South Dakota farm gal Erica Strait left the state to study at New York City’s Institute for Integrative Nutrition and its Natural Gourmet Institute, guided by her interest in food and nutrition. It was in the big city that she not only trained in holistic health and whole-foods cooking but developed a love for falafel while working in NYC restaurants. Back in the Midwest and working as a line cook and personal chef, Strait found herself missing the crispy falafel of NYC, so she did what anyone with the know-how would do: She started making it herself. Throw in Strait’s affection for street food, and you have Foxy Falafel.