Just About The Best Falafel And Merguez

I already posted about the ‘best Thai restaurant in New York’ and now I’m posting about the best falafel in New York. Habib’s Place is a tiny hole-in-the-wall on Avenue A between 5th and 6th and we had just about the best falafel and merguez sandwiches there. The owner and chef – Habib Belkadi – is Algerian and a jazz lover. You’ll see black and white photos of jazz players on the walls and hear Coltrane and Miles Davis. It’s a rather incongruous combination of really great food and music in a place that has the look and feel of a pizza parlor.

At 10:00PM, the place was packed and we had to wait a while for our falafel and merguez sandwiches. There are only 3 tables and some counters for eating standing up. Habib is generous with his ingredients; he stuffed a couple of lamb sausages in warm and crisp pita and he was liberal in his use of tahini and harissa. He is also the friendliest and most engaging chef we’ve met in a long time. He gave us some cashew baklava – on the house – then he brought out his collection of laminated food review articles about his restaurant by the New York Times, Time Out, New York Magazine and others. Definitely a place to go back to . . .