FALAFEL QUEEN - Food Truck Tour Stop #3

It has been a few summers since the ever elusive Pyramid Falafel truck vanished from Broadway.  I first noticed that Falafel Queen had stepped up to fill Broadway's falafel void last summer.  Besides their namesake, Falafel Queen offers a few other Middle Eastern sandwiches as well some food truck standards.  Based on the picture on the side of the truck they're almost obligated to serve fries.

On this visit I had the falafel sandwich ($6).  I've had a few great falafels in my day (usually while traveling) and my fair share of bad ones.  Falafel Queen's falafel does not rank amongst those bad experiences but is it good enough to justify its royal status? No.  The falafel is fairly large for the price and is served wrapped in a full pita.  The falafel balls aren't much better than pre-made ones that can be procured from the grocery store and don't seem to be fried to order so the sandwich is comes barely warm.  The pita is stuffed with lettuce, red cabbage, a few slices of cucumber pickles, tahini, and most confusingly, entire slices of lemon, rind and all.  If it were not for the lemon slices, the experience would be far more bland, as the citrus sparks some much needed life into the sandwich.  However, taking a bite and coming away with a mouthful of lemon is far from a pleasant experience.  There is Sriracha available to use if you so desire, but the falafel comes so tightly wrapped that it would be impossible to apply it evenly without making a huge mess.  I would suggest requesting that they make it spicy so they can take care of this before it gets wrapped.  Overall, Falafel Queen satisfies a craving but a conservative and quickly made sandwich turns the the truck into a convenience rather than a destination.

Broadway Ave. between Carlton St. and Hargrave St.