THE SPOT: Duzan Garden, in the heart of Astoria’s Little Egypt, has been a favorite in the neighborhood for a few years. They’re currently in the process of building out a new space so their barebones counter is supposedly temporary. They had been on my radar, but I first visited while training for Nice Guy Tours’ Astoria tour and was quite impressed with the food and hospitality.
While the tour includes their popular beef arayes (think Middle Eastern burger), I had to throw in an order of their falafel.
THE FALAFEL: $6 got us 7 decently sized falafel balls and I was knocked out by how good these were. The consistently crunchy orbs were bright green and chewy. The interior flavors were also bright with lots of herbs and a hint of lemon. They were fresh and satisfying.
They put down a few sauce options, which is always exciting, but I thought some worked better with the falafel than others. Perhaps I’m more traditional since I preferred to use the tahini and harissa that’s served with the arrayes.
There was also a typical halal cart white sauce with a mayonnaise base and a secret pink house sauce that made me think I could be at a McDonald’s somewhere in the Middle East. Well, if the falafel are as good at the McDonald’s there, maybe that’s not much a bad thing.
| DUZAN GARDEN |
| 24-11 Steinway Street (between Astoria Boulevard South and 25th Avenue), Astoria, Queens (718) 204-7488 |
| duzannyc.com |
