By Guest kesociety.com Contributor, Donna Wach
Believe me when I say I was among the many skeptics who groaned, “Do we really need another Israeli food joint in Baltimore?” But I quickly snapped out of it and remembered that I need to be grateful to anyone who is willing to take the risk and open a new kosher establishment in my hometown.
On a sunny Sunday afternoon, my hubby Sam and I ventured out to grab some eats from the new food truck, Yossef’s Laffa-Milia (120 Reisterstown Road, Pikesville MD, 443-340-8335, open Sunday 12pm-5/6pm, Monday-Thurs 11am-7/8pm, under Star-K supervision, Pareve). A true family business, we were greeted by the matriarch, Chana, who was eager to share with us that the only things they do not make in house are pita and laffa. She explained that they are working on making these in-house as well, but because of current space constraints they are not able to bake their own at this time. It was clear this really bothered her. Even though the proprietors did not call it a “soft opening,” they did not have everything available the day we visited, such as the sambusak, the traditional Syrian filled pastry, which I was excited to try.
We ordered the falafel plate, hummus with fava beans, and after being educated as to what it was, we added an order of “falafel kinder,” a hardboiled egg enveloped in falafel batter then deep fried. Yossef’s makes everything fresh to order which can sometimes imply a long wait time, but really the wait wasn’t bad at all.
Upon my first bite, the first thing that struck me about the food was the incredible crunch. I am officially on “Team Texture” and this fresh food really delivered in this regard. The taste and crunch made both the regular falafel and the falafel kinder very pleasing and pretty “craveable.” As for the falafel kinder, if ever a food screamed “Sam Wach” (my aforementioned “hubby”), this was it, and it was indeed his favorite of the day.
The hummus with fava beans was yummy but the beans got a little lost in the silky hummus, and I was hoping for more beans in the dish. The pita was good, and while nothing off the charts, it was totally acceptable. The eggplant salad and matbucha on the side were great, and I plan to pick some up for Shabbos on Thursday.
As I really wanted to check out the chickpea sambusak, I returned the following day, and true to their word, it was available. The pastry dough was heavenly. One sambusak order contains two large chickpea-filled pastries, and I would suggest eating them right there and then.
If a food truck on Reisterstown Road can have a “vibe,” Laffa-Milia definitely has one. I think this is significantly due to Chana and her daughter, Alona, actively engaging us, joyfully explaining the menu and the food truck’s vision, while father and son were busy cooking. There is a very palpable and authentic pride in what Yossef’s Laffa-Milia is doing. I hope the owners can keep up this type of interaction with the customers, it definitely added to the overall experience.
Right now, Yossef’s has a completely pareve menu, but they have not ruled out adding meat down the road. I like that they know what they can and can’t do and are open to expanding once they have the current offerings down pat.
Sam and I are looking forward to returning and to seeing Laffa-Milia evolve, as a stagnant menu is a bit of a pet peeve of mine. Another restaurant pet peeve of mine are owners making customers feel they are doing you a favor simply by feeding you, but at Yossef’s it was just the opposite. The crew at Yossef’s lived up to its name and really made us feel like part of the “familia.”
Kosher Food and Drink 
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