You can’t help but notice the Kosher Oasis cart on West 47th St between 6th & 7th Ave. The design of the cart certainly makes it stand out from most of the other street carts, and does somewhat evoke an oasis in the middle of New York. If the food is as good as the design of the cart, I will be a happy man.
Oren, the proprietor of Kosher Oasis, told me they have been in business for around 9 months. I asked what he recommended, and he gave me a falafel ball with some tahini squirted on top. I’ve had falafel a few times recently for lunch and did not really want it again today, but I tried it while he mentioned a few other suggestions for lunch. The falafel was good, but it didn’t have a lot of spice to it. Being right by the Diamond District, that may be what his customers prefer. My older relatives don’t like their food heavily spiced either, but that’s how I like my falafel.
What did sound good was the crispy chicken on a baguette with whatever fixings I wanted. Oren mentioned some options like lettuce, tomato, pickles, garlic mayo, grilled onions, bbq sauce and ketchup. While he put strips of breaded chicken in the deep fryer, I opted for the lettuce, pickles, garlic mayo and some green hot sauce.
While the chicken was cooking, Oren also gave me a taste of his lentil soup in a sample-sized cup. I’m not a big lentil soup person, as I usually find it pretty bland. But I really liked this lentil soup. It had plenty of spices, and would have been the perfect antidote to some of those cold, windy days we had a couple of months ago. I’ll certainly keep it in mind for the future.
One thing I like about Jewish food vendors is they usually put pickles on the sandwiches. Moshe’s Falafel does this too – but falafel I’ve had from Arab food vendors such as XPL and Rainbow Falafel, while they were very good, did not include pickles on the sandwich. Must be a vestige of my upbringing.
The chicken was crispy as advertised, but not greasy at all. The breading also had a nice flavor to it. There was plenty of chicken in the sandwich, and along with the lettuce, garlic mayo and hot sauce, this was a tasty sandwich for $7. In a deli, this sandwich would likely have cost more than $7.
Today’s Lunch gets an 8 out of 10. It may not have been as flashy as kati rolls from the Biryani Cart, but this was a good, solid, tasty sandwich. I will add Kosher Oasis as a Suggested Vendor in the Food Cart category to the right, and look forward to trying some of their other dishes. The grilled baby chicken and shawarma both look appealing.
