Jamal and Ali are proud of their fresh Mediterranean food
A great falafel sandwich is always a treat.
Just over two miles east of Disney World on Highway 192, in the center of a small strip mall, is the new King O Falafel restaurant. They feature excellent Mediterranean cuisine, all of it made fresh from scratch.
The owner, Jamal Blen, is from Palestine. He was friendly and gregarious. Most importantly, he was very open to feedback–Both the good and the bad. And there was not much bad! He was assisted by his kitchen helper Ali, who was from Morocco and who was jokingly referred to as the “Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee.” Also behind the counter was a friend from Syria who was helping for a short time, making it a true melting pot of Mediterranean influences.
When I asked Jamal if I could blog about his restaurant, he asked me if I was going to write good things or bad. I told him that I would not say until I either had or didn’t have his permission. He said he would be happy to have me blog, even if the review was bad, because listening to bad feedback can only help him make improvements. Boy, do I like and agree with that kind of attitude.
Mrs. LanceAround had the falafel sandwich and I had a falafel sandwich with potatoes. We had an appetizer of hummus and a spinach pie. Jamal went to great lengths to explain why his hummus tastes so good. He uses a special tahini that costs a little more, but is not blended with other oils.
For dessert, we had ordered some rice pudding and kinafa. In addition, we were presented with something that Jamal’s friend from Syria identified as “The King Special”. He could not come up with an English word or description for it, unless, he said, it was something like “aarias,” a type of pastry or cake, that appears to have some tradition revolving around women attempting to become brides. He had trouble explaining what that meant and we just enjoyed the ambiguity and sincerity he expressed while trying to translate it for us.
Well, if this dessert does create new brides, it would have worked for me as it was also delicious. Another great feature of the restaurant were the reasonable prices for such exceptional food. The falafel sandwich, for example, was under four dollars! The desserts were mostly less than two dollars.
King O Falafel is located at 5045 W. Irlo Bronson Hwy, Kissimmee, FL 34746. 407.979.4940.
Lance Around Orlando 
March 30, 2009 at 12:57 am |
I go to this restaurant at least twice a week ever since I found it around 5 weeks ago and I love their food, it’s healthy and it taste so good. I took my wife and some friends there and they loved it too. Their service is so kind and always with a smile on their faces, it’s hard to find such a great customer service anywhere right now. Overall if you are in the area stop by and try something from their menu, you’ll like whatever you try, it’s that good.