The Persnickety Reader

Falafels are one of my favourite foods. Because I’m a picky eater on top of being a vegetarian, whenever I travel I always know I can count on finding a falafel. Or at least I hope to. Because I just ate a falafel for supper, here is a list of notable ones I can remember:

4. Nuuk, Greenland. The falafel was by no means mind blowing: this has more to do with the location. I spent two weeks in Greenland’s capital city as my wife attended a conference. One night we decided to go out for pizza (veggie pizza being another staple of my picky vegetarian diet). We went to a place called Drop Inn, with the subtitle, Grill, Pizza & Kabob. Sadly we discovered they could not serve us pizza that night. Apparently they have a rotating menu based on the day you visit, and the day we dropped in, pizza was not on the menu. Sigh. But thankfully they had a decent version of the falafel.

Random fact: in the supermarket there I found jars of tofu floating in water that were imported from France. Reminded me of high school science class. But the tofu was actually organic and of very high quality (I made many meals in our apartment).

3. Paris, France. I’ll always find a way to talk about my favourite city in the world. It was the day we visited the Eiffel Tower due to some weird compulsion I had to get a passerby to take a family shot of us in front of it. After that was accomplished, we wandered, which is a very enjoyable way to spend time in this city, since it is so compact and offers a lot for the casual stroller. Later we found ourselves at the Arc de Triomphe and walking down l’Avenue des Champs Elysees when I spotted a sign that promised falafels. We walked down this narrow alley and into a hole-in-the-wall place, the name of which I cannot remember. We had a tiny travel stroller (our son was 8 months old) and with great difficulty we managed to squeeze in and find seats. The falafel was good. I was so hungry that I don’t remember much about it.

Random Fact: We saw a motorcade that same morning with Canadian flags. Stephen Harper! I controlled my urge to hurl insults at him.

2. Edmonton, Alberta. I discovered a great vegetarian restaurant when I first moved to Alberta that I’ve returned to many times: simple, delicious food and funky atmosphere. It’s called Café Mosaics and it’s on Whyte Avenue. The quality of the food has gone down over the last 5 years, but it is still healthy and tasty food, with many vegan options if you are so oriented, and the walls are always adorned with new, very strange (sometimes perplexing), art.

Random Fact: it is next to a Boston Pizza, which I ate at once when I showed up on a Sunday night not realizing it was closed on Sunday night. Boo.

1. Toronto, Ontario. I hate to have anything on a list ranking anything related to Toronto as the first, but the falafel that I had in Kensington Market at a place called Firewood Grill was simply the best I’ve had to date. Everything on their menu was cooked over a wood stove and the food was delicious. The fresh-squeezed orange juice solidified the place as a must-return-to-some-day kind of restaurant. Those from TO have probably heard of it; those not from the centre of the universe (sorry for the easy joke) should check it out if you find yourself there. After you eat, Kensington Market is a delightful place to walk around.

Random fact: the Maple Leafs will not make the playoffs this year. Sorry, but you know it’s probably true.

If you ever find me in your neck of the woods, and there is a great place to eat falafels, you don’t need to ask me. Let’s go. Or please tell me about these great places in the comments!