SoomSoom Offers Solid Falafel with Unlimited Toppings
There’s been some buzz recently in the forums about SoomSoom, a new-ish falafel shop on Lex. Commenter Alphadog says:
Have been to UWS location a bunch and its much better than Maoz. The pita is incredible and the felafel is non-greasy delish. I recommend the eggplant and hard boiled egg w/ hummus and all the fixings. This place will be packed with people
Here’s what I found…
The shop was reasonably crowded when I went in, but they handled the rush pretty well. Since it was my first time, I went with the SoomSoom Original, pita with falafel and open salad bar (inside the pita), $5.95. The cashier asked me if I wanted hummus on it, to which I replied, “obviously yes, please.” He did not mention that this cost an extra 50 cents, bringing my total to over $7 once tax was added.
My sandwich came out in a minute or two, a plain pita with hummus and 4 or 5 falafel balls. Then comes the fun part, going to town on the salad bar.
There are a variety of veggies and sauces available for your stuffing pleasure, including cucumber salad, various pickled vegetables, tahini, beets, hot peppers, harissa, etc. I went with some carrot salad, onions, red cabbage, roasted broccoli and cauliflower, and plenty of harissa.
The roasted broccoli and cauliflower were garlicky and delicious, I’ll definitely be loading up on this in the future. The other veggies tasted as expected and added some variety of texture to the sandwich, and the harissa had me sweating. The pita was fresh, fluffy and warm. I found the falafel to be very standard, if not a little bit greasy. It was good, but I wouldn’t say it was the best I’ve ever had. I’m curious to try YummyYummy across the street for comparison.
All in all, a solid falafel lunch option and a decent addition to the neighborhood. Next time, I’ll try the sabich!
The + (what someone who likes this place would say):
- I like to customize my own pita, the salad bar offers endless combinations!
- I love the UWS SoomSoom, and now there’s one near my office.
- The roasted broccoli and cauliflower are addictive.
The – (what someone who doesn’t like this place would say):
- Another falafel place? There are at least three more within two blocks of here.
- $7 and change is too much for a regular falafel pita. Add a side and we’re over the limit!
- I don’t want to make my own sandwich, if I did, I’d bring from home.
SoomSoom Vegetarian Bar, 670 Lexington Ave (btw. 55+56th), (212) 712-2525
Posted by Anna at 11:30 am, October 31st, 2011 under Soom Soom.
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The moment of truth – Soomsoom vs. Maoz.