Unique Falafel Wraps, Famously Made
By Minna A in Food on Jun 23, 2011 7:20PM
Tough time getting a table at Girl & the Goat? Taste a creation of famed chef Stephanie Izard, Food + Wine Magazine’s Best New Chef, at a seriously reduced price, with a charitable cause in mind. Popular quick-and-easy Lakeview dining favorite Falafill is hosting a series of famous chef-designed wraps, with a portion of the proceeds going to the featured chef’s charity of choice. This month’s Izard wrap, with proceeds going to Share Our Strength, has us salivating for more.
Owner Maher Chebaro, former chef of Souk and culinary notable in Beruit, welcomed the idea of collaborating with local chefs when presented with the idea by Falafill social media manager Johny Auer of Jamco New Media, Inc. Falafill usually has plenty of staple menu favorites, but is consistently looking for new opportunity to incorporate seasonal ingredients and new twists to the traditional falafel. (Falafel burgers, anyone?)
Auer, who has been working with Izard for years, brought the concept to the chef, whose great passion for the charity Share Our Strength, led her to design a sandwich to benefit the organization. Don’t let the modest price and charitable portion fool you: the cast of interesting ingredients makes this wrap worth every penny.
According to Auer, “[Izard's] wrap was entirely her own creation—and that'll be the case with every chef that will follow. She chose to use Falafill's bread, hummus and falafel as is, [and added] the Brussels sprouts salad, shallot aioli and yuzu harissa. Izard simply supplied Falafill the recipes for each component, and then Maher Chebaro and his chef Miguel Adunas cooked the wrap for Stephanie at Girl & the Goat for her approval. Pretty simple process, which is great for these busy chefs."
Normally bland Brussels sprouts take on new life in this wrap, adding a citrusy tang of yuza and crunch to the rich fried falafel. Each bite leaves the tongue with a spicy kick of harissa and the subtle savory taste of shallots.
July’s wrap will feature chef Mark Steuer of the Bedford, raising funds for Green City Market, who revamps the falafel using English peas and lemon instead of chickpeas, sweet pickles and slightly spicy sambal yogurt. September’s wrap raises funds for the Latino Scholarship Fund, the charity of choice for chef Chuy Valencia of Chilam Balam, who will incorporate his own style with a wrap that features Roasted corn falafel, spicy lime-arbol chile aioli, chunky heirloom tomato molcajete salsa, homemade Oaxacan style string cheese and grilled green onion.
Drooling yet? Make your way to Falafill in the coming months to try out the unique chef-made wraps for yourself.
Falafill is located at 3202 N. Broadway.