Keep meaning to post about this…I’ve now been to the new location of Mamoun’s (I understand there’s one in New Brunswick and another in…?) twice. It’s on the outer edge of the small set of shops were Starbucks, Aldi, and an urgent care are–right before the Whole Foods/TJ Maxx shopping center.
My friend Ellen and I had been driving past the Coming Soon sign and were thrilled to hear they had finally opened. What we didn’t know is they had opened the day before our first visit… thankfully, we weren’t in a rush, as the line went from the counter To. The. Door. I guess others in the area were excited to have some more interesting food in the vicinity! That said, the staff was LOVELY and there was one young woman who was handing out coupons–get ANY sandwich for a $2 donation to the Boys and Girls Club of Monmouth. Didn’t need to twist our arms! She gave each of us a few of them, so we each had one there and one to go. I went with the falafel there and brought home a Shawarma. The falafel was delicious, but I found myself eating the lamb about 2 hours later at home! So–not filling enough for me, but I’d certainly order them as an add-on or as a platter with other items.
Three days later I was back, as I had to go to Sea Girt. Since the coupons were expiring that day and I still had one left (I did give them out to a bunch of appreciative Asbury Park musicians), I went. This time I combined them and ordered the MacDougal, which is one of their signature sandwiches. Shawarma, falafel, lettuce, (NO) tomatoes, onions, and tahineh. I added pickles to each sandwich, which I do recommended. Very tasty, and I’ll certainly pop in there when I’m in the area.
Mr Bean and The Sprout have been there twice. I was there once. The first time was a couple of days after they opened. We all were there this past Wednesday - I guess a week after they opened.
So far we’ve had the West Village, Manhattan and Macdougal sandwiches, the Shawarma Platter and the the Veggie combo platter which comes with falafel, hummus, and baba ganouj. I subbed grape leaves for hummus at no extra cost.
The place was spotless and everyone was very friendly and efficient. The Sprout commented that she really liked the Manhattan sandwich because there was a lot of stuff in it (falafel, hummus, baba ganouj, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, turnips, olives, olive oil, lemon juice and tahini sauce) but it was really too much for the size pita they used. I thought the pitas were nothing special.
The shawarma was well seasoned but it didn’t have any textural contrast from being on the spit. It was almost as if they slice it off to frequently. Maybe they need to have 2 going at a time.
Their hot sauce is HOT!
All that being said we really enjoyed our food and will likely be there often.
I went to Mamoun’s in Princeton Tuesday. The shawarma was dry, the place was cold and noisy, and the only cushioned seats were at the high tops. I was not impressed.
I went to the Mamoun’s in New Brunswick a few weeks ago. Had a great shawarma sandwich with their hot sauce and mint lemonade. I got lucky with finding parking. I find that both the NB and Princeton locations a pain to visit due to the lack of parking.
We’ve figured out a parking solution in Princeton that works for us. The two restaurants we go to, Witherspoon Grill and the adjacent French restaurant Kristine’s, are both on Witherspoon St. From Witherspoon St., we take a right on Spring St., a right on Vandeventer, and a left on Park Place (it’s a residential street) where we have always been able to find a 3-hour meter. Just a short walk back to town.
Pretty much my route (from Princeton Record Exchange on Tulane), but I found a meter on Vandeventer. Of course, I spent five minutes trying to figure out how to use the meter, and eventually a woman came out of one of the houses and showed me.
(I’m probably out of touch, but $1.75/hour seems high unless you’re in a major city. Then again, Princeton wasn’t originally built for a lot of cars. And other than the Bryn Mawr annual book sale at a day school location well outside the center, I hadn’t been to Princeton in decades.)
It’s been a very long time since we parked at a meter in NYC. Via Google, I found that rates depend on the zone. Where our apartment is located (there are meters on both sides of the block), rates are $5 for the first hour and $8.25 for the second. That certainly makes $1.75/hr. very reasonable. Another difference: On Sunday, most meters in NYC are free; not so in Princeton. (Note: When we drive to the city and stay in our apartment overnight or for a few days, we park in the garage conveniently located in our building. While expensive, rates are substantially lower than garages in Midtown and other areas.)
