May 16th, 2006
Rami’s
After a weekend of eating fried food and red wine I felt it necessary to cleanse my palate with some fresh vegetables and simple proteins. As I gazed out of the blurry window of the #66 bus, I contemplated assembling some sort of pear, spinach, and gorgonzola salad, but then scowled, remembering I had none of these ingredients in my fridge.
Suddenly, an alternative passed before me. Rami's, Brookline's much touted tiny falafel joint, was my glimmering oasis on smelly, wet Harvard St. I slapped the stop signal and bounded toward Rami's sweaty, shiny windows, being careful not to step into the overflowing sewer grate.
With seating for a maxium of 20 people, Rami is best for takeout, so that's just what I did. I was eager to compare their falafel and hummus to that of Steve's, my favorite thus far, or Sultan's, a close second. The friendly Israeli counter clerk answered my request for the falafel plate with a broad smile, then asked, "With salad?" "Sure, why not?" I assumed, incorrectly, that he meant tabouleh.
Eight dollars and thirty-five cents later I was trotting home with a heavy three-section styrofoam container filled with salad, hummus, pita bread, and six falafel balls. I have no regrets, by the way, about skipping the extra hot sauce and olive oil despite the fact that the friendly clerk seemed to think I was making a great mistake.
Rami's hummus is thick but lacks the milky creaminess of Steve's and the absence of any strong paprika garnish meant the whole mass of tan stuff seemed to absorb the odors of the rest of the food. Falafel portions were ample and the interior texture was surprisingly superior to Steve's in that the grainy bean particles stayed moist but not oily inside the fried shell. Who would have known the salad was better than all the rest? Fresh and fantastic with chopped crispy cucumbers, stunning red tomatoes, butter pickles (unusual, yes), and red cabbage, all marinated with a light oil dressing.
I give extra points to Rami's for extremely generous portions, sparkling salad, and tender falafel, but they need to work on their hummus recipe. Given their crowded dining room even on a rainy Monday, I'm probably a lone critical voice in a mass of approving Brooklinites.
The Info
Rami's
324 Harvard St., Brookline
617-738-3577