogs and hamburgers to Americans exclusively.
In truth, falafel is generically Middle Eastern and as old as you can get. It has been eaten since biblical times, which would, if you're counting, pre-date the state of Israel by thousands of years. Because Jews and Arabs have been in Egypt and Syria almost forever, it would seem that nobody stole nuthin' from nobody. Jews in Israel may do a better job of marketing falafel, perhaps, but theft? No.
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Where to buy it
To sample falafel in Pittsburgh, check any of these Jewish, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean groceries and restaurants. University campuses, such as University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon, usually have food trucks selling nationality-based dishes during lunch hours. We're sorry if we've missed your favorite snack shack.
 Aladdin's Eatery, 5878 Forbes Ave., Squirrel Hill. 412-421-5100
Ali Baba, 404 S. Craig St., Oakland. 412-682-2829
Baba D's, 3531 Forbes Ave., Oakland. 412-687-2515
Golden China, 2209 Murray Ave., Squirrel Hill. 412-422-1800
Kassab's, 1001 E. Carson St., South Side. 412-381-1820
Labad's Middle Eastern Groceries, 1727 Penn Ave., the Strip. 412-261-0419
Mediterranean Grill, 5824 Forbes Ave. (lower level), Squirrel Hill. 412-521-5505
Nellie's Sandwiches, 3524 Fifth Ave., Oakland. 412-683-7144
Open Flame, 2103 Murray Ave., Squirrel Hill. 412-422-8170
Salim's Middle Eastern Food Store, 4705 Centre Ave., Oakland. 412-621-8110
Sari's Vegetarian Restaurant, 2109 Murray Ave., Squirrel Hill. 412-421-7208
The Milky Way, 2120 Murray Ave., Squirrel Hill. 412-421-3121
-- Marlene Parrish
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As one restaurateur said, "It's a regional food, not a people food. In any case, everybody eats falafel. They just don't agree what it is."
The controversy is partly the result of semantics. The word falafel is used to refer to two different presentations. It can be a round fritter or croquette of mashed chickpeas and spices, or it can be the Arab pita pocket sandwich that is filled with those fritters and topped with garnishes.
In Israel, the sandwich version gets the most votes. In Lebanon, the fritter definition prevails and, in that state, combines with other dishes to form the traditional mezze, including hummus, stuffed grape leaves and tabbouleh.
The benchmark, no-frills falafel sandwich is made like this. Four or five hot fritters are stuffed into a warm pita pocket-bread, along with raw onion and tomatoes, and topped with tahini, a nutty sesame seed sauce. The fritters are crunchy, the bread soft and the garnishes crisp. It's neither too moist nor too dry.
For the more popular, with-frills version, you start with the falafel balls in the pita, then add any or all unlikely toppings, including cabbage, sauerkraut, carrots, cucumbers, olives, eggplant and pickled peppers. You can dress it with the traditional tahini, curry or even mango sauce.
Want fries with that? The answer is usually yes, but in Israel, the fries are called "chips" and always servednot with ketchup but with a sprinkling of salt. A malt beer, often called "black beer" in Israel, is a great go-with.
In Israel, falafel are sold everywhere, in small villages as well as in big cities. You can buy them in restaurants, but they are mostly considered a street food and they are sold at kiosks and in gas stations and peddled in the middle of the desert. Falafel is the equivalent of a pizza in an American urban setting, something you can grab on the street and eat as you walk. A falafel pita costs roughly $1.50, about 7 NIS -- New Israeli Shekels.
How do I know this? My own personal ethnic consultant is my step-son-in-law, Ziv, who was born in Israel and has returned more than 20 times. (His parents were born in Israel -- technically in Palestine, since when they were born, Israel was not yet in existence. The area was under the British Mandate until Israel's independence in 1948. Ziv's mom and dad met in the army, which was and still is compulsory for both men and women after high school.)
Many times, according to Ziv, the better falafel in Israel is made by Arab Israelis. "I remember one specific neighborhood in Haifa where mostly Arabs live," he says. "When political conditions are sensible, Israelis -- both Jewish and Arabic -- frequent the falafel joints there, and business is good. When conditions deteriorate, this 'restaurant row' is deserted."
Ziv's wife, Leslie Wolke, is half Jewish, half Italian. She put her personal spin on falafel: "When we were in Israel, we went to a falafel stand where they put the falafel in the pita and then you could add all the garnishes you wanted from a salad bar full of roasted vegetables. It was good, but the next time we went to a place like that, I skipped the falafel and just asked for an empty pita to make a roasted eggplant sandwich. From the looks I got, that was definitiely not 'kosher.' "
Marlene Parrish is a Mount Washington-based freelance food writer.
Related Recipes:
 Falafel, Tahini Sauce
Correction/Clarification: (Published Oct. 11, 2002) In a story in yesterday's editions about where to find falafel, we said the Mediterranean Grill was in Oakland; it's in Squirrel Hill.
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