Mediterranean Street Food in Maitland, FL

Mediterranean Street Food is located in a tiny building in the middle of a strip mall parking lot in Maitland. They have been around for quite a while, but I recently gave them a try for the first time and ordered some takeout.

I had the Doner - Gyro Bowl. This was served in a container lined with a large flatbread, filled with rice, then topped with the meat, seasoned onions and tomatoes, and a salad. Tzatziki was served on the side.

Also ordered a Falafel Bowl. Very similar, with a cucumber salad replacing the onions that came with the gyro. Interesting that the falafel were flatter, more disk-like than what I typically see elsewhere.

I enjoyed the food here. The portions were huge and were a good value for the price. Everything was flavorful, and there was plenty of vegetables to counter the main item. I'll be back.

Balagan Mediterranean Cafe in the UCF Arena

Today we're talking about Balagan Mediterranean Cafe in the UCF Arena. This Middle Eastern/Kosher restaurant is located on the first floor of the arena right inside of the main entrance. They have a menu that features falafel, shawarma, kababs, and standard arena snack bar fare like burgers and hot dogs. Their Middle Eastern foods are very tasty and the best part is the price. For the price of a bag of cinnamon nuts up a single flight of stairs at an official arena snack bar, you can get an entire sandwich at Balagan.

I ordered the Schwarma pita. This was filled with turkey and chicken, lettuce, cabbage, onions, hummus, tahini, hot sauce, and whatever other toppings were available. I basically had them load up my schwarma with everything! Although not the most photogenic sandwich, it was still very tasty. Way better than an overpriced hot dog or nachos from the snack bars right up stairs.

Kosher on Wheels in Orlando, FL

There is a food truck called Kosher on Wheels that is parked along International Drive near Fun Spot. I was looking for something for lunch one afternoon and decided to give this truck a try. As far as food trucks at non-food truck events go, Kosher on Wheels seemed to be doing very good business. They had seating on both sides of the truck, and I got the very last open seat while I was eating. I got the feeling that about half the customers at the time were like me, there for some Middle Eastern food regardless of religious affiliation, and the other half was there specifically because the food was Kosher.

I ordered a falafel pita. The pita was filled with a generous amount of falafel, hummus, tahina, red cabbage, onions, and Israeli salad (cucumbers & tomatoes). The falafel was very good with plenty of flavor and was nice and moist. There was also plenty of tahina, so much so that it started being absorbed by the bread. That is always a win in my book.

At some point I want to return to this truck to try their shawarma. I enjoyed my falafel, so hopefully the rest of their food is just as good. I did think they were a bit expensive for the size of the pitas served, but they were pretty equivalent to many of the other 'gourmet' food trucks in Orlando.

Organic Falafel Street Cart in New York, NY

Who needs variety? The previous post that was published on this blog was about Halal carts in New York where I tried some of their falafel. I'll keep with that theme and write about more falafel from a New York City street vendor. I was wandering around lower Manhattan looking for a place to get some breakfast and came across a street festival. There was a stand selling organic falafel and I decided it would work for filling my breakfast requirements.

The falafel pita was a bit overpriced (I'm assuming because of the organic part) compared to most, but I still went for it. It was filled with falafel, stuffed grape leaves, lettuce, tomato, rice, and the obligatory white and hot sauces. I honestly wasn't a big fan of this particular sandwich. I found the falafel and rice to be very dry and bland tasting, regardless of the sauces. The grape leaf was a nice touch, but it didn't make up for the rest of the sandwich. Towards the end, I found myself sharing some of the rice and pita with the pigeons that were swarming in the park where I sat down to eat rather than finishing the sandwich myself.

Regardless of not being a big fan of the sandwich, eating street food in New York always makes me happy for some reason. There was also a very nice view of this humongous building, which I honestly had no idea was so large already. For some reason, I still thought there was still arguments going on about the final design...

Halal Carts of Bellerose, NY

New York is a wonderful city when it comes to food. So many people from all over the world, in such a tight concentration, all bringing their foods along with them. I mentioned in a previous post that I came across an Indian/Middle Eastern neighborhood in Queens that I never knew existed. I had some vegetarian Indian food on that initial visit, but I also noticed some Halal carts parked on street corners. I had heard of New York's Halal carts, but I had never eaten at one up until now...

The first time I wanted some late night food that wasn't a diner or fast food, I tried Sahara Halal Foods. This cart was apparently connected to the Middle Eastern supermarket behind where they were located.

 

I tried their combo plate, which came with thinly sliced gyro meat, chicken skewers, and chicken kofta. The three meats were served over a huge mound of yellow rice and a salad consisting of exclusively iceberg lettuce. I had everything topped with their white sauce and hot sauce. 

 

One of my co-eaters for the night ordered the falafel platter. I traded some of my meat for some of her falafel, which was also very tasty. I liked how mine came with a nice variety of meats. A huge pile of only falafel might have gotten boring after a while.

On another late night a few days later, I returned to this neighborhood and tried Muhsin's Halal Cart. This cart was located diagonally across the street from the Sahara cart and had a very similar menu. The major difference that I noticed was that Muhsin's used white rice as opposed to Sahara's yellow rice. Both had decent lines when I ate at each.

 

I tried a falafel sandwich from this cart. A big puffy pita was filled with several falafel balls, lettuce, tomato, along with white and hot sauce. It was good, but I think I should have gone with another one of those rice platter things.

I enjoyed my late night New York street food experiences during this trip. I can now say that I've tried the famed NYC Halal carts that I've heard so much about! These are another type of street food that is missing from Orlando as far as I know. We have a falafel truck, but I don't know of anyone selling late night, Middle Eastern meat over rice. I predict one would do very well parked outside some of the clubs in downtown Orlando. I couldn't care less about the religious affiliation, but just make a similar style of food. I'm waiting...

Gyros & More in West Melbourne, FL

Gyros & More is a Greek/Middle Eastern fast food restaurant that has a couple locations around Melbourne. While the other locations are stand alone, potentially the most well known Gyros & More is located in the food court of the Melbourne Square Mall. A few different people each told me to try the falafel at Gyros & More the next time I visited the mall.

That visit to the mall food court happened eventually. I followed everyone's recommendation and ordered a falafel sandwich combo, which came with a side and a drink. The sandwiches were made very quickly, and soon enough it was time to eat.

The falafel pita from Gyros & More was decent, but I've definitely found better elsewhere. The pita was filled with falafel, lettuce, onions, tomato, and tahini, but yet I found it to be on the dry side. The sandwich tasted good, but a little more moisture in the pita would have been better. Still good, but not the best. I had stuffed grape leaves as my side. No complaints about these.

Although the falafel was a little dry, it was still tasty. This was also way above most of the other choices in the mall food court. I'd get food here again, although next time I think I'll try a gyro.

Boca Skewers in Boca Raton, FL

While in search for dinner in Boca Raton, we made our way to the Mizner Park section of town. There, we found a middle eastern restaurant called Boca Skewers.

Following the instructions that were on the tables, we were able to get a free appetizer by signing up for their mailing list on our phones. Everyone agreed to share the hummus. This was soon followed by our main courses. I had a falafel & hummus pita. The sandwich was filled with lots of falafel, hummus, lettuce, and tomato. A salad was served on the side.

I had no complaints about Boca Skewers. I hope they do better business than the night we were there though. We were the only customers in the restaurant on a Saturday night for the majority of our meal. It seemed the Greek restaurant two stores down in the same strip mall, probably serving similar food, was doing much better business than this place. Too bad, because the food here was really tasty too!

Fantastic Hummus Food Truck in Orlando, FL

I leaving Audubon Community Market in Winter Park when I spotted a food truck with a big banner on the side that read Falafel Sandwich. This was a brand new truck to me and I'm a big falafel fan, so I knew where I was eating. Upon closer inspection, I found out this truck was called Fantastic Hummus.

They had a few other types of sandwiches, but I stuck with falafel. The sandwich was served on pita, stuffed with plenty of falafel, lettuce, tomato, pickled turnips, and sauce. This was definitely a good sandwich, especially since I was venturing into uncharted food truck territory.

I liked how they gave extra pickled turnips on the side. Pickled turnips are hard to find around here, even at most middle eastern restaurants that I've visited and I have even resorted to making my own. Being able to snack on these turnips without waiting a week for the pickling to happen was a nice treat!

Being that middle eastern food is a big street food staple in other cities like New York, it is definitely about time Orlando got a truck selling falafel!

Tahini Mediterranean Grill in Oviedo, FL

I had lunch at Tahini Mediterranean Grill near UCF in Oviedo. This fast food restaurant/coffee shop makes some good middle eastern foods...

I had the Falafel Pita Platter. This came with the sandwich, two sides, and a few slices of pita bread. I choose the Greek salad and baba gnoush as the two sides, both of which were really good.

The falafel pita was also really tasty. The chickpea balls were nice and moist with plenty of flavor. The other sandwich fillings included lettuce, tomato, and onions (although no pickles as mentioned on other food blogs).

Overall, I enjoyed my meal at Tahini and would gladly return! (Except Tahini has since gone out of business and become a Dunkin Donuts)

Middle Eastern Aromas in Melbourne, FL

I picked up take-out a couple of times from a Lebanese restaurant in Melbourne called Middle Eastern Aromas. It's located in a somewhat dilapidated looking strip-mall and is half restaurant, half Middle Eastern market. I've picked up cans of stuffed grape leaves from the market on each of my visits!

I tried their falafel pita sandwich, filled with falafel, lettuce, tomato, parsley, pickled cucumber, and tahini. The falafel had plenty of flavor and the pickles were interesting. In other Lebanese restaurants, pickled turnips seem to be more common on sandwiches.

On another visit, I had the Chicken Shawarma Pita. This sandwich contained chicken, french fries, lettuce, tomato, pickled cucumber, and garlic sauce. The fries didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the pita in my opinion, although that garlic sauce was wonderful. I must have stunk for days afterward, but it's really good stuff.

Grillwise in Deerfield Beach, FL

I stopped for lunch at a Middle Eastern/Burger restaurant called Grillwise in Deerfield Beach.
I ordered the Falafel Pita. The contents of the sandwich were kind of interesting, filled with the fried chickpea balls, tzatziki, and french fries. I've honestly never seen a falafel sandwich with french fries wrapped in the pita.

According to the menu, the pita was also supposed to come with tomato and onions. Since my pita didn't come with these, I borrowed the missing ingredients from a fellow diner's burger.

The falafel at Grillwise was tasty, although I would have preferred more vegetables and less french fries. The falafel balls were nice and crispy while the tzatziki had great flavor. Good enough for $4...

Athens Cafe in Winter Springs, FL

I got takeout from Athen's Cafe in Winter Springs. I initially was going to order some sort of chicken pita, but then changed my mind and got their Falafel Pita. I'm glad I did too!

This was some of the best falafel I've had in Central Florida. The falafel balls were full of flavor, fried to a crispy brown color on the outside, and moist and tasty on the inside. Feta, lettuce, onions, and tomatoes were also wrapped inside the pita. The side of tzatziki sauce was also really flavorful. Rather than the normal cucumbers mixed in yogurt, this tzatziki had a really nice kick of garlic. Being that most Greek restaurants don't have falafel on their menus, I was really surprised how tasty this falafel was!

I wasn't too pleased with the potato salad served on the side though. It really wasn't anything against Athens, but more of an issue with my personal taste. It had hard boiled egg mixed with the potato. Personally, this is a food combination that really bothers me. The smooth, cold, and somewhat slimy consistency of hard boiled egg is somewhat unsettling when mixed in with potato. Without the egg, I think I'd be happy...

Overall, I enjoyed my meal and I'll definitely be back. Next time I'll be sure to get the full experience and eat my food in the restaurant instead of getting takeout.

Tangierine Cafe at Epcot

I ended my day at Epcot with a visit to the Morocco Pavilion to get some dinner. There's the Restaurant Marrakesh at the back of the pavilion that I have yet to try, but not for this meal.

I got my food from the Tangierine Cafe. It's a fast food restaurant serving Moroccan food.

I ordered a Falafel Wrap, served with lentils and couscous. There it is being prepared behind the counter:


The couscous had some raisins mixed in and was nice and sweet. The lentils were a bit tart and were really tasty. I sat down to eat on the restaurant's patio just as the Illuminations fireworks show was starting. It was a pretty good view of Epcot exploding into a giant fireball...

Once I finished the lentils and couscous which both required forks, I ditched the plate and tray and walked closer to the lake with my falafel. Street vendors in major cities sell falafel for a reason. It's easy to eat on the go. The wrap was filled with the deep fried chickpea balls, lettuce, tomato, onions, and tzatziki.

As far as theme parks go, Epcot is pretty awesome when it comes to food. What other amusement park is there where you can have good Chinese noodle soup for lunch, get free soda, and then end the day by eating falafel while simultaneously watching fireworks?



(This post is listed at the Disney Blog Carnival)