Falafel 54
★★★★☆ 4.2 (106) • $$
"I thought the food from Falafel 54 was OK. My wife liked the food more than me. The service I experienced was good; however, after looking back at the menu, I think the restaurant staff missed a couple items in our order. Also, the menu pricing was inconsistent in-person vs. on Falafel 54's website (not a third-party vendor).From the looks of it, this is a humble, "mom and pop" type Mediterranean restaurant with a buffet that is (or was) popular. It appears the buffet was an office lunch crowd favorite, pre-COVID. Not sure about these days, but it was open during my dinner takeout visit. Also, I don't believe this business was always open for dinner, but it was when I went. I called before my visit to make sure they were open. They closed early for dinner, at 7:30pm on weekdays.Falafel 54 opened in 2015 in the old Baba Ghannouj Mediterranean Bistro space near the corner of 54 and 55, just off I-40 exit 278, so it's relatively easy to get to.When I visited around 7pm on a Thursday, I was the only customer for the duration of my visit. It looked like the two workers were preparing orders that had come in after mine, from online. I saw the online menu, but it was confusing and looked like it was for large catering orders only. Therefore, I decided to order in-person and wait. I ordered a wide variety of items for my wife and me. We're both fans of Mediterranean food. Here's what I got for us (takeout):Platters* Gyro Platter ($11.50) - seasoned strips of beef and lamb, Greek salad, hummus, baba ghanoush, tzatziki, and pita* Kabob Platter ($11.50) - chicken kabob skewer, Greek salad, grape leaves, cilantro hummus, and pita* Curry Chicken Platter ($11.50) - tender chicken in mildly-spiced curry, basmati rice, fattoush, tabbouleh, and pitaSides, etc.* Falafel (two orders, $3 each)* Baklava (two orders, $2 each)Through the above platters and side choices, we pretty much tried almost everything the restaurant had to offer. The same can also be accomplished by getting the buffet. Several of the items packed in our takeout boxes actually came from the buffet.During my visit, the buffet was all-you-can-eat / unlimited and priced at $13.50 per adult and $8 per child (age 7 and under). You could also take out from the buffet for $9 per pound. I'm guessing the buffet can work out to be more economic depending on what you select. Mask and gloves were required upon each trip to the buffet.I would have felt a little gypped if everything I had ordered came off the buffet, but fortunately that wasn't the case. The server, Sergio, and his female coworker fired up the griddle and cooked some things fresh including some of the meats and the lady made sure to toast and slice the pita. I appreciated all of that.My wife commented that generally the food was tasty, but not amazing. I think part of that was because I showed up about 30 minutes before closing and some of the food had been sitting out on the buffet for a while. However, nothing was bad. If anything, I would have liked bigger portions. I don't mind paying a premium for good food, but for what I paid, I'm not sure the value was there, quantity-wise. I'm glad I ordered that third entree and those extra sides because one entree and two sides alone was not filling to me (and I don't eat as much as I used to).The Gyro Platter was my favorite, but compared to other Mediterranean restaurants, the portions of shaved gyro meat were somewhat lacking. The meat itself was delicious, especially with the tzatziki. Hummus was listed as one of the sides for the Gyro Platter, but we did not receive any; only the baba ghanoush. The Greek salad was crisp and refreshing, with dressing served on the side. A noticeable amount of fat from the gyro had built up and solidified underneath the salad.The Curry Chicken was flavorful and a pleasant surprise. The sauce soaked into the bed of basmati rice. The chicken came with a side of chutney which we weren't expecting. It was packed with flavor and went great with the chicken. I did appreciate the portions of fattoush salad. The salad was packed in a separate container, not in the standard three-compartment foam box like everything else. The tabbouleh had a very strong parsley taste which I enjoyed.The Kabob Platter was alright. Not bad. Our Kabob Platter was missing the Greek salad. The number of stuffed grape leaves received was two (didn't seem like enough). This was our least favorite side and I don't recommend them based on how they tasted. The cilantro hummus was a different story and fared better. It had a really unexpected spicy kick to it.For a restaurant with "falafel" in its name, Falafel 54's falafel wasn't great. These falafel could have been crispier on the outside, more moist on the inside, and more flavorful overall. That said, I still think they're worth ordering. They were appetizing enough and came with yummy tahini on the side.As for the baklava, it was delicious. You can't go wrong there."
"We did the $15.99 buffet in the weekday and it had quite the variety for vegetarians. The appetizer Bhaji was crisp and the paneer Methi Malai was actually very good. The spicy mini idlis with chutney and sambar pretty much blew it out of the park in the Idli category so that to me was a winner! The drawback was that naan were sitting in the buffet- tough and chewy so it would really benefit if they brought them to the table in smaller quantities. People would enjoy it 100% better while less get wasted sitting out in the buffet. I wish they had a dal on the buffet it was lacking and sambar doesn't quite replace a good tomato dal.The goat biryani was pretty great and 3 chicken varieties got all the meat eaters satisfied. Service was decent given the crowds and the ambiance could be improved if they switched the songs to instrumental Indian music keeping with a better atmosphere for conversations while enjoying the food!"
"Asia Pot occupies the former Pearl 88 Chinese restaurant. If you remember how the place used to appear, Asia Pot did a BEAUTIFUL makeover. The setting is as appealing as the cuisine. They are not your typical Hot Pot restaurant where you cook the raw food in the soup in front of you. Asia Pot's Hot Pot has an urban twist. The broth in the hot pot(s) was hot (temperature) and tasty, with fresh ingredients and a variety of proteins. A delicious culinary experience is Asia pot. I'll be back!"
