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Local Kitchens launched a new falafel-focused concept at 11 of its 13 locations on July 25, including those in Palo Alto and Mountain View.
Yalla Falafel, offering Mediterranean fare, is created in collaboration with Einat Admony, a two-time James Beard semifinalist for Best Chefs and two-time winner of Food Network’s “Chopped.” This collaboration is Admony’s west coast culinary debut – she owns 13 locations of fast-casual spot Taim on the East Coast and sit-down restaurant Balaboosta in New York.
Find pitas and plates featuring shawarma-spiced chicken and green herb falafel ($13-17), as well as small plates like black garlic cauliflower ($8) and hummus ($10) at the new Local Kitchens concept. Yalla Falafel’s falafel recipe is the same recipe taught to Admony by her mother and is the same offered at Taim, she said.
“My mom … used to make one of the best falafel ever,” Admony said.
Not only is the falafel inspired by her mother’s cooking, the black garlic cauliflower is too.
“When I came here, most of the people I met said they don’t like cauliflower,” Admony said. “I think because they grew up with cauliflower boiled in water (that has) no flavor and no texture. So for me, I wanted to bring something that my mom used to make us. … She would blanch it in water, and then she would coat it like schnitzel, and it was super delicious with some tahini sauce and yogurt sauce.”
Admony was born in Bnei Brak, Israel, and learned to cook Persian dishes from her mother and Moroccan dishes from her neighbor. After serving in the Israel Defense Forces as a driver and a cook, she went to culinary school in Israel, then immigrated to New York City. In 2005, Admony opened a falafel stand called Taim in the West Village, which eventually grew into 12 New York locations with an investment from Chipotle. In 2010, she opened full-service restaurant Balaboosta, and in 2020 and 2022, she became a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chefs.
Admony, who is also a mother of two children, said she chose to partner with Local Kitchens because she resonated with the brand’s concept of offering a variety of restaurants under one roof.
“I thought Local Kitchens has a completely unique experience that a family of five or four, whatever, two people come in, can choose two, three different things in the same tray,” she said.
Local Kitchens, various locations, Instagram: @eat.local.kitchens.
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