Falafelicious!

What: Falafel Sandwich

Where: Falafel King

1504 Hancock Street

Quincy  MA 02169

How much: $4.75

All Hail the King!  The true King of Falafel.

(readers, cue The Pretenders - The Wait)  (clicking on link should open YouTube in a new browser tab so you can hear my selected audio track playing, but you will have to click back on this tab to return)


You may know of my recent exploration of Banh Mi Battel-Quincy at Ba Le (see below).  I had to try another Banh Mi shop and I drove right past Falafel King.  I felt a bit bad...well, more of a tawdry/dirty/cheating scumbag looking for a cheap thrill and a quick score on the streets of Quincy.  The Banh Mi was great.  I have no regrets.  I got my thrill.  I found out my blind date was quite well educated, polite, confident and emotionally engaging.  But at the end of the day, my steady was there for me, with all the same qualities.

Every other Wednesday is generally Falafel Wednesday as I find myself on or near the south shore of MA with a definite lunch plan.  The guys at Falafel King ALWAYS took care of me and were unusually pleasant (though they may look a bit grumpy).  Ba Le has challenged the Falafel Wednesday notion.  I guess with the 5.5B/6 at Ba Le, Wednesdays are no longer dedicated solely to the Falafel.  Wednesdays will now be wracked with guilt and indecision.  Oh yeah, and offer two great options that I can obsess about for days.  The wait to hump day is a road paved with hunger and up a hill named desire.


Things to know:
The new young(est) guy will not ask you anything, just give the order to one of the other  guys.
The younger guy will ask if you want hummus on your Falafel sandwich.  Always say yes, otherwise it can be bit (only a bit) dry.  And ask for a bit of hot sauce.  His sandwiches are very good.
The owner, not old but the oldest guy there, will not ask you any questions, but will serve you THE BEST Falafel sandwich I have ever tasted.  He seems to work midday and no later than 2PM.

The lettuce is always crisp.  The tomatoes in summer and as early as this week were unbelievable fresh and tasty.  The pickled somethings are great and offer a nice salty and crunchy taste and texture contrast.  The pita is ALWAYS fresh, amazingly soft, yet chewy.  The falafel (fried ground chick peas with spices) is very light and not at all greasy.


Parking along Hancock can be a bit of a bear during noontime.  Just be patient.


I'd give it 6B/6. 

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A perfect score!

Banh Mi Battel-Quincy MA #1

Monday night blogging.  I'll try to make it quick.

What: #4 Beef Banh Mi

Where: Ba Le Vietnamese Sandwiches

219 Quincy Avenue

Quincy  MA 02169

How much: $3.00

Yeay, yeah, yeah...mixed Asian reference. Not a spelling mistake...

Banh Mi. The words turn the wheels in my tiny brain....

(readers, cue Gary Clail & On-U Sound System - Human Nature)

This day's travels took me to quaint Quincy.  Quincy is always in mind because it is the location of the falafel place that I love.  Details are coming soon.  Honestly, to get to Ba Le, I had to drive by the legendary falafel place.  It took my ENTIRE being to control my animal instincts and not stop and have falafel for lunch.  Why take a chance?  Banh Mi, that is why.  I spoke to POTN (Pepe (of the North) )) earlier in the day.  I'll blame him and his casual "I scored some over the weekend" junkie-bragging as my reason to pass up a sure thing and take a header.

Banh Mi University graduate?  Oh yes!  Summa Cum Laude. Note the white deli wrap and elastic as one would expect. (Yes, that is my usual luncheon dining table in the picture)  Bread was very good, but not perfect.  It was crusty on the outside as expected, but just lacked that slightly chewy inside that I prefer.  The meat was there in quantity and VERY tasty.  Meat appeared to be grilled with obvious char marks. The size of the beef pieces was slightly larger/thicker than average.  Plant material was outstanding.  Cilantro was crisp and not one hint of darkness on the leaves.  Carrots and daikon also very crisp and tasty.  The cucumber was long and large and very fresh. One piece took up the whole length of the sandwich.  There were even some scallions.  The smear of mayo was a little light.  The counter person asked ME if I wanted peppers.  I said yes and if you can see in the picture, I did not get jalapenos.  I got Thai green chili slices.  Killer touch.  The first bite had a no bite, but  the burn snuck up on me through the whole sandwich. Burn was full on by the time I finished.  Sandwich size was comparable to most.  The thing that really hooked me was a sweet taste that contrasted with the hot and salty.  It seemed to be something in the liquid poured on top of the sandwich.   This was also the fastest I've ever been served at a Banh Mi place before (and there was someone in line in front of me).  No Sriracha in sight, but no need for it.  Great value for the money.

Things worth noting.  Ba Le is INSIDE of Kam Man Supermaket, not the Viet restuarant opposite Kam Man in the same plaza.  Go in the doors and immediately take a right like you are headed toward the grocery and just before you get to the supermarket entrance, Ba Le is on the right.  They serve several other types of Banh Mi as well as a bunch of other items.  It is strictly take out with no place to sit down.  I looked at the other Viet restaurant and they did not appear to serve Banh Mi, but did have Pho.

I'd give it 5.5B/6. (Units have changed slightly as K explained that technically it was a maximum score of 12 BC.

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A near perfect score!  I'm glad I passed up falafel (at least for today) and kept driving.  I guess I'll have to go back to Quincy later this week to get the falafel fix