Alan’s Falafel
“The falafel were light and tasty and the hot sauce is banging, Glad I came back here.”
“Five bucks buys
you a platter with hot falafel, hummus, baba ganouge, salad, grilled
eggplant, and grape leaves.”
“Even the stuffed grape leaf that they drop on top was quite possibly the best one that I have ever had!”
Alan’s Falafel
Take-out: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
8 reviews
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After going to the same Halal carts many times over the last year, I figured I'd start looking for a new one that had good reviews and came across Alan's. It's located on the busy street across from Zuccotti Park where there is plenty of competition amongst street vendors. I usually go to the Gyro House truck located at the corner when in the vicinity, since Alan's cart usually has a long line at lunch time (HINT: Get here early at 11:45 if you don't want to wait on a LONG line!) Anyhow, I read that their falafel was really good so gave the falafel and rice a shot.
When opening the box for lunch, I immediately noticed the generous amount of falafel they give. They gave 8 falafels, which is a much larger amount than my usual halal cart near Water Street! Next, I noticed the 2 pieces of eggplant to the side, along with the lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers. Definitely never seen eggplant added to my halal box before, nor have I seen cauliflower added before. Immediately, I tried the falafel and Mmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmm it was better than the ones I usually have. They were much softer and didn't require much chewing on my part. The eggplant was a nice compliment to everything, although unusual. The only thing I wished they added more of was the tomatoes, but that's a small knock. I'll probably come back to this cart, however the verdict is still out since I haven't tried every cart there.
Alan's Falafel is located in in front of the Brown Brothers Harriman building on Broadway (east side of the street), with a huge red/orange cube standing on one of its corners. I was in the mood for another budget lunch and falafels sounded like a good alternative from the usual gyro/chicken platters. I jumped on the line of about 7-8 people, which only took a total wait time of 5 minutes.
I ordered the falafel platter ($5.00) to get the full effect and to try all of their items. The gentleman asked if I wanted hot sauce, which I nodded yes, and he prepared my platter in mere seconds, dipping the tongs and spooning the sauces from each tray in assembly line form. I proceeded to the right to pay the 2nd gentleman who bagged my styrofoam container with some napkins and a fork. These guys are fast!!
Boy was I surprised when I opened the container. There was quite an assortment of items in it:
1) A triangular shaped piece of fried/crispy pita-like bread. Yum!
2) A juicy jalapeno (more bulb-like rather than the long thin jalapenos)
3) Eight falafel balls which were nice and crispy on the outside (ever so slightly over-charred/deep-fried) but soft on the inside. Mmmm, these falafels were delicious, though I did find some trouble trying to stab my plastic fork into a few of them.
4) Below the falafels were a few pieces of sliced carrot, celery and pepper with a subtle tangy flavor.
5) Salad consisting of freshly chopped lettuce (slightly browning) that still had its crispness, and fresh tomatoes cut in cubes.
6) On top of the salad was 3-4 Tbsp. of baba ganoush which was perfectly mashed with seasonings. Boy, was it goooood!! I was done with it in a blink of an eye, only wanting more!!
7) Next to the salad were 5 slices of roasted/grilled eggplant with the skin still intact on the outside. I found the skin to be a little tough and obtrusive when eating, but it was still quite good.
8) Sauteed onions sat next to the baba ganoush. I found the onions to be slightly undercooked, good that it still had a nice crunch but not so good when it still had a strong onion taste.
9) One small tasty dolmade (grape leaf) which I believe was vegetarian.
10) In one of the smaller 3 partitions, was several Tbsp. of tahini sauce. I found myself dipping my falafels and pita bread in here to soak up all the goodness.
11) A slice of fresh pita bread was wrapped and rolled up in a piece of aluminum foil, served cool to room temperature.
And lastly (an optional request), a few squeezes of hot sauce was poured on top of the falafels which had some nice heat. Perfecto!
Oh boy, it's been a while since I haven't had meat included in my lunch meal, but today was definitely a great excuse to skip on the meat and go for falafels. I found myself pretty full and pleased with my meal, and can't wait to go to Alan's Falafel again. I would definitely have to say that their sauces/dips were top notch, though the falafels were slightly over-fried. Overall, I was very pleased with my meal and variety of ingredients.
great food and friendly staff. wish the falafel was hotter though.
So I've been going to one iteration or another of Alan's falafel for the better part of 10 years.
Alan and Sam's are the only two true falafel guys in the square, meaning they are the only two guys whose falafel's are made properly and delicious.
Meaning the falafels are made to order, from fresh ingredients, deep fried on the spot and do not come out of a bag from a factory and then reheated on the flat grill like the rest of the food carts.
I'm an Alan's devotee, ask him to deep fry your pita into a pita chip for you. You won't regret it.
Alan's gives Alfanoose (full service Lebanese restaurant around the
corner voted "Best Falafel in NY") a run for its money. Five bucks buys
you a platter with hot falafel, hummus, baba ganouge, salad, grilled
eggplant, and grape leaves. The falafel is fresh and tasty, the pita fresh and thick, the hummus and baba ganouge creamy and tangy if a little heavy on the pepper. You'd be hard pressed to find a better lunch deal in the area.
Very good falafel – but they just raised the price of the sandwich from $4 to $5. Still a whole lot of delicious bang for your buck, but as far as I know, Sam's across the street still prices their sandwiches at 4.
I feel fortunate to work near Alan's.
For just $4, you get a fresh falafel sandwich stuffed with lettuce, tomato, and a grape leaf. And this is not even to mention a few fries on the side!
I will be a regular.
Alan's Falafel is a great value. Super tasty and nice. He listens unlike many others. I said light in white sauce and he did not as many other vendors do drown it in white sauce. The falafel were light and tasty and the hot sauce is banging, Glad I came back here.