Vikas Sharma

There is one aspect of Vancouver with which I’m having some difficulty; finding GOOD middle eastern food. Okay, even just “good” middle eastern.

In Toronto, since I was a child, I had access to it, but I didn’t always find the adventure in me to eat it.

I remember my father’s mechanic, Benny, was Israeli, and we would stop off at the original Jerusalem Restaurant on Eglinton Ave. West to pick up various goodies to bring to him when my father needed work on his car. Falafel balls, hummus, Israeli salad, etc. and then I would go find a greasy spoon to get a hamburger, missing out, while everyone else noshed on all of the good Israeli delicacies!

Jerusalem Restaurant has probably been doing Israeli food longer than any other establishment in the city. I also remember rumours of a family altercation of some sort, and one of the family members opened a great place called Jerry’s Delicatessen on the opposite end of same block, and they served outstanding falafel in pita. Big chunks of cut veggies (I specifically remember the green peppers) alongside fresh, crispy falafel balls in a soft, fluffy pita.

When I became a vegetarian in the 80’s, my father, who was always worried that I wasn’t getting enough protein, took me to Aida’s Falafel (Aida was the family matriarch), just north of Wellesley on Yonge Street, and I was amazed at what I’d been missing.

Their falafel was so tasty, and their tahini, tangy. Always served in a thin, whole wheat pita, with a couple of slices of tomato, parsley, tahini, and cayenne pepper upon request. Unfortunately, family in-fighting in the Aida’s camp caused a bust-up and they tried making it a go under a different name, while the Aida’s banner stood atop a number of franchises in the city. It was a disaster.

Two other spots (while no longer in operation) that were notable for great falafel and hummus, for those of you Torontonians old enough to remember, were:

• Jaffa House (just north of Eglinton on Yonge Street)
• Yerushalayim of Gold (on Bathurst between Finch and Steeles)

But, the grand champion of falafel in Toronto is Parallel; hands down. Probably the best in the world … and to be clear, I’ve had falafel in Israel, Egypt, Turkey, and Jordan.

Here is a link to my video filmed at the Mechane Yehuda Market in Jerusalem a few years ago.

Getting back to Vancouver, my partner made a reservation for a Palestinian place called Aleph.

If you drive too fast, you’ll miss it, as it’s in a bit of an industrial part of the Hastings neighbourhood. It’s also in a building that appears to be painted black (see photo below), however, I quite enjoyed the esthetic of the building. When we got out of the car, we could smell the ingredients to make beer being cooked up at a nearby brewery.

But, most importantly, I was excited to try food from the motherland. Not my motherland, but definitely a centre from which food is of paramount importance (Toronto people will see what I did there).

The spot is very well designed, quaint, and comfortable, with an open kitchen, as well as, quick, friendly service, and nice-looking green plants distributed throughout.

Below, you’ll find some lovely photos from the Dished website.

On to the show:

For appetizers, we ordered:

• The Silk Road (hummus, labneh, zaatar, date syrup served with fresh chimichurri saj bread)
• Fattoush Salad (cucumber, tomato, radish, lettuce, pomegranate vinaigrette, croutons)
• Assorted Pickles (cauliflower, beets, carrots, black olives)

I also had a small glass of the Arrowleaf Pinot Noir from Kelowna, which, was a very nice choice.

One call out here, this place is straight-up vegan. So, the labneh was not dairy-based. I feel bad that I didn’t ask what it was made from, but I can only assume it was nut based.

During our meal, my partner asked me if I could taste the difference in the labneh, however, because everything was put in the dish together, I couldn’t tell. I literally took a piece of saj (which was super-delicious) and collected all of the flavours together and devoured it. I loved how smooth, thick, and flavourful the hummus was.

Regarding the Fattoush, it’s one of my favourite salads – and I like a lot of salads – but the flavour from the pomegranate vinaigrette was outstanding. I usually don’t like sweet flavours in my savoury foods, but I thought it added a nice complexity against the other ingredients. I should also call out that the lettuce leaves were all perfect; just the greenest part of the romaine leaves were added to the salad. I could have ordered two of them … or maybe just a large.

And the pickles were perfect.

On to the main event:

• Roasted Brussel Sprouts
• Charred Yams
• Moskhan Rolls
• Falafel
• Zhug

The brussel sprouts were prepared with pomegranate molasses, vegan yogurt, zaatar, hazelnuts, and mint.

The yams were served with toum, nigella, pink onions, cilantro, and pistachio.

The Moskhan Rolls encompassed soy, pine nuts, and sumac, which was tasty (a makeshift shawarma, if you will), but I think the brussel sprouts and yams were a better choice.

Now, we are coming to the part I hate. Talking about the falafel.

I’ve been to the mecca.

I’ve had the best of the best, in my opinion.

And one of the key pieces to making the best falafel, is that it’s always made “fresh to order.”

It should be piping hot.

It should be crispy.

It should break off when you bite it.

It should make your mouth water when you dip it in the tahini and a little zhug.

Unfortunately, none of those things were true of the falafel at Aleph.

When we were leaving, I was disappointed to see, what appeared to be, a container full of pre-made falafel. Now, I can’t say for sure that those are what was served to me, but I know a freshly made falafel when I taste it.

What was tell-tale for me, was that the outside of the falafel had a bit of give and some bounce to it; definitely not indicators of a falafel that just came out of the oil.

All of those things said, I think that they have a good recipe for their falafel mix.

I should also mention that their zhug is very good, but they should make it more spicy.

So, let me be clear, just because I didn’t like the falafel, doesn’t mean that I don’t think that this place is amazing. There are other great menu items. The service is awesome. This place is the real deal in so many ways.

One of my other favourite Israeli spots in Toronto, Shook, makes amazing food … just not a great falafel.

So, I won’t hang my hat on that, even though, in most cases, the falafel is my Litmus Test for how good a middle eastern joint is going to be. If they can’t get that right, what else will they mess up?

Thankfully that’s not true in the case of Aleph.

Return: For sure – we had a really nice time here. The server was interested in our thoughts on the food. The food had a real homemade feel to it. If you haven’t been, get your buns out to Aleph!

Rating: 7.5/10