Taim falafel and Lulu cake Boutique!!!

So, the last three days before Ramadan, I wanted to try some last minute gooood food before the fasting begins. I only had $10 so I wanted some cheap food that would be delicious. I was going to go Gray's Papaya and People's Pops but it was somewhat of a trek so I decided to save that little combo for another time. What actually happened is that I went to Taim falafel and Lulu Cake boutique because they were both near each other and near a train station. Score! Before I go into Taim's falafel, I do want to say that I only tried their falafel because it was acclaimed to be the best in nyc by numerous people to the point where I HAD to try it. I didn't want to go though because they support Israel and I despise that. So, I'll probably never go back there. I tried their green falafel (classic) with hummus, tahini, and salad. it was pretty good. Here's my thing though. I can't really tell if its the best in new york. I've had Mamoun's falafel too and I thought it was good too. But, it was quite some time ago. Now, I don't go around trying falafel and then remembering which is best. I think the only way that I could determine that is if I had some sort of falafel tasting contest where they were all together. Am I right?

So, these were really good. The falafel was very crunchy on the outside and then the inside was soft and crumbly! It also had a very fresh falafel taste! There was a good contrast of textures- the crunchy then soft falafel with the creamy tahini and hummus and the crunch of the salad was really good. I also like that they gave you the option of getting a whole wheat pita (which i got). It was prettyyy good. Is it the best? I'll never know. But it was pretty darn good.

I wanted something sweet so Lulu Cake Boutique was about 2-3 blocks away and it was voted one of the best bakeries in nyc by Serious Eats. I figured one of their things would be good. They're known for reinventing childhood favorites like twinkies, yodels, and snowballs. I heard their red velvet twinkie was the best. It actually worked out perfectly because I only had $3.75 left after Taim and the twinkies were $3.00. So, I got the red velvet twinkie that had a cream cheese frosting piped in and then the whole thing is covered in white chocolate! MMmmmmmmmmmmm! I mean look at them!!! They tasted as good as they looked. It was refrigerated so when you bite in the white chocolate coating provides a nice crunch and then the cake with the frosting come together. I waited though because I didn't like the crunch and would rather have it smoother and not as refrigerated. Boy, am I glad I waited. If you get one, wait about an hour to eat it because it tastes infinitely better warmer. The white chocolate was smooth and creamy and then the cake was soooo moist. Then, you get hit with the cream cheese frosting and mmmmm. so good. The only thing I would say is that I wish there was more of the cream cheese frosting. In Hostess twinkies there's lots of creamy frosting in each bite and that was missing from this twinkie. But, it was still really good and i cant wait to try other sweets from Lulu Cake Boutique (when I have more money lol)!!