Leaving behind the comforts of his family and homeland to stay with an uncle, Fares “Freddy” Zeidaies arrived in America as a bright-eyed 15-year-old Palestinian and tried to stay out of the trouble that can easily befall any teenager growing up in New York City. “I went to school for one week. I couldn’t, packed it up.” Instead, he began working, bouncing from one job to the next, including opening a deli in Long Island City in 1995. By 2002, he had noticed that none of the falafel and shawarma resembled the kind found in his homeland, giving him the idea to open a food cart selling just that. Though opening a cart in Astoria was harder than ever—“being Middle Eastern and coming off of 9/11. It was hard.” After procuring the license, permit, and cart, Freddy set a goal for himself to be the top New York City street vendor and was willing to even use guerilla marketing tactics to get customers to his cart, which is appropriately named King of Falafel and Shawarma. “I would stand around eating my falafel,” preying on customers using Astoria’s Broadway subway station or visiting the neighborhood watering holes, chatting up other patrons. “What I sell in one hour, I used to sell in one day” back then. It took about a year of relentless marketing for the cart to finally take off, and a decade later, he still gets excited when people praise his cart. “I remember the first Yelp review we got—it was so exciting,” he recalls.
“My goal from day one was I wanted to be number one.”
Just being at Freddy’s cart is usually an experience in and of itself. He loves blasting Middle Eastern music and dancing with his regulars, all while keeping up conversations and, of course, making you food. If the wait’s long or if you stop by near the end of a shift, you can bet on getting a free falafel appetizer to subdue your hunger. He brought this experience to the Vendy Awards as a finalist in 2007 and 2009 before winning the Vendy Cup and People’s Choice award in 2010. During the 2009 Vendys, Freddy’s efforts to sway the judges and audience included having a belly dancing show halfway through the festivities. Just the thought of it makes him laugh. “In 2010, I said none of it. I’m just going to show up.” That year, he made sure that the judges’ entrées were made to order, plated correctly, and generous with food: relying on his food, not his gregarious personality, to perform for him.
The Vendys win and ensuing praise definitely boosted Freddy’s confidence in his career choice, but to him it all comes down to making his customers happy. “Being with the people. You serve them, you see them smiling,” and that’s what keeps him going six days a week. Freddy will concur that he wouldn’t be able to handle opening the cart again. “It was hard. I don’t have the energy now that I did then.” Luckily for us, he doesn’t have to.
Adapted from Fares “Freddy” Zeidaie’s recipe
Falafel is the Middle East’s biggest contribution to street food culture. It began appearing on New York streets during the latter half of the 20th century during a large influx of immigration from the region. To complete this dish, layer the falafel, pickled turnips, lettuce, and tomato in a fresh pocket pita, and smoother with tahini and hot sauce. Though be sure to use dried chick peas and not canned since you want the nuttier flavor without the moisture.
1 cups dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
½ medium-sized onion, quartered
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon cardamom
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 clove garlic, peeled
3 sprigs of fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon red hot pepper flakes or 1 whole hot chile pepper
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups vegetable oil for deep frying
Pick out foreign matter from the peas before placing them in a large bowl, cover generously with water and soak uncovered, at room temperature overnight, adding more water if necessary.
Drain peas, and place them along with the other ingredients and 2 tablespoons water in a food processor. Pulse until the peas are finely ground, about the size of couscous. Roll about 1 tablespoon of the batter into a ball between your palms. Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot to 350°F. Carefully deep fry each ball until golden brown, about 5 minutes each. They will fall to the bottom and rise during the frying. Serve hot stuffed in a pita or by themselves, covered in tahini sauce.
To add a pop of color to white pickled turnips, Freddy throws a beet into the mix. The hot pink turnips then brighten up every falafel sandwich he serves.
1 large beet
1 pound turnips, peeled and sliced into sticks
2 large cloves garlic, thinly chopped
1 cup water
1 cup white vinegar
1½ tablespoons salt
Sterilize a quart-sized jar.
Separately cook both the beet and the turnips in boiling water. Boil the beet until tender, remove from the water, peel before allowing to cool, and slice into rounds. Boil the turnip sticks for 3 minutes, remove, and cool.
Combine the water, vinegar, and salt in a medium pot and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, place alternating layers of the turnips and beets, with the garlic scattered throughout, in the jar.
Fill the jar with the boiling vinegar mixture and seal. Store in a warm place for 10 days. Once the finished jar has been opened, place it in the refrigerator.
