Who knew deep-fried chickpeas could taste so good? Lincoln isn’t short on falafel finds, and with the June opening of Amsterdam Falafel and Kabob, capital city dwellers have another reason to love the chickpea.
Amsterdam Falafel and Kabob bills itself as “European street food,” with a menu that incorporates Indian, African, Turkish and Egyptian flavors. The name strikes me as a little geographically confusing. I've generally associated Amsterdam with bikes and canal, but maybe it's also a Dutch falafel haven.
Geographical correctness aside, Amsterdam Falafel and Kabob made their Haymarket location known June 17 with free falafel sandwiches. And as expected, the promise of FREE! food drew a crowd—including my coworkers and I.
Fast forward. We abandoned the June 17 feeding frenzy but made plans to return when the promise of a “fast-casual” restaurant could actually hold true. (You can order anything off the menu to go.)
As it turned out, a lunch visit last week seemed almost as slow. But the falafel. Oh, the falafel. It was worth the wait.
Amsterdam’s menu is simple and straightforward. First, pick falafel or kabob meat.
If falafel, choose classic or spicy. If kabob meat, choose beef or chicken.
Final decision: choose a grilled flatbread sandwich, a salad or a hummus plate for your falafel or kabob.
Done. And delicious. At least, this was the consensus among my coworkers and I.
Here are a few food photos of our recent trip and some semi-foodie notes:
My spicy falafel on a hummus plate, aka the chickpea trifecta: chickpeas (falafel) on chickpeas (hummus) on plain old chickpeas. Plus, a little cabbage and couscous—an alliterative foodies dream.
My foodie coworker was a fan of his flatbread falafel. That's about all I know, but it looks tasty.
My red-shorts-wearing coworker went with the beef kabob salad and curry fries. Yes, curry fries. Not curly fries, as he originally misheard.
And finally we have coworker #3, who couldn't quite keep his fork out of the photo due to his beef kabob enthusiasm. A good sign.
One more curry fry photo. I couldn't resist. The little blue fry forks are the coolest.
European street food on a Haymarket side street—a falafelist's dream come true. No, falafelist is not a word. But you'll see it here again, because I have more falafel finds to share.
So, have you tried Amsterdam? Did you love it or do you just think I'm crazy for liking chickpeas? (If the latter, please see the the first photo in this post. I have plenty of fellow falafelists.)
—Lincoln from a local
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