Pita stuffed with chickpea fritters, hummus, lightly pickled red cabbage, salted cucumbers, fried eggplant, tahini, harissa. 5,50€
L’As du Fallafel, Paris FR

This place is a MUST visit when in Paris! It’s supposedly the best falafel in the city and some would argue the best in most of Europe. Those are some strong words that I’ve read on other sites, lol! I will say that this falafel was absolutely delicious. I didn’t try another falafel in Paris for comparison, but that didn’t take away from the enjoyment I felt from eating this one or how tasty it was.

L’As du Fallafel sits on the Rue des Rosiers which was relatively near our hotel. It’s a really cool section of the Marais that boasts an unexpected Jewish neighborhood complete with synagogues, kosher butchers and bakeries. It’s quite surprising to first walk into the area and feel completely transported to another city. It’s somehow starkly delineated from the surrounding neighborhood by the people, stores, and general vibe – quite exciting actually.

There’s always a line for this place because everyone seems to know about it, but it goes fairly quickly. A guy works the line and gets your order and payment before giving you a “claim check” for your order to turn in at the window. I feel bad, but we were standing in line talking when this random guy came up and started asking us something that we couldn’t understand. I mistook him for some street person trying to sell us something so I think I responded in a rudish kinda way. I immediately realized my error and apologized for not being about to speak French, lol! I’m such a dork!

We both ordered our falafels “hot” so they came with extra harissa. These “sandwiches” were HUGE! We didn’t want to sit in what limited indoor seating they offered so we just found a curb nearby and sat with everyone else. I think it took me 15 minutes or so to eats this monster! And it messy and fun! I would take little nibbles and immediately reach for napkins to wipe off my saucy mouth. The tahini-based sauce and harissa are a killer combination. Besides the perfectly cooked falafel, the eggplants were one of my favorite components. NOMS!

I think I’ll always remember that simple meal, sitting on the dirty curb alongside other tourists, watching people pass by while trying to fend off a throng of expert pigeons, and reveling in our communal enjoyment of a special piece of Paris.

View of Notre Dame Cathedral from Pont de la Tournelle bridge.