After a long week of work and school, we were tying to decide on what we were craving. After a bland week of whatever-we-can-make meals (who wants to cook after a long day of work and homework...NOT ME!!), we chose to shove our faces at Holy Land Deli in N.E. Minneapolis. We initially chose to have take out and good thing we did because the second we walked in, and for the few minutes we were waiting, WE WERE FREEZING! Upon leaving, my fingers and toes were ice cold!
Anyways, we walked in, looked around the attached market for a bit (will definately need to come back to this later!) and then stood in line for about 30 seconds to place our order. As an appetizer we got Somalian Samosas, he ordered a gyro meal (came with french fries), I ordered a falafel (no meal, no fries), and then a piece of baklava to share. While waiting, the aromas were filling up our nostrils and our stomachs were growling. When she called our number (244!!), we grabbed our bag, and rushed home to partake in our newest food venture.
The samosas were 2 for $4. Each of them were about the size of one's palm. Lightly fried, not oily, lightly crispy, and OH SO DELICIOUS! One bite made us each want to take about 200 more, but alas, it was gone in 5 simple bites. It was filled with veggies and savory Middle Eastern-based seasonings. What a great beginning to our meal.
So here is the low down from the vegetarian point of things...wowowowowowowowowow. First of all, this gigantic burrito-like vessel was JAMMED PACK full of falafels. For anyone who has never had a falafel, it's ground chick peas with a bunch of spices and (I think) vegetables, which are then rolled into balls and deep fried into a soft crunchy tasty treat. It might sound a little intense hearing it's deep fried, but it's not oily in any way and you don't get that 'my-face-will-be-covered-with-zits' feeling after you eat them. Anyhoo, along with the about 10 or so golfball-sized falafel balls that they crammed into a pita, there was creamy cucumber sauce (tangy, yogurty, with the perfect amount of cucumber freshness), chopped cucumbers, lettuce, and then I think it was hummus at the bottom of the pita. I attempted to pick this giant thing up and take a giant bite, but the moment I took it in both hands, everything fell apart so I just had to dig in with a fork! If you're afraid to get messy, DON'T BE because then your tastebuds would be greatly missing out because EVERYONE NEEDS TO EAT ONE OF THESE FALAFELS! And what an absolutely great deal for only $6.99!!!
Of course I can't comment on Ant's meal, but he got an equally large size gyro (not joking when I say the sandwiches are a tad smaller than the size of a football); a pita filled with lamb meat and vegetables...lettuce, onion, etc. He got the meal so for an extra $1.00 more (totaling $7.99) he got two handfuls of fries (which I did taste...they were okay.. a little soggy for my liking), and a medium soda. Ant says it was too big for him. The woman at the counter, who by the way was very friendly, asked him if he wanted it to be child-size or regular-size and he says he would've been perfectly satisfied with child-size. He opted out of the creamy white sauce that usually accompanies gyros, but he says it was still great. There was a lot of meat with a good portion of vegetables inside. As he quotes "food is my saviour, I got saved tonight". Two thumbs up from the meat P.O.V.
Our meal ended with the piece of baklava. I have tried it before, but was never a fan of this flaky treat. The piece we got was about the size of a deck of cards and cost $1.99. My mind was changed about baklava with just one tiny bite! It was flaky yet creamy (in a weird way) with an apple-y, cinnamon-y, sweet spice-y flavor. It wasn't too sweet and, after feeling incredibly full, it was a perfect ending to our perfect meal.
Service: 5/5 (speedy and friendly)
Atmosphere: 2.5/5 (we came around dinner time and it was empty, however, it was very cold)
Pricing: 5/5 (a fantastic price for the amount of food you get!!!)
If you're around Central Ave in N.E. Minneapolis and want a filling and savory meal that please you're wallet, Holy Land is the place to go!
Char and Ant peacing out! And remember; food is our saviour :-)
I'm going there for a falafel asap! This place has THEE BEST hummus, too!
ReplyDelete