Tasting notes: Froma and Amir's Falafel

We needed some provisions for a picnic at the Cinespia screening of Dario Argento's Suspiria Saturday night, so I stopped in the new charcuterie/cheese shop Froma on Melrose. I tried some La Quercia proscuitto, the great domestic procsuitto from Iowa that the L.A. Times wrote about a few weeks ago. It's good stuff; even better after I made some little rolls to take with us with the BreadBar rolls they carry at Froma, sliced heirloom tomatoes, a drizzle of homemade garlicky viniagrette and some shaved parmesan. We also had an excellent bottle of Pinot Noir from De La Montanya Vineyards near Healdsburg (a party favor from the publicist for the Michelin guide, Ceci De La Montanya).

That was a pretty good dinner, but lunch wasn't too shabby either: we were in the Valley so we stopped at Amir's Falafel (11711 Ventura Blvd.) Amir's is Israeli style, which means that like Falafel King in Westwood, there is a great selection of side salads. There's a nicely-spiced carrot salad, eggplant, two kinds of coleslaw, tabbouli and several others. Matt thought his grilled chicken sandwich was delicious, but the falafel is the piece de resistance: freshly made, soft and pillowy, stuffed into a fresh pita with cabbage and tahini sauce. It's not as cheap as some falafel places, but it might be worth being just a stone's throw from Universal City and not having to brave deepest North Hollywood.