Adam and I are usually pretty predictable with our weekday dinner choices: it’s either the east or west side of the globe for us. So when Adam suggested the crazy idea of Middle East (what a concept!), I was sold. We called up one of the nearby falafel joints, Jerusalem Restaurant (bway btwn 103 & 104) for cheap and tasty delivery.

This hole-in-the-wall spot serves up large portions for way too reasonable prices. The food is always fresh, veg-friendly and (gasp) they’re open till 4am! You’d think that “the city that never sleeps” would stick to its name, but it’s usually more like “the city that passes out around 1am” so the 4am thing is somewhat of a novel concept around here...

I ordered the Jerusalem Salad Combo Plate ($8.95), complete with pita, falafel, hummus, baba ganoush, grape leaves, feta cheese, olives and a salad-type thing. It was all very satisfying… and although it wasn’t the best falafel I’ve ever eaten (I did vacation in Israel, after all), it was pretty tasty. But the standout dish by far was the baba ganoush– which is totally weird, because I hate baba ganoush.

Or at least I thought I hated baba ganoush. This stuff was fantastic! It was pleasantly smoky, so I can only assume they grilled the eggplant before mashing it up. I would definitely return just for the baba ganoush. Wow. I can’t believe I just wrote that.

Anyway, Adam, being the relentless carnivore that he is, ordered the Shawarma Falafel platter ($11.95, pictured above), which I admit smelled pretty delicious. We filled up about halfway through our platters and put away the rest for lunch tomorrow. Bonus meal!

Bottom Line: If you’re in the area and craving some late-night Middle Eastern street food, this is a solid joint. Otherwise, make the trek to some of my and other New Yorkers’ absolute favorites: Mamoun’s, Azuri Café, or a lunchtime favorite: Alan’s Falafel Cart.