Grillicious

32 S 18th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(267) 324-3936
Website

Grillicious is another venture in the same location as the short lived falafel place “CRISP”. After my meal at Crisp a while ago, I was hoping that something better was in store for this great spot. Grillicious did not disappoint, and even improved on some of its predecessor's missteps.

They stuck with the same build-your-own setup, but added meat to the menu of protein options. Big fan of that decision.

The evolution of the ordering process is laid out below.

I went with a flatbread sandwich, and a salad bowl.

The salad bowl is HANDS DOWN the way to go. You get more food, AND it's served with a flatbread anyway.

The salad comes with your choice of ingredients, I chose tomato cucumber salad, onion, parsley, and feta. My protein was the beef kefta kabob, and it also came with falafel - a generous foursome. There is a number of sauces/dressings to choose from and the Amba Wamba sounded like a good one - their take is a pickled mango-chipotle cream that added a nice tang.

Because just one dressing is never enough, I opted for two; although the spicy tahini was a bit under spiced, the amba wamba held strong. I will also say, in contrast to Crisp's execution, the falafel was very good this time around. The crispy exterior gave way to a moist, light, well seasoned interior. A major improvement on the previous version.

The kafta was delicious. A light and crunchy, tender and juicy, slightly smoky (so many descriptors, I know) meat puck added a rich contrast to the healthiness of the salad, and when taken with the falafel and flatbread, made for a hearty meal. At $1 more than the flatbread, it is definitely worth the investment.

It's not that the flatbread was bad, it just didn’t have the substance of the salad. The bread itself was tender and nicely spongy with a smack of char-grilled flavor. The marinated boneless chicken was meat pulled from the thighs, and made for a delicious (and, yes, grillicious) filling.

The ingredients are mostly the same across the board, and I did still enjoy the flatbread. But for the value, I have to recommend the salad. Filling and delicious, go for extra sauce(s) on the side as their tiny to-go containers don’t thoroughly take care of the salad unless used en-mass.

Liberty Choice

1947 N Front St
Philadelphia, PA 19122
(215) 423-4500

A newcomer to the Front Street scene, Liberty Choice is a brick oven pizza place, deli, convenience store, coffee shop, and Middle Eastern food store. Is that enough for you?

They are located in a questionable spot, between Berks and Norris on Front Street under the El. I love that they are making an effort to become an anchor in this area and finally bring some good to the 'hood, instead of, you know, drugs and prostitutes.

There is a deli.

A brick oven.

A coffee bar.

A giant convenience store (with upstairs seating arena - not just area, but arena).

Oh, and a fresh orange juice machine.

I went for a spicy falafel (which they make fresh), with hummus and feta. They have a $10 minimum for cards, so I got a bag of pita ($1.39) and container of hummus ($2.00) to hit my quota. Unfortunately their machine was down so I had to use the ATM. Which gives out money in $5 increments, in case you forgot you were by the Berks stop on the El.

The falafel was unbelievably good. I haven't had falafel that "popped" with this much flavor in a while. Fresh, light, and herby, it was a welcome surprise. I was told by the owner that "this is because we are the people that know how to make falafel." Agreed. As you can see, they did not skimp on the feta.

The sandwich was chock full of fresh vegetables, like diced onion, tomato and cucumber, and slightly spicy. I am hooked.

The house made hummus to-go was good, creamy and topped with chickpeas, but it could have used some kind of stand-out flavor. Maybe tingling spice, or filled with a dollop of herbs or something to make it sing.

I have to say, I was surprised how good this falafel was. It had the distinct fresh, flavorful combination that so many offerings of the same type miss. I will be back to try the platters, and who knows, maybe a brick oven pizza.

King of Falafel Cart

16th and JFK
Philadelphia, Pa 19103
M-F 11am-2pm

The inevitable search for cheap eats around lunchtime in Philadelphia, which cure both hunger and headache and give you a chance to escape the office for about an hour each day, often lead to the variety of food carts around the city. I used to eat at King of Falafel a long while ago when the falafel cravings started, but upon discovering the Falafel Nazi, and Mama's Vegetarian (review coming soon), I never looked back. Until now. It was a beautiful day in Center City, and a perfect opportunity to sit at Love Park and people watch, all while eating one of the cheapest, best cart foods around.


I opted for the falafel sandwich with feta cheese, hummus, and hot sauce. $4. Awesome. I even splurged on a soda for $.75 bringing the grand total to under $5. Amazing. The sandwich, while not huge, fills you up quite nicely, and is relatively healthy compared to a lot of the cart food out there (I am looking at you, sausage/cheesesteak carts).


The pita is whole wheat, and they wrap it tightly in foil to prevent what could result in everyone being able to see exactly what you had for lunch on your work tie. Well played, "King".


The sandwich combines two smashed falafel balls, hummus, chopped lettuce, diced tomato, feta, and some Frank's red hot-esque hot sauce. The falafel is good, crunchy, and not overly garlicy, and I am not sure which component had the fresh zing of lemon juice, but it was appreciated. The hummus kept everything moist, and the lettuce added the crunch. All in all, I must say, it's not too shabby. My present location, plus a pool of lunchmates with the same time constraints as myself, really hinders my ability to make it to 20th and JFK for falafel; not to mention his line is excruciating, and his sandwiches are double the price. For now, this cart will do quite nicely, and it's always fun to rediscover an old friend/cart. Especially one across from the park with some of the best people watching in all of Philadelphia.