Mama sure gets around town. And by Mama, I mean Haviv David, the owner of Mama's Vegetarian, a kosher falafel restaurant located on 20th street between Ludlow and Rainstead. David is an ex-mechanic from an Israeli town near Tel Aviv who came to the United States at 18 to "follow the dollar." But by the taste of his food, you would think he has been making falafels his whole life. Along with a delivery business that caters for Hillel at both Penn and Temple, this small restaurant is full of families with Hebrew-speaking children, students and businessmen on their lunch breaks.
Aside from the main ornamental motif of a huge glass refrigerator filled with bottled Israeli brand juices, the d‚cor is pretty lackluster. But the lively, welcoming atmosphere and authentic cuisine make up for the generic furnishings. Amidst the hum of Israeli, French and Australian accents mingled with soft rock classics playing in the background, I try to decipher what the diverse customers are ordering at the counter. The menu is relatively small, as it would be at a falafel joint in Israel. The Mama's sandwich seems to be the most common choice, and it's easy to see why. The "small" falafel sandwich ($3.50), served on freshly made whole wheat or white pita, came overflowing with hummus, chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, tahini (a thin sauce made of sesame seed paste), cabbage, hot sauce and eggplant. In addition, a salad bar on the side contained many traditional Middle Eastern toppings including freshly roasted cauliflower, pickled cucumbers and cabbage, green olives, horseradish, stewed carrots with lemon juice and parsley and hot peppers. Other popular items include fried eggplant sandwiches, falafel and salad platters or my favorite: boureakas ($5.00). These traditional Eastern European pastries of layered filo dough come filled with spinach, mushrooms or spiced potatoes and topped with sesame seeds, just like my Israeli grandmother used to make. Everything in the restaurant is homemade, including the 250-plus pitas they bake on a conveyor belt contraption every morning. For dessert, I recommend the apple cake, a version of bread pudding filled with baked apples, walnuts and cinnamon ($3.00).
So anytime you're craving a taste of the Middle East, order delivery from Mama's or stop by on your way downtown. It's quick, extremely inexpensive, and Mama himself might even deliver.
