Mama's Vegetarian

Mama's is a kosher fast-food joint that serves vegetarian middle-eastern cuisine. I stumbled upon it on a Tuesday morning jaunt to pick up a pair of jeans I had hemmed on 19th and Chestnut. I didn't get to try it out until almost a week later, but it looked like the kind of place I'd be into: small, understated, and operated by guys with accents—that they probably loved their moms a little too much was an entirely separate issue.

When I walked in, I was surprised to find that Mama's was an

order-at-the-counter restaurant with a pizza-place like menu board—the plastic kind into which you slide individual letters when offerings change up every now and then, though I doubt they do at Mama's; the menu is refreshingly simple. Basically, it's got four sections: sandwiches, platters, latkes (which traditionally are potato pancakes, but here look more like veggie burgers), and borekas (puff pastries with various fillings).

It took me awhile to figure out what I want, but while I was waiting the Israeli guy behind the counter handed a falafel ball over the glass. "For you," he said, "try it." I relented and bit in—it was great, not too greasy, but not trying to deny its deep-fried composition, either.

Though I was intrigued by the soup of the day (I'm sick), I decided to err on the eclectic side and go for Samantha's Combo Platter ($8), which was huge, but Mr. Free Falafel promised that if I didn't finish it he'd wrap it up for me "no problem", and asked me if I "liked it hot", before proceeding to douse my hummus with spicy oil.

The platter is served fully loaded with three falafel balls, 1 Eggplant (though I got three slices, so I'm not sure what they mean by that), 1 Latke, diced cucumbers and tomatoes, and pita (white or whole wheat—I opted for the latter). The Hummus was delicious; the spicy oil worked well with the spread, especially because they were smart enough to be economical with the garlic, which is always a plus when it comes to condiments. Falafel—excellent (but I already said that); eggplant—good; latke—not so much. The potato pancake was too tough on the outside, and since they only have plastic cutlery at Mama's, it wasn't worth the effort. Nevertheless, they managed to redeem themselves with the diced veggies, which were cold and the yin to all the fried yang.

If not for the quality of its food, Mama's should be touted for hiring guys with great pick-up lines. As I waited to pay, my very giving friend (I really should have asked his name so I wouldn't have to be so creative) turned quickly chatty, asking, "Do you speak Hebrew?" to which I thought about replying "yes, Shalom", but felt that would be rude so just said no. "You look like you speak Hebrew," he said. I'm still not sure what that meant, but I'm going to assume it's a good thing since my meal ended with a free piece of baklava, whose taste made up for any points the restaurant might have lost otherwise, and I don't even like nuts.

But best of all, while I ate my food I got to listen to Belle and Sebastian's new album and three-yamachaed men arguing over the West Bank, Gaza, and who some girl was flirting with more the night before. If you're someone who doesn't like to eat alone but has to from time to time, lunch-of-shame-it at Mama's—you won't get lonely.

P.S. It's cash only, but they have an ATM.

Stash it or trash it? Stash it.

Mama's Vegetarian

18 S 20th Street

Philadelphia, PA 19103

http://www.mamasvegetarian.com

(215) 751-0477