Falafel vendor finishes third - still ‘King’ to customers

Falafel vendor Fares Zeideia may have placed third in a recent face-off with four city pushcarts, but he is still the “King” of Astoria eats, his queued customers insisted.
“I was never a big gyro fan until I came here,” said Victor Gonzalez, an employee of Coler-Goldwater Specialty Hospital & Nursing Facility on Randall’s Island. He said he has been chowing down on Zeideia’s offerings for the past two years. “I never even ate from trucks before.”
“It’s not even the food I like,” Gonzalez joked. “I like him.”
Gonzalez’ coworker, Frank Delgaurdiro agreed. “I like [Zeideia’s] demeanor. You get some fun with your food.”
With his playful barbs and colorful ensembles, Zeideia dishes up beef and lamb “Shawarma” (gyros) and vegetarian-friendly falafels daily from the corner of 30th Street and Broadway. Originally from Palestine, he said that his dishes are chock-full of flavor from the West Bank, differentiating his cart from more traditional Greek fare. Plus, his family helps out with the business.
“We give it more love, more of a family attitude,” he said, after showing off his recently-acquired, Spanish-language skills with one customer.
This was the first year that Zeideia and company competed in the “Vendy Wars,” held on Saturday, September 29 in Manhattan, although his customers had prodded him to participate last year as well - each year customers nominate dozens of vendors, which are then whittled down to five finalists.
However, Zeideia assured customers that at the 2008 Iron-Chef-style competition he will be better prepared for the challenge.
“Next year we are going for it all. We will have the full menu,” he said.
First- and second-prize went to Thiru “Dosa Man” Kumar from Washington Square Park and Mohammed Rahman’s Kwik meal from Midtown, who also garnered the people’s choice award. Kumar, whose vegan fare has nearly a cult following, had been dubbed the “Susan Lucci” of the Vendy Wars after he earned a finalist spot in all three years of the competition’s existence but never first place until this year.
And although Kumar and Rahman both work out of Manhattan, they live in Queens.
“The borough is always bringing out good food,” Zeideia said. “In Manhattan, there is more turnaround, but in Queens people stay still.”
Veronica Julien’s jerk chicken from Wall Street took home fourth place, and Super Taco from the Upper West Side left early from the competition before the judges could finish tallying the results.