Yes, this is a fallafel selfie. No selfie sticks were involved. I’m that good (and that vain.)

Had lunch with Jerry, Tom and Gale at L’As du Fallafel (34 rue des Rosiers in the Marais.) Seriously, it’s the best. We’ve been going for years and it just gets better. Fortunately, it has also gotten bigger. And yet, still you wait!!

I’m not sure why they are so good, but they are. They start with light and fluffy chickpea nuggets, full of herbs and fried to a crunchy mouthful. Then they pile them into pita with hummus two kinds of cabbage salad, cucumbers, tomatoes, fried eggplant and tahina sauce. They do it really fast, like this:

[By the way, that blue stuff on the shelf is hand disinfectant not something disgustingly toxic that should be kept far away from food. Although you probably don’t want hand disinfectant in your sandwich either, come to think of it.]

Anyway. Then they serve it to you and you douse it with brilliant red harissa (that they now SELL in jars so you can take it home. I once tried to travel with some of it in a paper cup, with the predictable disasterous results) and fiery hot green schug (also spelled zhuk or zhoug.) However you spell it you can buy that too but you really can’t take it home because it’s a fresh chili sauce. (Harissa is cooked.) The combo is so explosive with flavor and heat that it consumes you even as you consume it. Both sauces are also excellent on French fries. Just so you know.

Here’s a diner’s-eye view of the falafel.

And here are the guys that made it.

Thanks, guys!!