King of Falafel

No one’s saying that Astoria’s street-cart czar Fares “Freddy” ­Zeideia’s herby, craggy, ellipsoidal falafel isn’t spectacular, or that it doesn’t live up to the name that appears on the sign outside of this, his first brick-and-mortar shop. But what gets short shrift is the “& Shawarma” part. One forkful of the combination beef-and-lamb shawarma — a groaning platter of meat, doused with competing sauces and served over rice with various pickled things — is enough to remind you that Freddy, by his own decree, is not only the king of chickpea fritters but also the sultan of alternately stacked strips of spiced meat and fat roasted on vertical spits. To hedge his bets, Freddy always throws in a couple of falafels with your shawarma platter.