Midnight Mamouns

It's Friday night and I'm absolutely starving. I've developed the craving for midnight snacking from the ever present leftovers of study breaks lying around my suite (terrible I know, froco 15 anyone?) and my friends, cost constrained and equally famished, want to grab a casual bite. Dining halls are closed at midnight and Yorkside, while delicious and inexpensive, is tired--everyone goes there and this craving needs more than just pizza or white bread sandwiches to satiate it.

"Let's go to Mamoun's," someone suggests.

"I've never been there. What is it?"

"Oh my god, you have to try it!" the entire group says in unison. The decision is made: Mamoun's it is.

Nick begins to explain the exquisiteness of Mamoun's Falafel Restaurant. Open until 3 am every day (literally 365 days of the year), Mamoun's specializes in Middle Eastern cuisine at unpretentious prices.

"I'll have a falafel." "Make that 2, no, 3, no 4." Everyone at the table ends up ordering a falafel sandwich.

Their $3 and change falafel is a vegetarians and omnivore's dream--the chickpea balls are nicely seasoned with garlic, parsley, and spices (do I taste a tumeric?) and are perfectly crunchy on the outside but chickpea creamy on the inside. It's paired with a homemade tahini sauce (sesame), lettuce and tomatoes and stuffed into a pita. What more can you ask for--it's cheap, flavorful, and handheld!

We go crazy with the ordering--plates of hummus and baba ganouj, extra pita, their specialty mango iced tea, and dessert, almond delight and mabrumeh, after we demolished our meals. I believe at one point I saw Nick lick the baba ganouj clean...

The setting is relaxed. Best part of Mamoun's: It's on the outskirts of campus, right behind Pierson and Davenport and avoids the typical massive crowds coming from Toads or the weekend scene. The actual restaurant can house probably 30 people at max and is fairly unassuming on the outside--brick walls, brown paint, an ATM because they prefer cash over credit card. It's understated and simple but that's what I love about it. Service isn't rushed--you don't hear yelled orders or the frantic footsteps of waitresses rushing from table to table.

It gives you the opportunity to have a great conversation and unwind with cups of Turkish coffee. Our topics shift from Chinese transliterations of American names to which is better love the verb or the noun. Time flies by and we end up spending an hour and a half there, still sipping water from the Dixie paper cups (I told you simple right?) until lethargy hits us and we decide to finally get back to campus. The total bill is $50.50--not bad for a meal feeding 7.

We put on our coats and scarves--it's brisk this December evening and make the 1.5 block trek back to Yale, our stomachs full and our mood, content. It's the perfect ending for a Friday night.