Goldie: What’s Vegetarian Editorial Review

Goldie sells vegan falafel on Sansom Street in Rittenhouse. The shop calls itself a vegan, kosher, Israeli-style falafel counter. CookNSolo Restaurants runs Goldie, and the About page nicknames the shop “baby Zahav.”

Falafel is the point. Four plates cost $12 each. The Sandwich wraps six falafel balls in fluffy pita with tomato, marinated cabbage, cucumber, parsley, and tehina, plus an Israeli pickle. The Chopped Salad trades the pita for beets, fresh herbs, and lemon-date vinaigrette, and it also comes with a pickle. The Hummus Platter includes a pita. The Fall Special Kale Caesar tops six falafel balls with baby kale, butternut squash, pickled shallots, and tehina Caesar dressing, and the menu notes it contains soy. A Bag of Balls costs $6 and comes with your choice of sauce. Extra sauce costs 25 to 50 cents.

Fries start at $4 for the Regular, served with tehina ketchup. Shawarma Fries ($9) arrive tossed in a spice blend of turmeric, cinnamon, and more. Loaded Fries ($9) add two falafel balls, marinated cabbage, and fresh herbs, with tehina ketchup, lemon-date vinaigrette, and your choice of tehina sauce on the side. Hummus arrives topped with olive oil. A pint costs $12, a half pint costs $7, and a 2-ounce portion costs $2. A side of Salatim (beet, cabbage, and Israeli salads) costs $6, sliced cucumbers cost $2, and extra pita costs $2.

Shakes cost $7, and they matter. Original is a plain tehina shake. Turkish Coffee comes topped with halva, Mint Cookie with cookie crumble, and Chocolate Pretzel with chocolate drizzle and Utz pretzels. Every shake carries a “contains nuts” note, so ask about allergies. Drinks cost $4. Pick Lemonnana, a mint lemonade with orange blossom water, or go for Sour Cherry Iced Tea or Turmeric Lime Soda. Chetzi Chetzi means “half and half” in Hebrew and pours half Lemonnana and half Sour Cherry Iced Tea.

You will find the shop at 1911 Sansom Street, open 11am to 8pm daily. Call 267-239-0777 or order online through Toast. Email [email protected] with questions.

Goldie also caters, and most catering orders go through the same Toast site. The Pint Package costs $25 with no notice and includes four pita, a pint of hummus, and a pint of salatim. With two hours of notice, Goldie at Home costs $75 and serves four to six, with six pita, thirty falafel balls, a quart each of beet, tomato cucumber, and cabbage salatim, a pint of hummus, and two sauces. Falafel by the dozen costs $10, and pita by the dozen costs $20. With 24 hours of notice, the Small Party Time Package costs $185 and serves 10 to 20, and the Large Party Time Package costs $335 and serves 20 to 40.

On the kosher side, the site links a kosher certification page that points to Mekor Habracha. Mekor Habracha lists the Sansom Street shop among its Center City restaurants under IKC supervision.

Goldie once ran a second counter inside Penn Food Hall at 3401 Walnut Street. Spinach lists that stall as permanently closed, and Goldie’s own location page names only Sansom Street. Head to Sansom.

Order a Sandwich and Shawarma Fries, then finish with a Turkish Coffee shake.