House of Pita

House of Pita was the first falafel I had when I started working in Midtown.  One Avenue away from my office, on the most visited food street for my building.  (46th between 5th and 6th is also home to Hing Won, Variety Cafe, Lenny's, Cosi, City Market Cafe, Pronto Pizza & Wu Liang Ye- among others)  What better place to start then the original…

I really liked the House of Pita falafel the first time I had it… and there are some good qualities to it- but as I've tried more and more falafel's in this area I realized there a few areas where it falters.  First off, if you're not looking you could easily walk by this place.  It's not a cart, or a restaurant, but more of a counter where you order, and they prepare your meal.  There's no door, or seats, and the entrance is in a "knick knack store" filled hallway that connects 48th street with 47th Street.  There is usually a line/crowd of people in front of the counter, but it moves pretty quickly.

A description of the falafel, and the +/- after the jump…The falafel sandwich is $4.49 and comes with pickles, tahini sauce, and your choice of lettuce and tomato or israeli salad.  First they cut a hole in the top of the pita bread, and line the inside with what I think is a hummus spread, then they fill it with the falafel and your choice of toppings- plus a green hot sauce that is delicious. 

There are two main problems with this falafel.  First, there is no place to cook the falafel behind their little counter- so, the falafel is cook somewhere else, and brought in metal containers, to be dished into the pita.  As a result, the falafel is not always hot, and very dry after sitting in those metal containers.  Secondly, the pita bread just comes out of a bag, and is usually dry as well.

The best things about this falafel is definetely the Israeli salad.  Made from tomatoes, cucumber and parsley- it's really delicious, and makes the falafel taste healthy and better then ones with just lettuce and tomato.  And that's really the key.  Because they don't cook the pita on a grille, and the falafels themselves are a little drier, and they give you the israeli salad, I definetely think this is one of the more healthier falafels to get in midtown.  So if that's what you're looking for… this is the place for you.

THE +

• The Israeli Salad
• The size.  It's a good size meal for under $5
• If you are looking for an Israeli style falafel, or something kosher, this is the place for you
• It's more healthy then the falfel you get at a cart.  They also have 15 other salads to choose from.

THE -

• The falafel are cooked somewhere else, so they are usually not that hot, and sort of dry
• The pita bread is out of bag, and not cooked, so it is dry as well

HELPFUL LINKS

• Comments & Complete Menu [MenuPages]

House of Pita, 32 w/ 48th St. btw. 5th & 6th Ave. 212-391-4242