Sunday, October 25, 2009

Azuri Cafe 10-20-2009


Location: 465 W. 51st St.
Time: 1pm

Feelings: SaSha mentioned several times that Azuri has the best falafel in the area, and after I tried it, I will never doubt her again.

The owner, Ezra is quite a friendly guy and kept asking me where he has seen me before. Apparently from what I heard, their service reputation is not very good, but I thought everyone was extremely polite and courteous. It definitely has the old Hell's Kitchen's badass, no-nonsense attitude, so you need to be prepared for this hall-in-the-wall experience.

My falafel sandwich was $6.50, which is not the cheapest you would find in the city. But the ingredients are freshest I have ever had, and the pita is amazingly fluffy. It somehow looks like hamburgers (pictures above) with huge pickles and flattened falafels. Most amazing part of the sandwich is every bite had the calculated, harmonious amout of every ingredient and spice. That is the art of the sandwich. The flavor was the perfect combination of spicy, sour, sweet and savory. Now that is umami.

If you are looking for the cheapest falafel and the service that treats you like an A-list celeb, this is not the place for you. But if you want the best, Kosher, healthy food with true Hell's Kitchen attitude, run to this place. And show some respect to the man. He supervises his workers every step of your meal you order. He is very serious about the food he makes, and I always appreciate people who have the craftsmanship and love for what they do. It is refreshing to see that during my office work hours.

1 comment:

Sara Shacket said...

yay, so glad you enjoyed it! I still haven't found a falafel place in the area that beats it.