One of the best and most unique food trucks around, Eat It Astoria is gaining recognition as the home of the cube-shaped falafel. Located on the corner of 30^th Avenue and 33rd Street, this traveling eatery arguably serves up the best falafel in town. And that’s not an opinion; it’s science.

Owner Ahmed Chelbi described how he makes Eat It Astoria so popular. “I used to work as a mechanical engineer,” Chelbi explained. “As an engineer, I always ask how things work, even in food. I was fascinated with the way people interact with the street food. So, I started to plan to leave my nine to five.”

The decision wasn’t easy. Chelbi carefully weighed the food options around town, looking for an opening: “I was thinking about how I’m going to build my business. What they serve, how they serve, what they are missing. I thought I could come up with something new and different.”

That’s no easy feat in Astoria. The food truck scene is highly competitive. These mobile entrepreneurs, still subject to the grading system and health code regulations of NYC, make the most of their tiny kitchens to serve up some of the best (and most affordable) food you can find. So, Chelbi knew he would have to do something really special to get people’s attention.

Chelbi’s background as a mechanical engineer suddenly became very relevant. And then, a breakthrough. The cube shaped falafel was born.

Image Courtesy of Eat It

Chelbi explained, “I used engineering. Ninety-nine percent [of falafel] are spherical. But with the cube shape, the reaction with the oil is really unique.” According to Chelbi, the typical falafel creates an uneven distribution of oil that pools in the center of the falafel’s bowl-like shape.

However, the cube-shaped falafel, with its eight corners, causes the cooking oil to spread out. This makes for a better falafel, he explained, as the oil travels all the way to the corners. “The only thing that gets cooked is the inside,” Chelbi said. “In my experiments, it’s what I realized. You can’t tell at first, but, when you dig in, you can see that the oil didn’t get inside. It definitely gives people something to talk about.”

Image via Give Me Astoria

With its huge platters, Eat It Astoria makes it easy to try a little bit of everything. “The most popular is chicken over rice. There are no restrictions on chicken,” said Chelbi. “My idea was when you give a platter to the customer, they can have a bite of everything that you make. But chicken comes up the most.”

Chelbi knew that Astoria was the only place for his business. “Before the truck, we had a car,” Chelbi said. “I said, ‘I’m going to start a business right where I live.’ Astoria has this specific food culture. You can find any food you want here in the whole world. So that makes me think I made the right choice. I will stick here.”

30^th Ave. and 33^rd St. / phone: 646.600.1461 / @eatit.astoria / Yelp: 4.3