Head to Falafel Bar in Woodland Hills for great falafel and a taste of Israel

Name of restaurant: Falafel Bar. Owner/chef Ayala Shlomo comes from a talented family who has operated Amirs Falafel, a successful restaurant in Jerusalem, for more than five decades. Ayala worked at her parents’ restaurant for years and has brought their traditional recipes to Falafel Bar, her Israeli cafe in Los Angeles. She cooks; her husband runs the front of the house.

Where you are: You’re in the middle of busy Ventura Boulevard. The certified glatt kosher Falafel Bar is located in a bustling shopping center anchored by a Jerry’s Deli, Ralphs supermarket and Chipotle outlet. Those in the know will remember this mall as the site of the now defunct garlic-saturated restaurant Gorikee and an old-school honky-tonk Western bar.

What you’re looking at: Patrons digging into massive, heaping platters of kebabs. The small restaurant is made up of a half-dozen tables and a pale counter where you place your order and can view the many available salads. The decorative touches are limited to a token poster from Israel or two. A small TV is located above the counter, usually tuned to the news.

Three things you should be eating: Start with a platter of the salads. There are pickled carrots, red cabbage slaw, pickled beets and a myriad of eggplant preparations with the classic baba ghanoush (a dip made with roasted, smoky, puréed eggplant); sautéed eggplant with cooked, chopped mushrooms; and the chopped eggplant, which has a bit of spice, rounded out by the eggplant’s inherent richness.

The falafels are delicious spiced balls of joy. They are golf-ball-sized orbs of ground chickpeas with loads of parsley, garlic, coriander and a couple other spices. The falafel are crisp on the outside, deviously tender and soft on the inside and blissfully free of excess oil. You must make sure to douse the falafels with amba, the piquant and spicy Middle Eastern mango sauce. It’s Israel’s answer to Sriracha.

The turkey-and-lamb shawarma, freshly sliced from the vertical broiler, should also be at the top of your list. Heavily spiced with black pepper and cinnamon and marinated for hours, the shawarma is truly a taste of Jerusalem.

Other dishes you should know about: The ground beef kebab, also spiced with cinnamon and grilled to order, is loaded with chopped onions. Each bite is beyond tender and melts in your mouth, similar to a slab of toro (fatty tuna belly) sashimi.

What you’re drinking: Nothing stronger than near beer is served here. You can find American sodas and bottled water, but for the truly adventurous try a bottle of Israel’s famed ultra-malty, fermented, barely sweet “soda” called Malt Star. The near beer is highly addictive and so much better than American-produced non-alcoholic beers.

Info: 21765 Ventura Blvd. (818) 710-0140. www.falafelbar.net.

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