falafel & juice - oslo, norway

Rating:  8 / 10

Apart from Gaza Kjøkken, the other famous falafel places in Oslo have either churned out overly sweet, oddly textured, mealy or just plain old boring balls of middle eastern delight. A couple of randoms recommended Falafel & Juice and one fine afternoon while I was sitting deep in the shadows at Meyers Bar, hiding from passerbys with farris in hand and laptop at the ready, I figured it's now or never to walk the 50 meters and try it.

Upon entering, the floor looked like the remnants of a sheep buffet with vegetables splattered in Pollock formations across the branded rugs. I took it as a sign of popularity but made a mental note that the cleaner should be reprimanded. 

Along with the regular falafel rolls or boxes for those of carb-phobia, I noticed the addition of adding Aubergines, Avocado's or Squash to tart up your life. I ventured for the aubergine version, nattered a tad with the employee who was from Iraq, motioned to pile on the chillis and headed out with my meal set to go from wrapped article to digested remnant.

Whilst I'll go out on a limbless limb to say the actual falafel taste better at Gaza Kjøkken, the pita and assorted delights propelled this to an above average snacky munch. Freshness and spices fought for attention whilst the dreams of middle eastern soujourns with honking horns and drenched shirts made me forget for a split second that I was in Birkelunden. That can only be a good thing.

These recommendations are just personal opinions based on my palate, things change, chefs get fired or replaced, places open-close, relocate, so take it all with a pinch of MSG and discover your own gems too. But please do try a few of these, they have been researched exhaustively.