bella pita

after what i considered a fairly intense workout, katie and i strolled down to westwood for some good eats. we decided that showers were unnecessary when both people were sweaty AND hungry. (FYI that the logic doesn't necessarily apply to boys, though it depends on whether their sweat smells like rose petals.)

as we were walking and talking, we somehow ended up at the corner of le conte and westwood w/no idea of what we were going to eat. even though i hate feeling rushed, since i had to be on VC at 3pm, i really couldn't linger anywhere for too long. so it was awesome when katie suggested bella pita, a little falafel place on gayley that i'd yet to try.

i swear i'd heard that mac's gf's dad opened the place, but i'm still not positive. (i'll have to ask him when he gets back from turkey.) i do remember thinking every so often that i hope it doesn't close. i mean, it's just such a hole-in-the-wall sort of place that the food really has to be damn good to keep it open what w/all the rent prices soaring in westwood.

when we walked in, katie gave me the rundown. (honestly, i was just going to order what she ordered, so i wouldn't have to think too much.) you place your order, they put it in a pita, and then you go to the adjacent salad bar and load it w/veggies (like lettuce, roasted cauliflower, cucumbers, and tomatoes) and douse it w/sauces (like hummus -- and yes, i know it's not really a sauce, but it fit in this section, so shut up already -- and tahini).

even though the place was HOT as anything, the order was cheap, quick, and delicious! i got three little well-browned falafels (that were totally not greasy) in a thin pita shell (thereby minimizing the bread-ey quality). i threw in lots of veggies first (mmm....), including lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, and the last 3 shreds of roasted cauliflower left in the bin (i just couldn't wait for more). and then i threw on lots of hummus (which katie raved about), as well as some tahini, some red/orange sauce (which could've been roasted red pepper something or other), and some white sauce (which katie thought might be tahini, but had to have been different since it was in a separate bottle).

the whole stuffed pita fit nicely in a piece of wax paper, which fit nicely in my hand. we'd originally decided to take the food to my apt, but realized that we probably wouldn't make it over there w/much left in our hands. i suggested pinkberry, so we sauntered down there, simultaneously digging at (w/my dainty fork) and munching on our falafel pitas.

it's been a while since i've had falafel (and i daresay this might've been my first time, though i swear i've had it before in NY, which means this might've been my first time in LA). katie and i were talking about falafel king on broxton, where i think i've only had yummy roast chicken. i guess i've just never been too into chickpeas. but now that i'm trying to eat lighter and more vegetarian, this whole chickpea idea is really appealing. especially when they retain their grainy texture and they're fried to a crisp!

i thought my falafel pita was absolutely scrumptious. since i piled the veggies on high, i got several nice bites of those w/all the sauces before i even got near the falafels themselves. thankfully, the sauces made a nice dribble down to the bottom along the inside of the pita. (go sauces! they were probably racing each other for some hot falafel action.)

when i bit into the falafels, they were the perfect consistency of crispy outside and crumbly inside. the only thing that weirded me out was how green the insides were. i asked katie and she thought it must be an herb addition that made them that color. and she mentioned that the place had probably toned down their initial color b/c she'd heard that the falafels were almost neon green initally. now THAT would've been disturbing.

we topped off the afternoon w/some yummy pinkberry and great catch-up convo, both of which are fabulous treats. i'm ending this blog entry by giving a special shout-out to katie's bf kevin (at least i think that's his name), who was nice enough to give us time to catch up (even though he was in westwood), but would've been totally welcome to lunch w/us!

bella pita
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