Fight your way through feral packs of drunken UCLA undergrads for some of the best sub-$5 fava bean balls in the city. Or skip the Bruins altogether and head to Long Beach.

From the road, Marouch looks like a restaurant the Hillside Stranglers would have hit up, but inside it's a lavishly hokey bit of old Lebanon that happens to dole out the most sumptuous, extravagantly spiced falafel in East Hollywood.

Armenian falafel can get lost in the fevered debate over the merits of the Israeli, Palestinian or Lebanese versions. That's a shame, because the impossibly cheap and rich falafel balls at this closet-sized Glendale stand get locals nostalgic for old Yerevan every time.

Most of the food-stall cuisine in Grand Central Market is avoidable, but this modest stand gets it right with herb-laced hunks of falafel dense enough to leave a welt if propelled at high speeds. Downtowners note; they deliver post haste.