Fat Kitty Falafel

Al Rocks!!! Never had one until I went to the Milwaukie Farmers Market and tried it. Great and awesome, friendly and courteous. Good Yob!

I had seen the fat kitty falafel pop up on my radar a few different times when trying to search for a good place to get a falafel, and finally got a chance to eat there while walking around the Milwaukie farmers market last Sunday.
We waited about 15 minutes to get it, the conversation from the owner/​cook was entertaining and refreshing, and the falafel itself was delicious. The sauce was great!
I honestly would have given it a 5 stars if only I didn’t find two black/​grey hairs in my falafel while I was eating it :(
I’m not throwing a fit though, it was VERY busy, he was working alone, and it was a food cart… I didn’t expect the absolute best of the best. I liked it though, and my fiancé had no complaints with his.
We will definitely give it another shot sometime! :)

Let’s get down to it.
FIRST OFF, IF YOU DONT LIKE PEOPLE WITH SOME PERSONALITY AND A STORY OR TWO SAVE IT. IF YOU ARE ONE OF THESE SENSITIVE PORTLAND TYPES, TAKE YOUR SENSITIVE LITTLE FRUITY ATTITUDE AND TAKE IT BACK TO THE PEARL OR WHATEVER FOOFY PIECE OF PORTLAND YOU MAKE WORSE.
Had to be said, people writing entire novels based on a friendly personality. Now, the falafels are fresh, simple. Fried chick pea balls in a warm pita with tomatoes, arugula, and 3 different sauces. Tasty and for six bucks. Not bad.
As for the hours it’s hard to say. I usually see him there in the early afternoons for lunch. Is it the best falafel I have ever had, no. But the conversation with a friendly guy while he makes me a fresh falafel is great. Enjoy.

call before you go. if he doesn’t answer then don’t waste your time. hours listed on website and facebook are irrelevant.

Portland Falafel review: Crunchiest falafel balls. Fat Kitty has several different sauces to choose from, including his unique yogurt/​tahini which I chose. Very good… Great ingredients, but the falafel didn’t taste right. The crunch was there, but it wasn’t my favorite falafel ball so far. I think it might have been due to old fryer oil. I wished the flat bread was fresher too. Very funny owner! While I waited, we mused about falafels the world over, and their uniqueness from vendor to vendor.

Sometimes, from a food cart, you just want a quick, functional bite of food, with no accompanying conversation or hassle, served as efficiently as possible. You know, like fast food, but without the big corporation. If that’s what you’re looking for, you should really skip Fat Kitty.
On the other hand, if you want both tasty and cheap food that comes to you after a short wait and a weird but often amusing conversation with (or, perhaps, monologue by) a human being unpolished and unsanitized by the sensibilities of the Customer Is Always Right mentality, you shouldn’t miss Fat Kitty.
And yes, you’re paying for an experience as well as a falafel, but the product itself is seriously delicious. It’s a fresh and well-​made falafel, crispy on the outside and still moist and chewy on the inside, accompanied by good fresh veggies and a variety of seriously great homemade sauces (I recommend both the habanero and the jalapeño). If there’s any weak point, it’s the bread: it’s not stale but it can sometimes be a little less than super-​fresh. Still, I’d count Fat Kitty as some of Portland’s best food-​cart food on the falafel alone, conversation completely aside.

As a huge cat person the only reason i stopped was because of the name and the art on the sign. Turns out the stand is named after the owner’s late fat cat that he adored. This guy is really friendly and hilarious! He kept me talking for quite a while about cats at first, then about 80s bands (since i was wearing a Cure tshirt). He had some pretty funny stories about rock shows he had been to. Oh yeah… and he makes a simple but pretty darn delicious falafel to boot.
The falafel itself is pretty basic, and the only choices you really get are of what type of sauce. I’ve been a couple of times now and i have to say all of the sauces i’ve tried have been really darn good! Try the ghost pepper sauce… i asked for it light, since i was a bit scared, but it wasn’t really as spicy as i was expecting, and had great flavor!

Had a Fat Kitty at the Milwaukie Market last Sunday, was the best ever! Love the Habenaro sauce! Hope he’ll be there tomorrow!

I was walking down Division St. in search of Fat Kitty Falafel, expecting to see a food cart. Instead, I saw Al with a simple food stand. Underneath his red tent, he had a small fryer, his laptop, a couple of coolers, and a chair, just enjoying a rare sunny fall day.
I stepped up and ordered a falafel pita ($ 6): about 4 – 5 pieces of Al’s homemade falafel lightly smashed inside a pita, topped with cucumber, tomato, greens, and choice of sauce. Al has roasted jalapeño tzaziki, cilanto, original tzatziki, and vegan tzatziki. I went with the roasted jalapeño version for a little more flavor depth.
Al knows how to fry that falafel up. It was very well seasoned, a nice dark brown on the outside, and fluffy on the inside. The refreshing vegetables worked well to counter those fried chickpeas. The tzatziki had a little tang to it and brought everything together for me. I would have liked the pita toasted, but Al doesn’t have a flattop grill there… just a laptop, two coolers, and a fryer.
I detected a slight burnt aftertaste from the falafel. I showed up at Fat Kitty after 1 p.m. (he usually opens around 11:30 in the morning), so it would be reasonable to guess the oil he was using probably still had some falafel remnants left over from any previous orders that day.
I can see how some people would be turned off by Al’s no-​filter, easygoing personality. However, I really liked that. He tells great stories and reminds me of one of my good friends from law school. It’s just awesome to see a person so confident really enjoying his life. Here’s to hoping Al will be sharing his falafel with all of us for years to come!

Oh, hello there, wacky Falafel Man! You know, I never could catch this guy up on SE Division when I lived near there, but I’ve gotten used to him consistently being at the Milwaukie Farmer’s Market every Sunday. He fits in very well there, and here’s why: he ain’t in a hurry to make your sandwich, and that’s how we roll at the MFM, anyway. Stop, chat a while, hang out. Chipotle it ain’t, people, don’t be rushed.
The Falafel Man might make your sandwich for you in 2 minutes or he might make it in 15. Either way — they’re great. $ 6, healthy, delicious. The tahini is really good.
He’s a nutty guy, check the Facebook/​Twitters for a subtle taste of what I’m talking about here. I find him to be charming, personally. The MFM is almost done for the season, but I’d drive to find him elsewhere, too. He’s been doing this for a long time, with a solid product and 8 Million Stories to go along with.
FB here:

Delicious falafel, seriously! We had ours with the garlic/​serrano sauce and it was so hot my mouth was still tingling 10 minutes after I finished my wrap. I was somewhat unprepared for the colorful and self-​aggrandizing stories I was treated to while he prepared our food but I’m not offended easily so I found him charmingly vulgar. Next time, I’ll try the cilantro sauce.

STEER CLEAR OF THIS OFFENSIVE EXPERIENCE! There are far too many amazing, clean, friendly food carts in this city to subject ones self to this awful experience.
As was described in an early review, the cook/​owner takes his painfully sweet time ‘preparing’ your sandwich. This involves slapping together pre-​made, simple items. Some how, this takes him 15 mins per sandwich during which her assaults the innocent patron with offensive, inappropriate, and crass babble. This food cart is clearly this schmo’s only social outlet and the only time he has a captive audience on whom to unload his drug/​crime/​pathetic hipster phoney rants on. During the 20 minutes we waited in line (for ONE person to get their sandwich), we heard him proclaiming he’d seen people shot over crack rock, his extensive expertise on pot dealers, several F-​bombs, and his lame So-​Cal/​NY posturing. Then, once it was our turn, he started our sandwich, only to tell us he’d be right back because he needed to take the trash out! I’m not a huge fan of garbage being handled while preparing my food, so we asked for our money back. He slammed it down on the counter, laid a string of profanities on us, and was still talking as we walked away!
This un-​hygenic, sense-​offending, pig should have what ever food license he has revoked and should be black-​listed from everywhere!

1. Fantastic Falafel worth waiting 15 to 30 minutes for.
2. Unpredictable hours of operation.
3. Hilarious guy who will go off on the most entertaining stories with or without seed material to get him started.
4. A must experience Portland original.
5. My son, who can mimic anyone, can keep me in stiches repeating the stories Fat Kitty has told us.

I have to completely agree with everyone else. Fat Kitty have some damn good falafel but Al is crazy!
I decided to walk my roommate’s dog Gemini down Division to explore my neighborhood a bit, and I finally got the chance to try this cart. I was a little disappointed that the only thing they offer is a falafel sandwhich because I generally like my falafel alone, but for $ 5 I decided to go for it. It was frickin DELICIOUS! I’m from LA, and I consider myself picky about my Greek and Mediterranean food.
Now… the interesting/​excrutiatingly slow/​somewhat hilarious part started when I commented on his mini Chargers helmet display on the top of his cart. Liking the Chargers as well, I asked, «So you’re a Chargers fan too?» This resulted in a 30 minute conversation about how his parents 40-​year old neighbor wanted to give him a blowjob when he was 17. Seriously? I had to actually say — after 20 minutes — «So, did your parents like the Chargers then or something?» Eons after I had asked him about the Chargers, he hadn’t even mentioned the word once. I’m thinking maybe «Chargers» registered in his head as «San Diego» which prompted him to be reminded of the good old days? I’ll never know for sure. I had nothing else to do that day so I indulged Al (we have the same name) and listened patiently while he told me all the crazy stories he wanted. I also needed my falafel, which was worth the wait.
If you don’t want to have the same experience I described above I suggest that you bring someone with you so that you can pretend to be talking in your own little world. I would not go here if you are offended by foul language and disturbing and/​or sexually perverse stories. Also, it’ll take about 20 or 30 minutes of verbal barrage for that glorious little pita pocket. Just prepare yourself.

The most fantastic falafel I’ve ever had? No. That honor goes to
Falafel Hazkanim in Wadi Nisnas and L’as du Falafel in the Marais. Still, this is legit, five-​star material. Freshly made, fair price, and Al the proprietor is an entertaining dude.

Oh jesus. Where to start with this guy.
The beginning, I guess.
On SE Division, about 50 yards from the world’s worst parking lot (New Seasons), you’ll sometimes find a dude with a cart peddling falafel sandwiches. I say ‘sometimes’ because there is absolutely no possible way to predict whether or not he will actually be there. If you do happen to catch him, consider it a red-​letter day and be thankful the stars aligned in your favor, for once.
The falafel is near-​great (especially considering the $ 5 price tag) but it’s the creamy cilantro tahini that seals the deal, and makes the 15 minutes of nonstop verbal diarrhea nearly bearable. While I am loath to publicly perform a character assasination on a purveyor of such finely crafted falafel sandwiches, some things must be made clear. This particular fellow, who speaks in what can only be described as a hybrid of Southern California Surfer Dude and Rabid Northwestern Libertarian, will assault you with an endless barrage of entirely inappropriate stories, name-​drops, and unequivocal falafel-​cart boasting. And he’ll do it all while slowwwwwwwly assembling your sandwich, so every detail of whatever it is he’s yammering on about won’t be missed. Time starts going backwards, and you stare hopelessly at your incomplete little pita pocket, praying for god to strike him mute.
So here are some hints on surviving this onslaught:
1) Arrive at least 30 minutes before you anticipate becoming absolutely starving. This might make the crucial difference between ‘foot-​tapping impatience’ and ‘homicidal rage.‘
2) «No habla Ingles, Señor.»
3) Headphones.
I admit on some days when the sun is out and I have the entire weekend off to spend basking in the sweet, sweet warmth of this beautiful life, I don’t mind this guy quite so much. He’s charming in his own gritty and irritable way, and I kinda liked the story he told me about fighting some other food cart guy way back when.
But on those other days, when work sucked and your glycogen stores are hitting rock bottom, you’ll just have to ask yourself:
«How much gibbering narration is this falafel sandwich worth?»

Almost the best falafel in town, but certainly the best falafel you could ever get from a cart or for 5 bucks: this guy knows what he’s doing, and it’s a work of pride. He’ll tell you about it, too — even though it’s 6 bucks when he’s serving at farmers markets and events, I’d still pay 8 just to listen to him yammer about crazy random stuff. He’s probably the most personable person that will ever sell you food in Portland, and he’s just on the right side of obnoxious, though he might have you locked in a story of days passed or the Blazers or city permit-​issuing bureaucracies as you stand with your fresh, delicious, juicy falafel sandwich. Yeah, it’s an experience as much as a fantastic sandwich.
Also some good home-​prepared sauces. Only problem I guess is that he works whatever hours on whatever days he feels like, so some months it’s a lucky day to see him (thought I’ve since learned you can find out when and where he is by checking his myspace page and he’s never at his Division spot past 330). I wish the city would let him just squat in the empty lot on 20^th and Division so I’d always know where he was.

Fat Kitty probably does Falafel better than Karam and Hoda. It’s an experience to order from his cart. We have a shared dislike of Darius Miles. My girlfriend does a spot-​on impression of this guy.

This is some damn good falafel. Simple — cucumbers, lettuce, fried chickpeas, sauce, and tomato. Enough food to tide me over for an afternoon, for five bucks. Probably my favorite falafel in town.
And, as an added bonus, it’s served by someone even more liberal than I am. Caustically, definitively liberal. Nice guy, laughs it up while you’re waiting.

best $ 5 falafel sandwiches in-​town… and this is a food stand. Al not only dishes up fresh vegi goodness — you will likely learn some life insights from the overgrown surfer who has been known to pontificate on the halcyon days of his youth or his business plan for falafel dog biscuit empire… while your falafel is frying up. never the same story twice and worth every penny.
Tues-​Sat: 11am-​5pm (dry days). call-​in/​take away available. menu and accolades at