Wow, Oh Mama Grill sure has gotten an upgrade! Beautiful tiles, love the black-and-white, crisp,…read moreclean look, and new booths -- though I didn't try sitting in one yet, didn't think to as I was on a mission to get to all the Israeli restaurants around for and on Israel Independence Day, ha ha! (And yes! I succeeded!) The benches are a light, bright-looking wood. There are also regular tables for those who prefer that .... It's amazing how much spacious seating is packed into this little place! I wish the outside reflected the new, light beauty but I guess the treasure is only to be found by those who venture in .... As an Israeli-in-America, I appreciate the selection of Israeli drinks in the cooler, and of course the national snack of falafel! Some say they don't put fries in the pitas -- well, yeah! That's true! If you don't ask, you don't receive! I ask! I receive! I do sometimes find the sandwiches to be kind of messy, so I try to sometimes get less various salads and pickles and such so it's not completely overflowing -- because this place is GENEROUS! Of course, if you're not used to kosher food, you'll probably not understand that it does cost more because for one thing (out of many!), there has to always be an 'extra' person called a mashgiach (supervisor in Hebrew) who oversees everything to make sure it's all, well, kosher! Kosher meat is more expensive, too. And yeah, meat doesn't come with dairy! So that is not available. I heard someone asking if they had a cheeseburger and had to work to not crack up about it! I LOVE the grilled eggplant bits you can get put in -- they're special, not in the regular line up, right there at the end -- because not only do they add so much flavour and texture with so little bulk, but eggplant is one of those things I usually cannot eat because it hurts my oh-so-sensitive tongue, but this place makes it per-fect-ly, mmm ... ! So delicious! I enjoy both purple and green cabbage and carrots, but I don't like the flavour of the onions. That makes me sad, because I LOVE onions, but these ones have something on them that I don't like (looks like it's sumac -- which is ironic, because that's something that I normally love and use all the time!) and I end up picking out when I sometimes forget or get hopeful and just get them again anyway .... Actually, the onions are one of the few condiments here I do not like! The pickled beets are great -- and of course, great for your liver! They are cleansing, nutritious, and boost your Russian-ness, to boot! Or your Russian Jewishness, anyway .... I know that eating them makes my grandmother proud! The benefits of eating here are not and are also not like ones you can attain in just any regular restaurant, and it's here for people who want this kind of thing. It literally is a cornerstone, being on the corner and providing the things certain of us need -- Israeliness, Jewishness, kosherness, etc. It's too bad it suffers from bad reviews by people who don't understand or care. By the way, the work that goes into making all these salad items fresh every day is, let's just say, a LOT! I almost always get the falafel -- I used to get a platter, but it was too much for a meal so I switched back to the classic pita version and that's a perfect amount for me for a meal, plus I feel it's better for the environment because it comes packaged minimally in a little parchment paper rather than a recyclable aluminum plate with a non-recyclable aluminum-and-paper top. Truth be told, I could have trouble finishing writing this review because thinking of Oh Mama Grills' falafel is making me so hungry! I am really getting in the mood for some right now!
Other things I eat from here regularly (and have for years):
Israeli salad
Moroccan (vegetarian) cigars
Rice
Other things I know are great by way of seeing the delight on my eating partner's face while consuming:
Okay, I so I don't remember, but various meat things! Chicken, I think ....
Things I don't love from Oh Mama Grill:
Bean soup -- didn't have enough flavour for me ....
Sabich. I dunno. Just didn't love it!
It's hard to top falafel, in my opinion -- well, this falafel from this place, that is -- so I don't feel the need to explore the menu very much .... There aren't a whole lot of places (if any!) that offer such a variety of salads, pickles, and sauces! As an absolute pickle-lover who finds pickles and not just that but a variety of pickles a MUST for my diet, this place has it going on like no other!
Update! Tried sitting on a bench at a booth! It's pretty hard, not super-comfortable, but doable -- however, a harder seat is better for your posture and health long-term!
The falafel pita with toppings aplenty is so delicious, I am craving one right now ... and, in case you've ever tried some of the marinated types of vegetables here and found them too sour, I did too! Now, that is fixed. They are no longer so sour, and are therefore much more eminently edible! My eating partner agrees.
