A cross-breed between Belgian waffles and Middle Eastern falafel sandwiches is riveting Israelis seeking healthier street food.
At the Belgian Falafel restaurant in Rishon Lezion, south of Tel Aviv, a line of customers waited as Tali Shem Tov and her husband Almog took chickpea paste – traditionally formed into balls and fried to become falafel – and instead flattened it and baked it in waffle-makers to form a pita bread-like pocket filled with vegetables and sauces.
"We started this project because we really like falafel but we don't like the concept of fried food in old oil that stays in the container, and we don't want to eat pita bread," Tali Shem Tov said.
The owners say their product meets the needs of an increasingly health-conscious clientele by eliminating regular pita bread, which contains sugars, as well as the oil used to fry traditional falafel balls.
Each sandwich costs 30 shekels ($8.30).
