Philadelphia Falafel Project review #2 - Maoz Vegetarian

Maoz Vegetarian

248 South Street

1115 Walnut Street

www.maozusa.com

Falafel - ***

General food - ****

Dining - ** 1/2 (South St) / *** (Walnut St)

Cost - $5.50ish large sandwich with hummus, $7ish platter

I took a stroll over to what used to be Chickpea's, and Mama's (Non-Vegetarian) before that, over around 7th and South, only to find it appropriately gone. Chickpea's was the latest mediocre manifestation in a strange phenomenon I've previously gestured at - the Euro-minded, falafel-centered, fast food joint veiled behind the curtain of vegetarianism. Chickpea's now joins Philly Falafel (17th and Sansom) and the superlative Pita Shack (16th & Chancellor) in the grave of short-lived fast-food falafellers. This is appropriate background information to review before turning our attention to Maoz, my alternate destination. After all kids, it was Maoz that started this whole thing, picking Philly's hipster burn-out South Street as their flagship American location after success across Western Europe. Consider the template - you get your falafel, you pick a white or wheat pita, you dump as many condiments as fit in there from the fixin's bar before your pita falls apart, and decide whether or not you're hungry enough to find room in your belly for french fries (ahem - Belgian chips.) Pretty simple, and pretty effective. Where Maoz continues to reign supreme among their competitors is in the fixin's bar itself, rotating the crops occasionally to see what tastes good with falafel - and I'll tell you what tastes good with falafel: beets, pickles, and killer habanero sauce. Where Maoz lacks a bit is in the "meat" of the meal, if you will - both falafel and hummus are a bit lackluster, devoid of any robust distinguishing flavor flourishes. The falafel gets centrist marks, however, thanks to its successful texture, and the wealth of the sides makes the food experience well worth the cost of admission. The South Street location is severely crippled by its horrific claustrophobia, but garners half a star for staying open until 3 AM - hang around in Philly long enough, and I promise that the night will come where you need to take advantage of that perk.

Now that we've looked at this interesting falafel joint phenomenon, I hope to focus future reviews on some more old school approaches to the deep-fried chickpea represented by some older Philly institutions.