Feel the need to spice up your lunch in the Rittenhouse Square area? Head below ground to Argan. There, owner Mounir Draissi will build from scratch your customized sandwich. With six meat options and three vegetarian spreads to pair with a choice of three (of about 10) vegetable toppings, combinations are almost infinite.

Stuffed in the home-made semolina-based Moroccan flatbread, the Slow Cooked Lamb is topped with grilled peppers and onions, marinated carrots, and slices of cucumber. The bread absorbs the saffron broth perfectly and doesn’t break. If brave enough, ask for a side of Shekshuka and lather it inside your sandwich. The flavors of the fire-roasted peppers, tomatoes, and garlic will make your lunch even more delectable.

Finish your meal with an authentic Moroccan mint tea and let its aroma transport you to Casablanca before coming back to reality. Then go back to work while thinking about what to have in your sandwich for your next visit at Argan.

Argan
132 S. 17th Street – Philadelphia, PA 19103 (Google Map)

A recent tasting event brought us to Divan Turkish Kitchen in the Graduate Hospital neighborhood, and we found ourselves wondering why we haven’t been before. Turkish cooking, particularly the sandwiches, is heavily influenced by the Middle East, as evidenced by the adana kebab. Ground lamb is infused with spices, chopped red pepper and grilled to achieve a smoky flavor with a crisp outside. Wrapped in lavash with lettuce, tomato, onion, and a hot chili sauce, you’ll want to dip it into the refreshing yogurt served on the side.

Divan Turkish Kitchen
918 S. 22nd Street – Philadelphia, PA 19146 (Google Map)

As a bartender in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, D.C., Scott Bennett would get off his shift and wonder why the only late night food available was pizza. While in Amsterdam on vacation with his wife Arianne, the idea struck like lightening. Nowhere back home could you find a good falafel sandwich; it was an idea so simple, yet so unique. The two immediately started developing the concept of a shop that would only serve falafel, Dutch style fries and brownies (which are missing a key ingredient due to U.S. law).

To provide the true Amsterdam experience, the Bennetts focused on the top-it-yourself method to encourage customers’ creativity by piling on any assortment of garnishes they’d like. Sandwiches are offered on white or wheat pita, with price varying based on how many falafel balls you’d like which are molded and fried fresh to order. Then it’s off to the garnish bar, where one is met by an intense rainbow of color and aroma rising from a staggering selection of over twenty salads and sauces. Everything served on the bar is homemade in the shop fresh daily, from the hummus, baba ganoush and tabouli to the pickled beats, turnips and crispy fried eggplant. Many find it hard to settle on their favorite toppings, but the beauty lies in the ability to pile your sandwich as high as you’d like. One thing is certain however, no matter how you choose to decorate the pita, it will be extremely sloppy and delicious. The falafel balls are large, almost the size of a fist, hot and crispy on the outside with a firm but chewy inside with perfect spice distribution. The french fries are twice-fried, dropped in a cone of wax paper and served with a side of Dutch mayonnaise and peanut ‘saus’.

The Bennetts took a simple idea and turned it into a can’t miss destination spot for locals and tourists alike. Amsterdam Falafelshop has been so successful in fact, that they are currently in the process of developing a second location downtown. Whether it’s for a late night alcohol induced snack, or just a falafel craving you can’t curb, check out D.C.’s Amsterdam Falafelshop for authentic flavors in our own nation’s capital.

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Amsterdam Falafelshop
2425 18th Street NW Washington, D.C. 20009 (Google Map)