Falafel Sandwhiches

When making dinner, there are some things you don't want to do. You don't want the preparation to take you until bedtime before you can sit down and eat. You don't want the meal to fall apart and make a mess in your lap. And you don't want it to make you sick. I miss fired on all three accounts last night. But let's not focus on that, because the concept was good even if the execution was not stellar (and by not stellar, I mean dreadful)

Last night, my girlfriend and I decided to make falafel sandwiches based on a really fantastic grilled falafel sandwich at the Aladdin Cafe in NE Portland. Their sandwich has light and flavorful falafel, yummy tsatsiki sauce, and amazing fresh pita. Apparently this is not so easy to recreate. I undercooked my falafel which absorbed the not-hot-enough oil it was fried in and put it in store bought pita that fell apart in our hands. If Jenny hadn't made the tsatiki sauce the meal would have been a complete failure, especially given all the oil in the falafel gave us both stomach aches.

But hey, with failure comes education. So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to make falafel again. I'm going to pan fry rather than deep fry and I'm going to go to a Greek store (or let's be honest, the Aladdin Cafe) and buy real pita. Then, I'm going to post the recipe so you too can make your own falafel sandwiches. In the mean time, go to the Aladdin Cafe to have a little bit of heaven. Just don't order the Lebanese beer. It's gross.

Inspiration: Grilled Falafel Sandwich at the Aladdin Cafe ( 6316 NE 33rd Ave, PDX 97211)
Time: 20-30 minutes (this includes sit down, order and eating)
Difficulty: Far easier than making it yourself
Special Equipment: transportation, debit card
Servings: 1 order feeds one person. (plus every meal comes with fresh pita and humus!)

Recipe to come...