The McDonald's fast food chain is rushing to roll out its latest offering – the “McFalafel' sandwich – in Israel's heartland.
The restaurant chain will offer three balls of the mashed, deep-fried chickpea paste for NIS 10 a sandwich, with a side of tehina and the ubiquitous chopped tomatoes and cucumbers that comprise the classic “Israeli salad.”
The question is whether McDonald's will prove to be any competition to the traditional Israeli falafel stands that dot nearly every street corner in the country.
Of the 160 restaurants operated by the fast food chain, only 36 are certified kosher.
Nevertheless, not one serves any form of pork, and most have refrained from combining milk with meat in the form of a cheeseburger, since it just didn't sell.
American fast food in Israel has found various ways to adapt to the culture of the country. Around Chanukah time, dozens of varieties of donuts hit the streets in the form of “sufganiyot” – Israel's answer to Diaspora Jewry's fried delicacy, latkes (potato pancakes).