Felafel Face-off, Round One

Babel vs. DaDa Falafel

There Can Be Only One

I've been meaning to do a felafel post for awhile now. I initially thought I would do a Berlin felafel round-up, like my Paris reviews. I've since realized that my weekly felafel habit is not well suited for such a post--I'd forget all the details by the time I was done sampling everywhere! Instead I've decided to do a series of felafel match-ups, comparing similar places (restaurants-to-restaurants and imbisse-to-imbisse) and declaring a winner each round. Round one pits Prenzlauer Berg heavy Babel with Mitte's trendy Dada Falafel.

Babel
Kastanienallee 33, 10435 Berlin

Located in Prenzlauer Berg, this little Lebanese restaurant is right in my neighborhood so I've eaten here a few times. The interior is small with around a half-dozen tables and looks like a typical felafel place--a refrigerated case displays the salads and sauces and you order at the counter (if you have the desire, you can watch this 5 min. video of the interior someone has posted on youtube, complete with close-ups of the Che Guevara posters). I always get the trifecta-of-awesomeness (my term, not theirs): A teller (plate) with felafel, hummus, and tabbouleh.

The tellers come with a really interesting and terrific salad--no standard carrot/tomato/iceberg lettuce here. I couldn't even tell you what all is in it, but it's delicious and topped with slightly sweet dressing. The hummus is great, earthy with a nice tang of lemon. The tabbouleh is very good too, heavy on the parsley in a good way. The thing I really love about Babel is the way they top their tellers with generous amounts of super fresh herbs, especially mint, basil, and flat parsley. It's seriously half of the reason I come here. The big drawback to Babel is, sadly, the felafel itself. It's a bit disappointing--not crisp enough on the outside and overly mushy on the inside. Some people swear by the hint of sweet cinnamon, but for me that isn't enough to redeem them. The felafel is good, but it's not great. Overall, however, Babel is a solid choice with a menu large enough to make nearly everyone happy.

Pros: Delicious hummus, tabbouleh, salad, and fresh herbs. Inexpensive, generous portions.
Cons: Lackluster Felafel.



Dada Falafel
Linienstrasse 132, 10115 Berlin

Today LCBF and I stopped in for lunch at Dada Falafel while we were out and about. Located in Mitte near Oranienburger Tor, the restaurant is, perhaps predictably, a bit touristy. The restaurant has two sides, counter take-away service on the left, table-service on the right, and some tables outside on the sidewalk. The restaurant-side also houses a small art gallery space with a slick, modern interior. No Che here, just funky chandeliers and elaborately tiled bathrooms.

I ordered the vegetarian Dada Teller, which came with felafel, hummus, tabbouleh, salad, eggplant, baba ghanoush, sesame sauce, a spicy tomato-flavored couscous salad, halloumi, a cinnamon filo roll, and a couple other spicy sauces (one was a curry-type, the other very hot).

LCBF had the beef shawarma teller:

Dada's felafel was fantastic--crispy with a flavorful combination of green herbs and mild spices. The eggplant and baba ghanoush were both excellent as well. The tabbouleh and hummus were unremarkable. Too much tomato and too little flavor in the former, and the latter was merely serviceable--not bad, not great. The salad wasn't very exciting either, though the veggies were crisp and fresh. The couscous salad was nice, with just a little heat. The cinnamon filo roll was a bit of a mystery. Not sweet enough to be a dessert, it simply tasted flaky (and tasting like a texture is not usually a good thing). Dada earns bonus points for its clean presentation. Usually felafel tellers are simply plates mounded with copious amounts of delicious stuff, which I definitely enjoy. At Dada, however, the portions are a bit more sensible and some care is taken with the plating. LCBF was particularly fond of the hummus smear that came with his shawarma, which he liked though he says it was a little dry. All in all, Dada is another solid restaurant choice.

Pros: Great felafel, eggplant, and baba ghanoush. Nice presentation and hip interior (if that's what you're looking for in your felafel joint).
Cons: Everything else was only average. Prices are 1-2 euros more expensive than other, similar places.

Picking a winner here is tricky. Judging solely on the quality of the felafel, Dada would win, hands down. Looking at the taste of the entire meal, however, Babel would come out on top. Since there are no ties in Felafel Face-off (because I said so) I have to give it to . . . Babel! By a slim margin of victory. Happy felafeling, everyone!