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The true King of fast food
We all know the old saying about one man's meat being another man's poison. If you doubt the veracity of that statement just look at McDonald's. It is both the most popular food in America and the most vilified at the same time. Or how about tempeh? I know people who love it, and I can't even smell it without feeling the bile rise. To most American fish fans ahi tuna is the ultimate in fine pescatory dining, but to the Japanese it is a dry flavorless fish hardly worth eating. A friend of mine once sang the praises of one of those large chain buffet places where for one low price you can get all the ham, chipped beef, iceberg lettuce, macaroni and cheese, powdered mashed potatoes, deep-fried chicken and Jello that you would care to eat. All the meat you want, he said with eyes shining. But it is bad meat, I said. But there is so much of it, he said. And really I could not argue with him-there certainly is so much of it. You could easily eat 10,000 calories worth of cheap meat fat for one low price. And speaking of the nutritional value of food, I'll paraphrase the saying from above and say one man's health food is another man's junk food. Here we consider falafel to be a healthy meal. Yeah, granted it is made out of chickpeas, but it is fried. In Israel they consider it an unhealthy fast food treat. (They also joke that the falafel vendors never change the oil so it tastes that much better.) But does any of that mean they eat less of those crispy fried nuggets of spiced garbanzos? Of course not. In fact, they eat so much more of it there than we do here that it's the first thing most tourists think of when they think of Israeli food. OK, so it isn't the same as having it in Israel (or Syria or Jordan), but you can get a hint of what it might be like there by stopping in to the Falafel King restaurant on Pearl Street. Falafel batter drops from the automated machine into a vat of hot oil (and for sure they change it regularly here) and sizzle and float to the top. Large upright spits of gyros and shwarma go round on their sticks letting off delicious meat smells, and trays of flaky baklava adorn the counter in this small shop. It's a little too clean, a little too neat and the line of people a little too polite to be somewhere in the Middle East (although once when I was a little girl and was using the bathroom there, someone walked in on me because the door didn't shut right-very not-American), but once you get your falafel and baba ganoush you can close your eyes and pretend you are there. I love a good falafel sandwich made on thick pita. Too bad most American pita is thin and immediately dissolves when it hits anything liquid-you eat a third of your sandwich and end up with a mushy paper full of salad and falafel by the end. For that reason alone I recommend getting a plate instead of a sandwich at Falafel King. If you like your food spicy, make sure to get whatever you order topped with their hot sauce. Their salad offerings range from marinated mushrooms to tabouli, and they are all pretty good-nothing spectacular but tasty anyway. And their savory hot triangles of phyllo dough filled with cheese and spinach make a nice handheld snack. One of the best things they have is fresh lemonade. Finding lemonade that doesn't come ready-made from a fountain is as rare as finding a poverty-stricken Bush cabinet member. Real purists-people from parts of the world where falafel is a common fast food and those who have recently returned from those environs-might think Falafel King doesn't quite compare to their memories. But for those who haven't been to those spots, it will be a new experience, opening the door to interesting tastes and new possibilities. After you eat you can go down two doors and get an amazing caramel apple from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. My favorite is the one with chocolate chips and pecan bits. It rounds off a meal of deep-fried bean balls and seasoned meat perfectly. Falafel King 1314 Pearl St. 303-449-9312 vegetarian friendly: yes wheelchair accessible: yes smoking: no cell phones: well, they are ubiquitous in the Middle East upside: fresh lemonade downside: thin pita of note: they also can do large quantities for parties Respond: letters@boulderweekly.com
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