The Chubby Chickpea

Tried out this food truck at an arts festival and thought the chubby veggie pita sandwich was solid and filling but not as flavorful as it could have been. I tried asking for pickles, which they were out of, and hot sauce, which they forgot to include, but those two elements would have probably made it much better. My favorite part was the fried eggplant though — I would get a sandwich with just that!

Deeeeelish! I caught the Chubby Chickpea Truck on the corner of Huntington and Belvedere. At ten past noon, there was hardly a line!
I had the limonata ($ 3) to drink– Fresh squeezed lemonade with Mediterranean spearmint, served over crushed ice. Super refreshing… just missing vodka! (hehe)
I had the Chubby Veggie Laffa wrap, which is made of falafel and fried eggplant. The price of this particular item is confusing to me. The meat wraps are $ 8.50 while the vegetarian wraps are $ 6.50. Shouldn’t a half eggplant and half falafel be $ 6.50? It was priced at $ 8.50, same as the meat combos. Hummus and tzaziki– yumm! Extras such as Israeli pickles, sauces, lettuce, etc are also available.
Beware: Your breath is going to stank.

Light in the heaviness and heavy on the flavor. Try shawarma, chickpeas, fried sweet potato splinters, and falafel — the latter which are super crispy and great with their creamy hummus.

Avai Shemtov is a very talented guy. His dedication to his business is remarkable and it shows in the product the chubby chickpea delivers. I love the food and I will definitely keep coming back for more.

Food: 3.0÷5.0
Service: 1.5÷5.0
Value: 1.5÷5.0
Décor: 1.5÷5.0
Overall: 2.5÷5.0
Got a chicken shawarma plate with a bed of chickpeas. I was really disappointed when I opened my box back in the office. Why? Because when I choose «shawarma» over «falafel», «chicken schnitzel», «fried eggplant», and «chicken kebab», I generally assume that the shawarma is not chicken shawarma. Alas, it was. (Incidentally, the catering menu on the Chubbs website separately lists chicken v. beef/​lamb shawarma options — so why isn’t it on the truck menu?!)
The food was mediocre, and there was way too much chickpea (probably should have gotten the rice instead). My lack of ordering prowess aside, the line is really really slow. I complained a bit about the Chicken & Rice guys being slow — Chubbs takes the cake. They were probably processing barely 1.5 orders/​minute (which is slow for what should be a high volume lunchtime operation) and I had to give my order twice — once so they start cooking it and a second time to the cashier so I can get charged. How does that make any sense? The once nice surprise I did get was the garlic in the hummus — a bold move that I’m sure gets plenty of other people in a bunch, but I thought that was a winner.
The plates are also a bit expensive for a lunchtime food truck. Honestly not that surprising that this line tends to be way shorter than the Bön Me (banh mi) line next to it.

Strike 1: I ordered the Shawarma plate from the truck in Dewey Square. The cashier informed me that they had no meat until after noon. It was 11:30AM. All of the trucks in Dewey Square had modest lines at this time. Basically they were missing 80% of their main ingredients but were still open.
Strike 2: I ordered the eggplant and falafel plate and the summer blossoms. The plate was literally the worst item I’ve ordered from a food truck and possibly ever. The falafel were dry, cereal-​like discs. The eggplant was dripping with oil and tasteless. The rice was a grey, sticky abomination. I took three bites and threw the plate in the trash.
Strike 3: I started in on the summer blossoms hoping for some redeption. The summer blossoms were, NO LIE, the saltiest food item I’ve ever tasted. Not just gross-​salty, but danger-​salty.
The cashier guy was friendly enough.

I tried a chicken sharma here and it was disgusting!!! The chicken was cold, sauce was bland, veggies tasted salty, and the bread was gross. I really like Rami’s so when I ate here I was so disappointed! I should have know better because no one was lined up here at lunch hour!!!

We got The Chubby Chickpea «catered» for our Food Truck Fridays at work. I got a chicken kebab plate with yellow rice, hummus & quinoa. It also came with a flatbread, which I didn’t actually eat.
The portion was huge; I couldn’t finish it all. The chicken was tender and the hummus was flavorful. The quinoa complemented the rest of the food as well.
I had friends who got the falafel pita and they enjoyed it as well. Overall, pretty good, though the hummus/​garlic flavor stayed in my mouth for a loonnngggg, lonnngggg time.

I really don’t understand the bad reviews for The Chubby Chickpea. Perhaps they are for menu items that I haven’t tried and am unlikely to try. So, my review will be for one thing only– the Falafel. It is really, really good. I like the falafel plate with salad (this is a tomato, cucumber salad). It comes with humus and pita and I ask for extra tahini. The falafel is flavorful and crispy. You get 6 good sized falafel. When you add a healthy dash of garlicky tahini to a bite of falafel with a little bit of lemony humus, it is just right. Chase that with some tomato/​cucumber salad and you have a near perfect lunch. So, give this food truck a try. And, stick with the falafel! It’s worth it! (P.S. The Chubby Chickpea is so much better than Rami’s food truck. They have tiny, flavorless falafel at high prices.)

We had Avi and his team bring his delicious food truck to our wedding and our guests are still raving about it. In addition to serving their fantastic food out of the truck, they also set up an appetizer station, a dinner buffet, and had hors d’oeuvres passed around during cocktail hour. Avi went above and beyond our expectations both leading up to and during our wedding. In! addition to being a fantastic chef, he is a really great guy.

Decided to give this another shot, avoiding the chicken shwarma this time, and it was definitely better.
Got the falafel wrap and a limonana, which is lemonade with *squints* spearmint? Falafel was crispy and filling with a good amount of hummus. Like with the shwarma, it didn’t have a particularly strong taste (no pickles or anything), but it was pretty satisfying. The limonana was excellent — perfect amount of spearmint to liven up the taste.
So, the falafel isn’t spectacular, but it’s good, and I’d get it again.

I was at the SOWA market with my friend and decided to get some lunch. We decided to the Chubby Chickpea and what a waste of money that was! I ordered a chicken falafel wrap and my friend got a side of falafel. My wrap was bland and definitely was not fresh. The falafel tastes overcooked and like it was leftovers. My friend felt the same way about her side order of falafel. I am still pissed I wasted $ 7 on the wrap. I will never eat from here again!

Got a falafel wrap at Sowa from chubby chickpea. They weren’t doing customizations at all, which was a little bit of a letdown, but I understand since it was so busy. The outer wrap itself was a little dry and too big — my first few bites were all wrap/​bread and no filling. The flavor of the falafel was great — I totally could have eaten it plain and I was very pleased with any bite I got with the falafel. They overload the wrap with hummus, and unfortunately the hummus was rather bland.

So I waited in this slow line because they had the «chubby veggie» eggplant AND falafel. You never get both and I was pumped to not have to choose — it’s like a topher vegan dream! I ordered it with all the pickles etc.
I wait by the side of the truck and they call my name. They tell me they ran out of eggplant and they’ll give me back 2 dollars. They did that and handed me a falafel sandwich. They did not put any indication on the sign.
Now what the gave me was pretty decent. BUT it was just falafel, hummus, and israeli salad. Where are my pickles?! I feel shorted.
If I see them again I might try for the topher again… but we’ll see.

Ugh — what a disappointing lunch experience! I was craving a chicken schwarma to give me the boost I needed to finish the work day. I waited 20 minutes in line — must be a sign of a good food truck! The anticipation built. The excitement quickly faded when I realized I would have been better off eating a raw bulb of garlic. The hummus had so much garlic in it that it was basically spicy. Also, I don’t know how this falls in the category of ‘schwarma’, because it seemed like thinly sliced chicken breast. For $ 11 — what a rip off!
Long wait, crappy hummus, gross chicken-​like texture that would not fit into my definition of schwarma by any means — I will not be returning.

Had their lamb gyro a few weeks back and was truly wowed. it was 100% lamb meat, grilled slow and perfect. Just an incredible experience. However, tried their chicken shawarma next and was so disappointed. The meat was anything but generous and totally tasteless. There was quite an amount of laffa rolled up at the end and it spoke to the inadequate quality of the fillings. I tend not to take any hot sauce or banana peppers with my sandwiches so that I can assess the true taste of the ingredients, especially the meat. So, sadly, long story short, not much reason to go back to Chubby Chickpeas unless they have the lamb laffa available.

Had the chickpea burger today with deep fried squash blossoms. The blossoms were soaked in grease and the burger was ok but on the small side with no significant special flavor. Might order the burger again but the blossoms were all grease, would definitely ask for a different side.

Chubby chickpea drove up to our temple in Newburyport on a cold rainy day so they get props for that.
The felafel plate came with thick doughy pita, 5 non crispy but otherwise flavorful felafels, a nice sized dollop of hummus, Israeli salad and a handful of hand cut fries. Very filling and good. I would have given 5 stars for hot crispy felafel but they had to prepare a batch ahead of time to quickly serve a long line of hungry shivering diners, and that they accomplished.

I got the chicken plate. upon ordering from the food truck i asked if it is chicken kabob or just regular grilled chicken breast– they said IT IS CHICKEN KABOB. if it wasn’t kabob-​i was going to get felafel instead.
I was so excited, nothing beats a nice chicken kabob (except maybe beef kabob :)!

em​.NO IT WAS NOT CHICKEN KABOB by any stretch of imagination. this ended up being cold in the middle, long slices pieces of chicken breast next to tabbouleh (which was ok) + salad (which was ok). The best way to describe this chicken they sold me would be to go to your supermarkets freezer/​fridge and find pre-​cooked slices of chicken breast that you reheat and top your salads with.
The bread that came with the salad was also stone cold in the middle (the warm parts of the bread tasted delicious).
i would never pay $ 10 for something like this ever again. C’mon guys. Middle Eastern food is absolutely delicious but this was a total rip off. not impressed.
Meh with a side of boooooo.

I don’t understand why people seem to just not like this truck… or at least the people who do like it simply arent on Unilocal?there is always a good line during the lunch rush, and the gents working are always doing all they can to get food out quickly.
Perhaps the Food Truck Elite are sticking their noses up… first and foremost, this is a FOOD TRUCK, and its shawarma— which by most traditions is a fast food. This isn’t the tiny white tablecloth greek place you might stop in and have a sit down lunch at. You get given sandwiches and dishes in to-​go containers.
I always get my old standby, the chubby chickpea— this is a pita/​lavash with seasoned chicken shawarma and falafel in it, along with a healthy smear of hummus as well as tahini, along side some spices, cucumber, tomato, and deliciousness.
They have a fryer in the truck, so they are constantly pumping out hot and CRISPY falafels. The chicken is prepared and kept warm, but not cooked on the truck while they are cooking. They mostly make the salads, and falafels on the fly.
You can get side salads, fries, and add whatever you want to the sandwiches. They also have a «Chiseled Chickpea» which is white breast kebab, and falafel. (The Chubby is Shawarma)
Crispy and well seasoned falafels, in a rush, in a bursting to the limits lavash bread? Yes please!!!

Wait took almost 30 minutes! For a food truck that advertises as «fast» food, this is definitely not delivering. And to top it off the falafacado wasn’t even anything special!

The food here is just. not. good. I really want to like this place, but it’s been a disappointment the 5 – 6 times I’ve gotten food from here.
I’m writing a review mostly as a reminder for myself for the future, because whenever I get a craving for shwarma or a falafel wrap with tons of fresh veggies, I somehow magically forget the subpar meal I’ve had from here a few weeks ago.
The shwarma isn’t cut from a rotating spit (other food trucks have ‘em); it’s pre-​cut and sits in a giant tub, which makes them super dry. Today’s shwarma just looked like dried-​out, sliced up chicken breasts.
The veggie portions are ungenerous and not very tasty, flavorful, or fresh tasting.
The hummus is flavorless — it just tastes like straight up pureed chickpea, no tahini, no garlic, no lemon, no salt, nothing. The falafels are okay if you like smaller, super-​crispy falafels.
Conclusion: Rami’s needs to set up a food truck.
UPDATE: Prayers have been answered! Well, maybe…

I ate when it was near Dewey Square. The chicken was thigh meat — but was a bit too dry and burned. The tabboleh and the hummus were yummy, but not enough to make up for the lack of flavor in the chicken. Bread was heavenly! Food was served promptly, but no fork for a plate? Weird. Also not half as friendly as the other vendors around Dewey.

The bread was fresh. The chicken schwarma, cold and a bit greasy and dry. Also, a fork would have been nice. This explains why the line for the taco truck next to it was 30 people deep, and I could just walk up to chubby chickpea and order.
ETA: The runs started at 3 PM. NEVER AGAIN