Who knew I already had some of the best falafel in Paris?

In March 2005 I traveled with my wonderful friend Amy to Paris. We were only in Paris one day. We got our first glimpse of Notre Dame. Then we were hungry. We managed to come across a falafel stand in the Latin Quarter as the snow was coming down. We stopped and gave it a try. A cute French woman efficiently made our order. We enjoyed our falafel in the street with snowflakes on our noses and eyelashes. It was the best falafel I have had to date. It is the falafel to which I compare all other falafel.

I managed to snap this picture before the remainder of our day in Paris. I never really knew the name of the place and never imagined I would be back. When I got home I reviewed the pictures and found that I really loved this one of the quaint Parisian street with the snow falling. I had it printed, framed, and have enjoyed it in my house for years.

2005

While planning for our 2011 trip to Paris I was reading David Lebovitz’s blog and came across his article about Maoz. He had this wonderful review about his favorite falafel in Paris. He described how there are other falafel places in the city, but he prefered this one. He acknowledged it was an international chain, but he didn’t really care. It was delicious. He also loved that they had a help-yourself condiment bar. Suddenly, all of this started sounding really familiar. Could it be? Could this Maoz be the place I had eaten in 2005? I went to get my picture. I thought for sure that I had already eaten at this place. I studied the picture and noticed a large white M in the right hand side of the picture. After studying the website and the Google map. Yes! This was the place we ate on our visit in 2005. This blew my mind. I knew we had to stop on this trip.

2011

The pictures are not in the same exact spot, but you get the idea. The “fry guy” had been replaced with a Coca-Cola dispenser. The white pole running up the side of the building had been replaced and the M in the Maoz has been updated. Some of the stores have since closed and there wasn’t any snow this time.

Chad managed to find a place across the street that had some great chocolate gelato. It was even better than the chocolate gelato we had in Italy. Steer clear from the Gyro shop and other tourist traps in the area. Head for Maoz and some great gelato instead.

Who knew we had such a good eye for quality even back in 2005. Great falafel in Paris and perhaps around the world. Well, according to Amy, myself, and David Lebovitz anyway.