Is This the Best Falafel in San Diego?

San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour

Stop us if you’ve heard the Happy Half Hour cast claim a particular food item was the “best in San Diego” before (to be fair, San Diego Magazine devotes an entire issue to the topic). If we assign superlatives, we tend to stand behind them, so buckle up for the following: We’ve found the best falafel in San Diego. Hands down, bar none, et cetera. Falafel Heights takes up a small storefront on 30th, near Lincoln, in North Park. This block, formerly decrepit due to many closures (Toronado, Streetcar Merchants, and others), is about to veritably pop off. Falafel Heights opened last fall, high-end dive Happy Medium (by Fernside, SDCM, and former CH barkeeps Christian Siglin and Eric Johnson) opened last week, CH’s new Persian spot is currently under construction, and Saigon Coffee is just across the street, as is Second Chance Brewing, and other businesses. Owner and founder Lialie Ibrahim, a staple in San Diego’s running community, opened Falafel Heights after years of pop-ups and people goading her into sharing her exceptionally poppable treats. See, falafel comes in many forms. There’s Egyptian falafel, which is large–almost bready. Baked Lebanese falafel fits in the palm of your hand. Ibrahim’s falafel—quarter-sized balls deep-fried and served street-style as she experienced in Palestine’s West Bank, where she has lived—is meant to be popped as finger food. Dipped in sauces, loaded on fries, or served in a wrap or bowl. It’s addictive, and when served with one of her many sauces, including a hard-to-find Iraqi mango amma, I promise it will stick in your memory. Ibrahim is originally from the Bay Area, where her Palestinian parents settled after immigrating to the United States. She tried her hand at journalism, doing mostly radio work before moving to San Diego. While here, she got into local running clubs, started making falafel for friends with her family’s recipes, and even helped her good friends (part of her running club) start a little old kombucha brand, which would eventually become Boochcraft. “Upon moving to San Diego, I wanted to taste falafel the way I fell in love with it as street food in the West Bank,” Ibrahim says of her desire to jump into the professional frying pan. “I grew up eating falafel made from scratch, which involves soaking the beans overnight, blended with fresh ingredients, and cooked upon request.” She believes that’s the only way to serve it, so that’s how it is at Falafel Heights. Fresh, hot, delicious, and plentiful. She’s even got a mascot, Phil, a walking, talking falafel wrap. In addition to stuffing our faces with chickpeas, we also talked about the news, all of which concerns North Park, and some of which I previewed earlier in this post. Happy Medium finally opened on 30th and Lincoln; Bivouac Adventure Lodge opened last week in a huge yurt-like space next to the original bar room; Trust’s Brad Wise will open a French brasserie next year on 30th and University; On March 13, Black Radish will host a five-course menu with wine pairings from Napa’s El Molino and Memento Mori; and Jersey Mikes and Belching Beaver have both opened in North Park.