Medha Imam: New Yorkers of all walks of life
love a cheap, filling lunch of falafel,
a deep-fried ball of mashed chickpeas, herbs, and spices.
Today, you can get a falafel plate or sandwich
at food carts and restaurants all over the city,
but 50 years ago, there was only one spot
in New York to try falafel,
and that was Mamoun's.
Katie Carney: This is probably the best falafel
I've had in New York.
It's not easy to say, but it's true.
Isha Shah: We came here 'cause we knew that
our trip wouldn't be complete without
having some falafels here.
Medha: This is amazing.
Hey, I'm Medha, and we're here at Mamoun's Falafel
in Greenwich Village on the historic MacDougal Street.
New Yorkers highly recommend Mamoun's Falafel
for its authentic taste and rich history.
So, today, we're going to try some
of the falafels ourselves, meet with the owner,
and learn about the history of Mamoun's.
Tucked in between the world-famous
Comedy Cellar and Caffe Reggio,
Mamoun's Falafel has been cooking up
its falafel sandwiched since 1971.
Galal Chater: It's a very traditional recipe,
but it's done right.
So it tastes really fresh, it tastes really good,
and I think the falafel itself is the best in the city.
Medha: Family-owned and operated
since the beginning, the restaurant helped
popularize falafel by serving musicians, actors, comedians,
tourists, and loyal customers,
all on MacDougal Street, for over 48 years.
But how did Mamoun's go
from a small, hole-in-the-wall operation
to a franchise with 10 locations?
It all started in a cramped apartment kitchen
of a struggling immigrant.
Mamoun and Maria Chater immigrated
to New York from Syria in 1969
and started refining his mother's falafel recipe
after working at several restaurants to make ends meet.
Galal: Where my family comes from, in Syria,
falafel's sort of like just regular sort of street food.
It's almost taken for granted over there.
Medha: That's Galal Chater.
He's one of the four sons of Mamoun himself.
Galal and his brothers took over
the falafel business in 1991.
Galal: We don't mess with the recipe at all.
Where my dad left it is where it's going to stay
because it's, it's just, it's delicious.
Medha: In 1971, Mamoun opened
his first storefront on MacDougal Street,
the same location they occupy today,
and served his falafel on makeshift tables
with buckets as seats.
Galal: MacDougal Street's always been, like, a famous block.
I mean, in the '50s, you had the Beat movement
and Jack Kerouac.
In the '60s, you had Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, all that.
In the '70s, falafel came.
So, I think we added to the pantheon
of what makes MacDougal Street both unique and special.
Medha: In the 1970s, a new wave
of Syrian, Lebanese, and Arab immigrants
came to the United States after the passage
of the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act,
which lifted post-World War II immigration quotas.
With this wave came Mamoun Chater,
founder of Mamoun's Falafel,
as well as a larger Arab presence in the Village.
Galal: You know, there were people who would speak Arabic
out on the street.
My brother learned Arabic from working in the store.
I learned it, too.
And, I mean, my dad really believes in being a good host
and really giving from the heart,
and so when he would feed people,
it was genuine, you know, and people would love that.
But I think that's what started the buzz, really.
You know, you gotta go see the Syrian guy
who's, like, serving food, this awesome food
out of a 200-square-foot restaurant.
Medha: Word spread, and soon, Mamoun's became known
as a best cheap eat.
And its falafel sandwich? Famous.
Galal: The most popular menu item is by far
falafel sandwich. That's 2-to-1 ratio
for everything else that we serve, combined.
It's simple, it's elegant, and it tastes fantastic.
Medha: Mamoun's falafel sandwiches are all vegetarian,
made out of pita bread layered with hummus,
their signature falafel,
lettuce, tomatoes, and topped with tahini sauce.
But before the falafel hit the counters at restaurants....
They start right here, in Newark, New Jersey,
at their very own commissary.
Let's take a look inside of Mamoun's Falafel's facility.
Nedal Chater: We have a 10,000-square-foot facility here
where we produce the falafel,
the hummus, the baba ghanoush, our main items.
And we have processes in check
to make sure that the quality and everything
meets our standards.
Medha: Mamoun's legendary falafel recipe
starts with parsley. Lots and lots of parsley.
It's mixed with chopped onions and garlic
and combined with a carefully weighed batch of chickpeas,
the key ingredient to falafel.
The herbs and chickpeas are ground up,
then get mixed with a special array of spices,
including cumin, turmeric, and cardamom.
This batter is then ground once more
and finally pushed out into individual packets,
which are boxed and ready for shipment.
Nedal: What set our falafel apart,
if you go to the Middle East, falafels are mostly chickpeas.
They're not as green, and that's a comment we get
from all of our Israeli customers
or our Arabic customers,
"Oh, your falafel's so green."
And that was a addition we did to the falafel market,
where we added the extra herbs and spices here.
Medha: From the commissary, the falafel batter
heads to one of 10 locations.
While the batter is prepared off-site at the facility,
the falafel are freshly fried at each restaurant,
where lines of people await the savory and crispy taste
of the Middle Eastern dish.
Customer: The falafel's probably one of
the best I've ever had.
It's, I mean, honestly, the consistency's great,
it's nice and crispy on the outside
and nice and moist on the inside,
so a lot to love from it.
Katie: The hummus here is amazing.
The falafel is perfectly fried.
One-hundred percent recommendation.
Medha: With all the customers showering the food
with compliments, I couldn't wait any longer
and had to try the legendary falafel sandwich myself.
So, what I noticed what they were doing at Mamoun's Falafel
is that they actually smash down
each of the pieces of falafel into the sandwich,
so each bite that you're taking with this falafel sandwich,
you'll have a bit of a falafel.
So you're not gonna be, like, duped
by having just, like, a piece of pita bread
and none of the falafel with it.
So, here I go.
This is exactly what I wanted in a falafel sandwich.
I usually don't like tomatoes, but
the thing with Mamoun's I just noticed is that
their tomatoes are really fresh,
and they just add more to the flavor
of this falafel sandwich,
and the falafel itself did not let me down.
It actually has a really good consistency to it.
Really, for four bucks, this is a great deal.
Galal: What makes this place special to me
is I grew up here, you know, my brothers grew up here,
and it was always a family sort of endeavor.
We want to see how far we can sort of take the name,
and that's really what's most important to us
is just sort of making his name grow
and, you know, spreading the food
and the love across the country.
Medha: Yes, I'm gonna keep eating.
I'm gonna finish this.