Saturday, January 23, 2010

And the Winner Is...

The winner of the January Falafel Crawl with 30% of the vote for best-tasting falafel and 36% of the vote for best value is:

Mamoun's



The runner-up for best-tasting falafel with 25% of the vote is:

Murray's Falafel



The runner-up for best value with 23% of the vote is:

Maoz Vegetarian


Here is the detailed break-out among the 5 locations included on the crawl:



Different routes varied in popularity and attendance:

The most popular route for respondents was Route #2, starting with Pita Joe:


The least popular route for respondents was Route #3, starting with Tahini:



About the respondents:

Just over 120 people attended the January Falafel Crawl

53 people submitted responses and voted for their favorite falafel locations

The gender split of respondents was 62% female and 38% male

Nearly half of all respondents live in Manhattan, with 41% living in either Brooklyn or Queens

89% of respondents rated their January Falafel Crawl experience with a "4" or "5" on a scale of 1-5; 38% of respondents specifically left positive feedback about their falafel crawl experience and the organization of the crawl

In contrast to last month's Hot Chocolate Crawl, nearly half of respondents visited all 5 locations of the January Falafel Crawl route

Due to dividing teams across 4 different routes, nearly all locations on the route received similar numbers of visitors (except for Murray's Falafel due to it being "higher-priced" and "too far out of the way" compared to other locations):


NYC Food Crawl attendance is heavily based on social networking: 32% of respondents heard about the January Falafel Crawl from Facebook, 26% heard from a friend, and 15% heard from an email source such as Gothamist, the Skint, and Nonsense list.

57% of respondents are members of the NYC Food Crawl Facebook Group

19% of respondents attended a previous NYC Food Crawl

45% of respondents would like to see NYC Food Crawl expand to additional boroughs or neighborhoods, with a strong preference for "Brooklyn," "Queens," "Flushing," "Astoria," and "Williamsburg."

Requested foods for future crawls from respondents include: tacos, sausage, ramen, curry, Vietnamese sandwiches, ice cream, bubble tea, cheesecake, cupcakes, pizza, cheeseburgers/sliders, french fries, pancakes, crepes, waffles, pudding, pastrami, brownies, cookies, dim sum, kabobs, nachos, sushi, hot dogs, hummus, bagels, pastries, gyros, grilled cheese, mac 'n cheese, egg rolls, knishes, pork buns, hot wings, empanadas and more.

Specific feedback about the organization of the crawl:

"Great time! Well planned route, too, I thought. I'm definitely excited to see what other crawls there might be."

"Having one person in charge of making sure everyone's headed in the right direction while they're distracted by good conversation is very helpful."

"I had a great time. Came on my own, didn't know anyone in the group, but ended up with a fantastic falafel touring crew."

"This was a fantastic evening all around. A big part of enjoying food is sharing the experience with other people, and this crawl proved an excellent opportunity to explore various takes on a street food staple with both close friends and new team mates alike. I eagerly await next month's crawl!"

"This was so much fun! Thanks for putting this together!"

"We only attended the first stop on our route because we didn't realize how busy each stop was going to be... I do understand the purpose of a food crawl, but we felt that the discounts provided by each vendor did not make up for the time we would have spent waiting (i.e. wouldn't mind paying the extra 25 cents to go on a less crowded night)."

"This is a great idea and was very well planned/executed!"

"Let's get a Google Map with the locations"

Editor's Note: We don't release the locations in advance, but you can view the Google map post-crawl here:

View Falafel Crawl in a larger map

Specific feedback about the food/locations:

"We skipped Murray's cause it had the most expensive falafel. It was also the last place on the list and we were done walking and eating for the night."

"Maoz's falafel had a nice spicy and crunchy taste to it. Pita Joe was the most underwhelming cause their falafel wasn't spicy and was less crunchy."

"Tahini had the best pita bread, but Maoz had the best overall food experience due to salad bar."

"Falafel quality about equal at Maoz and Murray's though they tasted different. I had never even heard of Murray's before this! Thanks."

"It would be great if in all the participating restaurants, you could step up and order the "crawl special" and they would know what you were talking about. After all the people who had already come before us, many of the vendors still acted confused about what we wanted...????!!!!"

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Don't forget to vote!

More than 120 people attended the January Falafel Crawl on Wednesday! If you were one of them, please vote for your favorite falafel location. This is your opportunity to leave feedback about the crawl, the locations, and the quality of your experience. Polls close tomorrow night and results will be tallied and posted this weekend!

Also, if you have photos you'd like to share from the crawl, please upload them to our Facebook group. Not yet a member? Join the more than 850-member group now so you can stay in the know about upcoming crawls and food events!


[Photo courtesy M. Sorkin]

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Saturday, January 16, 2010

All Falafel Locations On Board!

Just a couple quick announcements:

Every location along the January Falafel Crawl route will be offering NYC Food Crawl members a discount! To receive this special offer, you must show your scorecard/map that you will receive at the starting point on Wednesday, January 20. Maps will be given out first-come, first-served basis at 6:30pm sharp until we run out or the clock hits 6:45pm. Meet on the southern steps of Union Square across from the Whole Foods.

The NYC Food Crawl Facebook group is now 700 members strong. If you haven't joined already, you may want to consider doing so since this is the best way to get the most up-to-date, accurate information about upcoming crawls and food events. Feel free to invite your friends.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Contacting Falafel Locations

All locations for the January Falafel Crawl have been contacted, informed about the size of the crawl, and we are now in the process of negotiating discounts for falafel sandwiches for all NYC Food Crawl members.

Just a reminder to please show up promptly by 6:30pm to get a scorecard on Wednesday, January 20. The scorecards will be on the move by 6:45pm and they are the only way to cash in on the discounts that night. Tell your friends!

Monday, January 11, 2010

Upcoming: The January Falafel Crawl

XXXXX WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20 XXXXX

NYC Food Crawl Presents: The January Falafel Crawl

Known affectionately as the “Hot Dog of the Middle East,” falafel is a fried ball or patty of spiced chickpeas or fava beans combined with spices. Recent culinary trends have seen the triumph of the chickpea falafel over the fava bean one as a favored street food, but it is widely agreed from Egypt to Israel that the falafel’s deep-fried deliciousness can overcome even the widest rifts between countries and cultures in the Middle East.

Please join us for the January Falafel Crawl on Wednesday, January 20 at 6:30pm. We will meet on the southern steps of Union Square and spend a couple hours sampling different versions of falafel. Falafel can be eaten as a standalone snack, but more commonly is served in a pita-like bread called lafa with pickled turnips, cucumbers, tomatoes, parsley, yogurt, tahini (sesame seed), hot sauce, and sometimes even potatoes.

No RSVP necessary. Bring friends and make new ones. Falafel scorecard, map, and team assignments will be provided. Go at your own pace and pay as you go. Come hungry, leave happy.

Want to check out the event invite? Join our Facebook Group.
Need to join the crawl late? Follow our Locations on Twitter.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Save the Date: January 20

The next NYC Food Crawl will be held on January 20 at 6:30pm. More details TK soon...