When Ethan and I spent a weekend in the Catskills region of upstate New York, we want to check out some of the nearby restaurants. We did some searching on Happycow.net to see what vegan options were available. In the nearby town of Hudson, there were several restaurants with vegan offerings, but the one that grabbed our attention was Park Falafel & Pizza. As stated on their website:
Park Falafel offers freshly made quick-serve meals in the City of Hudson, NY. Our restaurant is vegetarian and Kosher, the only one in the region. We offer dine-in and take-out as well as delivery in Hudson. All of our pita bread and desserts are baked on premises.
We couldn’t turn down pizza and falafel. So we got in the car and drove over. We are very glad we did. The town of Hudson is very quaint with a main street lined with a wide array of shops and restaurants. Park is located just off the main drag along side the park in the town center. This unassuming restaurant serves some of the best vegan pizza we’ve ever had. And that includes the pizza we make at home.
We began our meal with a falafel platter. This comes with 7 balls of falafel, a generous serving of hummus, cucumber salad, tahini, pickles, a shivka pepper and the freshly made pita bread they touted on the website. I am always leary of trying falafel lest it be filled with cumin. Thankfully Park’s falafel is cumin free. The falafel was perfectly fried to be crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. It is very flavorful and has a slightly green tint inside thanks to the fresh parsley. The hummus did have cumin, but not enough to be bothersome to me. The salad was fresh and crisp and helped to counter the richness of the falafel and hummus. The fresh pita was still warm from the oven and delicious. This platter is enough for a meal for one person or an appetizer for tow to share as we did.
Falafel platter with hummus, olives, cucumber salad, shivka pepper, pickles and fresh made pita
Just as we were finishing the platter our pizzas arrived. Yes, I said pizzas, plural. We each ordered a 12 inch personal pizza. I ordered mine with sun dried tomatoes and roasted garlic. Ethan ordered his the same, but added olives. Both came with a chunky tomato sauce and Daiya mozzarella. The crust on the pizza is a little thicker than a typical New York style slice, but much thinner than a deep dish Chicago style pizza. The tomato sauce was outstanding. It was filled with chunks of tomato and not overly seasoned which allows the tomatoes to be stars. It is slightly sweet and incredibly fresh tasting, like it was just made. The pies are a little heavy on the Daiya, so you might want to ask for them to go light on the cheese when you order.
Ethan’s pizza with sun dried tomatoes, olives and roasted garlic.
In addition to pizzas and falafel, Park offers a vegan soup every day in addition to non-vegan ones. On our visit, the soup was an Israeli Bean. They also offer vegan desserts that are made on site: chocolate peanut butter banana cupcakes and rice pudding. Sadly, we were stuffed from the meal that we didn’t have room for dessert.
After our meal I spoke to the owner, Louie, for a few minutes. Louie used to be a barbecue chef at a local bar, but quit after he went vegan. He had enough of meat and wanted a change. He said that going vegan completely expanded his palate and he wanted to reflect that in his menu at Park. He now offers a wide variety of vegan options on his menu. By eliminating the animal products from his diet, he opened himself to more foods and increased his menu. A win for him, the restaurant, the animals and the environment.
If you find yourself in the Catskill region, a trip to Park Falafel & Pizza is a must. When you go, be sure to say hi to Louie and tell him Michael from Vegan Mos sent you.
Park Falafel & Pizza
11 North 7th Street
Hudson, NY 12534
518-828-5500
