COVER : Eat, drink
Rating: NNNNN
WHO/WHERE | PRICE/WEIGHT | WHAT | WHY | RATING |
PITA BREAK, 565 Yonge, at Wellesley, 416-968-1032 | $4.25/16 oz | Four chickpea patties in a lightly grilled house-baked pita (four preservative-free flavours: whole wheat, multigrain, spelt, plain) spread with nutty hummus and optional creamy tzatziki, and dressed with lettuce, tomato, red onion, English cucumber, alfalfa sprouts, curly leaf parsley, hot banana peppers and bread ?n? butter pickles. | Super-crisp patties direct from the deep fryer, a veritable salad bar of toppings (hot peppers maybe, but pickles?) and pitas so exceptional they wholesale them to gourmet grocers like Pusateri?s. | NNNNN |
SARAH?S SHAWARMA & FALAFAL, 487 Bloor West, at Brunswick, 416-975-9986 | $3.25/10 oz | Three plump patties in a whole wheat pita packed with lettuce, sliced tomato, Spanish onion, lots of chopped parsley, hummus, tahini, garlic sauce and both pickled turnip and whole green chilies. | Excellent selection of veggie add-ons, but why wrap the ?vegetable burger? in thick paper before grilling it? | NNNN |
GHAZALE, 504 Bloor West, at Bathurst, 416-537-4417 661 College, at Beatrice, 416-534-7441 | $2.49/9 oz | Three re-nuked and mashed patties in warm whole wheat pita dressed with shredded lettuce, tomato, Spanish onion, hummus, tahini, hot sauce and one purple turnip pickle. | Lots of flatbread to soak up the sauces, cheap enough to buy two. | NNN |
FALAFEL HUT VILLAGE, York Lanes, York University, 416-736-5767 | $2.99/9 oz | Three room-temp patties in an un-warmed plain pita dressed with lettuce, tomato, slivered pickled cabbage and sour hot sauce, pickled turnip | Loses points by charging 50 cents extra for turnip | NNN |
LOULOU?S SHAWARMA & FALAFEL, 238 Queen West, at McCaul, 647-426-4455 | $4.25/8 oz | Three lukewarm patties in thin plain pita stuffed with shredded lettuce, tomato, tahini, pickled turnip and hot sauce, grilled crisp on a sandwich press. | The same price as Pita Break but half the size. | NN |