Things to do before our parties

Our original idea behind the monthly Thursday party was to have something that extended from afterwork until late night. However, every time we attempted this, most people didn't show up until well after 10 which forced us to push back the start time to 9pm (from the original 7).

While this is a good change for many of our party attendees, it has probably left some people with some time to kill between work and the party.

I will attempt to fill that gap by offering up other options for things to do in the local vicinity before you head over to Mings. Of course, one of the best ways to kill time within that timeframe is eat. That being said - my first post in this series will highlight a new restaurant discovery of mine called Maoz.

I'm always on a quest to find NYC's best falafel spot, and after trying Maoz, i'd say its definitely in the running. Apparently this restauraunt is a Dutch chain, with locations in many places, but it just opened its first one in NYC this past Spring on Union Square East between 16th and 17th.

The upsides: I ordered a falafel/hummus sandwich on whole wheat. The falafel and hummus were both above average but they weren't what really made this place. What makes this place really great is the following: 1) they offer an excellent condiment bar where you can load up on olives, seasoned cauliflower, cabbage, tomatoes, and more, plus choose from a wide variety of sauces. Also, the whole wheat pita was amazing. I felt like i was eating homemade freshly baked bread.

The downsides: There is very little space to eat in the store, so you're basically forced to take it across the street to union Square park (which is fine in this weather). Also, the container they gave me the sandwhich in couldn't hold as many of the free sides as i would have liked to take (which makes sense, because they would go broke).

All in all, its a great place and it's only a few blocks away from Uncle Mings. Plus, it's far better than Chickpea which i feel is highly overrated.