Midtown Lunch

The Moshe’s Falafel truck that has been parked in Union Square for the past 6 months has given up on that spot and moved to 57th and Broadway.  According to the guys running the 2nd truck, business started off ok but has tapered off significantly during the winter.  So this week they decided to try out the NW corner of Midtown.  They haven’t settled on a permanent spot as of yet, but plan on being somewhere near 57th and Broadway every day starting around Noon.  Yesterday they were on Broadway btw. 56+57th on the West side of the street, and have already started to draw a crowd.

It’s been awhile since I’ve eaten at the Moshe’s Cart, so I decided to re-sample the goods…

Slightly better than I remember it from a few years ago (from the cart on 46th & 6th), my original complaints are still there: way too messy, and the distribution is all wrong.  I got one falafel ball on top, covered in tahini, then had to eat my way through a bunch of lettuce and tomato before getting to the other falafel balls on the bottom. Speaking of lettuce and tomato, if you are a big fan of the Israeli salad, you won’t find any here.  Another negative (unless you prefer lettuce and tomato.) Plus, I asked for hot sauce, but couldn’t taste any on the sandwich at all.  The falafel themselves are the big plus though… they have a great crunch on the outside, and were nice and moist on the inside (probably because I was there right when they opened and got mine fresh out of the fryer.)  The bread is forgettable, but all in all for $4.75 it’s tough to complain.

Amazingly, I just looked back at my Moshe’s Falafel post from 2006 and it could have easily been about the falafel I had yesterday. I guess at you can say they’re consistent.

The one thing that has changed is they added french fries a year or two ago.  They won’t put them on the actual sandwich (the way that Pick a Pita and Olympic Pita will) so I’ve never tried them… but yesterday decided to get an order.  For $3.50 you get a ton of shoestring fries in a bag (you can’t tell from the photo, because they’re at the bottom of a bag- but it’s a lot), and I love shoestring fries… so I was totally down with this.  If only we could get them to add the fries to the pita sandwich!!!  (Midtown Lunch Sandwich Challenge anyone?)

Regardless of whether Moshe’s is your favorite falafel or not, it’s a great addition to the one part of Midtown that is kind of devoid of falafel.  If you work near there, are are probably very excited today… (oh, and don’t wait too long to check it out, they will be closed for Passover.  So if you don’t make it by Wednesday, you’ll have to wait another week before they are back.)

THE + (What somebody who loves this place would say)

• Tasty Israeli style falafel balls (when you get them fresh out of the fryer).  Nice and crunchy on the outside, crumbly on the inside
• Cheap!  Sadly $4.75 is about as cheap as a falafel can get these days
• I love shoestring fries! And you get a ton for $3.50
• You get a whole pickle on top of your falafel
• Not a lot of falafel in this area…

THE – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

• Way too messy!
• Too much tahini poured over the top
• Falafel/lettuce/tomato/tahini distribution is terrible
• Bread is out of a plastic bag, and not warmed up
• I don’t like shoestring fries! (And they’re frozen in a bag…)

Moshe’s Falafel (2 Locations)

• NE Corner of 46th & 6th
• Somewhere around 57th & Broadway