1/28/2010

Holy Falafel!

I've never seen such beautiful HUMONGOUS Falafel balls! While we were there, a lady walked in to order 40 Falafel for a dinner party. She said she was going to stick toothpicks in them and serve them that way... I hate ta break it to her but a toothpick just isn't gunna cut it. That's like trying to pick up a pumpkin with a fork!

So, back to the Pitas. "Hummus in every pita!"
The Falafel Pita ($6.45) comes with creamy hummus, Israeli salad, Red Cabbage salad, Pickled Carrots, and of course- the humungo Falafel balls. There's got to be at least 4-5 of those balls of yummy in each pita. When I walked in I saw the pitas and thought "those look kinda small...." How they manage to stuff it to the max without having it explode is beyond me! You don't walk out of Hummus world, you roll out ~

The 2 people next to us ordered the Shawafel, say it with me now... Shawafel. It's so fun to say! Now what the heck is it?!?
A Shawafel ($9.25) is a Pita stuffed (STUFFED) with Falafel Balls on the bottom and Shawarma on top. Does life get ANY better than that?!? I should have ordered that! Next time, next time...

But I also want to try the Sloppy Ju ($9.25) : Hummus, Ground Beef, Baked Fava Beans & Mushrooms. Mmm!

We had a bowl of pickles, the yummy kind! And ordered a side of Crisp Israeli Fries (Seasoned) ($4.25). Crisp to perfection!

I can't wait to go again! They are open  Sun-Thurs 11:30am to 9:00pm, Fri 11:00am until 2 hrs before sundown and closed Sat.

Some advice for light eaters: Share a Pita, order the Fries!

 The Muscle Builder Hot Sauces are made from Green, Red and Yellow Peppers with lots of Fresh Herbs and with Hummus World's Special Hot Sauce Spices.

Click here to Purchase

By Stacey McDevitt, Suffolk County Correspondent

As much as I love my career as a private chef, there are times after cooking numerous meals for 7 different palates that I just crave something quick and simple for lunch.  So on one of my travels to and fro Suffolk to Nassau I discovered this great little spot.  Hummus World,  located near the train station in Roslyn Heights is such a find.  It's a postage stamp size of a place with a husband and wife team that keeps things interesting.  She's the cook and he's the personality behind the register, that if you ask nicely he'll let you try the sour pickles.  On any given day there is a mixed clientele of students from the high school up the street, to businessmen and locals.  And the occasional adventurist like me. 

Let me first start off by saying I love falafel, but these are no ordinary ones.  These crispy chickpea critters are flecked with coriander seeds and green tinted from parsley.  But it is also what is stuffed into the pita that makes them special.  Weighing in at a pound and a half, yes I actually weighed it, I had to sit was so heavy.  Is a mix of the smoothest hummus, crunchy carrot and red cabbage lightly pickled, an "Israeli Salad" of tomatoes and cucumber, topped off with homemade hot sauce if you like and believe me, me like!!  There's also a sampling of vegetarian appetizers like eggplant baba ghanoush or platters with chicken shwarma, a highly spiced kosher chicken cooked on a spit much like a gyro.  Then shaved off in tender slices.  There's also homemade soups "depending on Esters mood" as the menu reads, but its an experience just to dine here, if there's a table inside grab it or a spot outside under the umbrellas or if you have time take it to go and head for a nearby park in Roslyn and enjoy the view.  Anyway you choose it's a tasty spot for a delicious bite to eat. 

By SUSAN M. NOVICK

The hummus made fresh daily at Hummus World in Roslyn Heights is so thick and creamy you can eat it with a fork. Just ask any of the local high school students who wolf down plates of the chickpea and tahini spread at one of six small tables and then take out a pint for later

The couple who own Hummus World, Esther and Yochanan Derman, keep the year-old glatt kosher snack bar convivial and crowded. (Glatt kosher is the highest standard of cleanliness under kosher law.) Clients and friends stop in for a bowl of Israeli chicken soup and to see how Esther’s hot sauces turned out that day. “It depends on my mood in the morning,” she said, laughing. “If my husband gets me upset, the hot sauce is so hot it’s like I stuck a whole chili pepper in the blender.”

Those spicy sauces — one made with pickled mango, another a green sauce with garlic and cilantro — add zest to the traditional shawarma. The skinless chicken is seasoned with a mix of 52 spices, including cumin and turmeric, roasted on a spit, then carved and served in a pita or on a platter with hummus and Israeli salad.

The excellent chickpea falafel is greaseless and flecked with parsley and has the soft crunch of ground coriander seeds.

The pita sandwiches are big, messy and terrific, especially the shawafel, which puts the entire menu in one sandwich. Two hands can barely hold a pita packed with shawarma, falafel, hummus, salad and baba ganoush.

“After a sandwich like this,” Esther said, “you need a nap.”