Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Goldie

1526 Sansom Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
(267) 239-0777
Website

Goldie came on the scene as a vegan, Israeli(ish) falafel spot. I am partial to Mama's, but always open to try new fried balls of deliciousness. They offer a small menu, but so does Mama's. This spot is a collaboration by Micheal Solomonov and Steve Cook, and thus subject to much fanfare. There was one thing that was worth its weight in gold, while a few others took home the bronze.


Located next to my favorite Center City bar, Oscar's, parking is horrible. I suggest walking, riding a bike, or taking public transportation. It SERIOUSLY sucks parking around here. Oh, and there WILL be a line. There will also be a machine making falafel. A falafel robot.


There will also be pickled tomato little bits, which is always a plus, though it was no Mama's topping bar (noticing a trend?).


They have few menu items. Tahina milkshakes, falafel sandwiches, (shwarma) french fries and falafel salads. That happens to be the order of precedence when you get to the counter. The tahina shake is hands down one of the best things I have consumed this year. It is a dairyless milkshake, that tastes like a hundred peanut butter cup interiors blended with ice. Just amazing. Among the best frozen shakes I have ever tasted. The consistency is thick but the large format straw made (too) quick work of it. I kept saying, "holy shit, this is good".


I ordered a salad, because I wanted to try everything on the menu. Baby kale, romaine, carrot, cucumber, tomato, tehina, za’atar, sumac, parsley, dill, mint. It was lacking "zing", and was likely the healthiest thing I have ever eaten. The falafel themselves were good, but not exceptional. They lacked crunch.


All of the ingredients were fresh, but it needed pickled tomatoes (I added some) and bit of heat and salt. Also, at $9 it was the most expensive thing on the menu.


I did like the falafel mix, fresh and herbaceous.


The sandwich with harissa was better than the salad. Probably due to the exceptional pita from Dizengoff. The harissa sauce was great, as expected, and the chewy wrapper held the crisp veggies in well. Again, it was the lack of crunch to the falafel that I took issue with.



The shwarma fries were good, fresh, a zesty spice mix, and nice portion in the paper bag. They could have used a couple more dipping options than ketchup and HOT schug. All in all, this place is good. But the shake is five cheesesteaks, the pita and fries are three, and the salad is two. Weighted together, an overall three.

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