Restaurant: Chickpea
Location: 210 East 14th Street (New York)
Type of restaurant: Falafel/Shawarma
We stipulated: Walking around the Union Square area and East Village, we originally planned to try some noodles at Momofuku, we failed in finding the right one (stumbling across a too-hip-for-the-room, dark joint instead). It started to rain... and we were hungry. So we decided to go simple and hit Chickpea, which had interested us as we walked by earlier. I'm a big fan of Maoz, and figured Chickpea would be cut from the same cloth. It pretty much was -- but unlike Maoz, isn't only vegetarian.
What we ordered: Falafel platter ($7.45), Shawarma plate ($6.95); Shawarma pocket ($6.95)
High point: My falafel platter (above) was fully loaded, with plenty of hummus, falafel pieces, salad and more. Good bargain for $7.45.
Low point:We ordered the shawarma plate with hummus -- not realizing that it would be so hummus heavy. Hummus is great for a lot of things, but doesn't work as a rice or bread subsitute.
Overall impression: The whole assembly-line style fast casual restaurant -- popularized by Chipotle -- is getting out of hand. Here, they ask you to choose your meal in a step-by-step manner that is just plain confusing -- especially since they're not actually making it as you go along. That's what led to our hummus debacle.
Chance we'll go back: When it comes to the battle of the fast casual falafel locations, Chickpea may have a leg up with the meat/chicken option. But in the end, I still prefer Maoz and its build-your-own salad bar, which allows you to really get bang for your buck. And since they're located so close to each other, I'd probably just head to Maoz instead.
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