Ashkara/Urban Pita

I love falafel. So when I found out that my cousins had never tried it, I decided we should stop by and get some at Ashkara, a less commercial version of Maoz at 189 East Houston Street. I decided we should go there because it has seating (though not a ton) and we could all sit down together. I might have chosen Rainbow Falafel on Union Square, except that I thought my cousins might like the fill-your-own pita salad station, and the french fries. For some reason, the falafel was not quite as good as I remember it being in the past, which was disappointing, but I do like how customizable it is, and the French fries are also good (though not quite as good as they are at Pommes Frites), as is the lemonade. If you're in the neighborhood, I'd probably suggest you go to Vanessa's Dumpling instead, but if you're really in the mood for falafel, and want a bigger meal instead of just the sandwhich, Ashkara is a good stop down there. You can get a falafel sandwhich (which you call fill with as much salad toppings as you want), a huge order of fries, and a big lemonade for $9.40 with tax. Another big plus is that everything seems to be made fresh.