REVIEW: Liba SF Falafel Truck

Let me tell you a story of lunch. Forsooth, there are not a lot of great vegan lunch options around my workplace (near the Emeryville Amtrak station). There's a shitty cafeteria type area in the Emery Market across the street with some limited offerings, a Subway, and a taco truck. Or you can drive down to Rudy's (I don't drive). Most days I bring my lunch, and if I don't, I wander down to Trader Joe's but god damn if their lentil wrap isn't boring the shit out of me these days. Which reminds me, Trader Joe's does not have one single salad in their "ready to eat" section that isn't covered in cheese and/or meat. TJ's! Why hast thou forsaken the vegans? We eat your chocolate almonds and spicy hummus with abandon, let us now feast upon your lettucey wares!

ANYWAY.

Liba, a mobile falafel truckbar, has started making the rounds to Emeryville! Happy day! Finally someplace I can get a falafel when the idiotic complaints and endless stupidity of my joyless tech support customer service job drive me to commit unspeakable acts. (I exaggerate, it's not all joyless; every day at 2ish me and my department go outside for 15 minutes to play frisbee. It is the best part of my day!)

I was a little not so stoked about the price; $8.00 for a falafel? Really? This had better be pretty damn good, I thought.

Well.

Holy. Shit.

I was going to bring my falafel back to work with me, to entice my coworkers to come with me next week, but alas (for them), I ate the entire thing on my walk back to the office.

I was swooning in such ecstasy while eating my falafel that I closed my eyes in delight so as to better savor the flavor extravaganza happening in my mouth, and I walked into a tree. I. Walked. Into. A. Tree. Now whether that was due to the deliciousness of the falafel or my own lack of spatial navigation skills, I don't know I'M SAYING THAT IT'S UP FOR SPIRITED DEBATE IS ALL. The real tragedy is that I ALMOST DROPPED THE FALAFEL but my ninja skills came in handy, and not just for paying the ninja bills.

There is some straight up gourmet shit on this truck. And more than just the herbalicious chimichurri spread, and the perfectly spiced and fried falafels...I'm talking dill cardamom pickles, lovely cinnamon-y carrots, roasted eggplant and tomato relish, rosemary peanuts, pickled onions, red cabbage with sesame seeds, some fantastic fucking olivey thing, and more that I can't remember. (The only nonvegan items are the feta and the raita sauce.) The pita is perfect, not overwhelmingly gluten-in-your-face-y but still substantial enough to hold all those wonderful fillings. I had it and two small plums and a small handful of almonds for lunch and I feel satisfied.

I'm not sure what they do with their hummus, but surely it must be made of the East Bay's finest crack cocaine, so delicious and creamy and lemony it was. Combined with the spicy harissa sauce, it is a force to be reckoned with. I honestly think it could bring whole cities to ruin if used for evil instead of good. I unapologetically licked the paper wrapper of every trace after I was done with the falafel proper, and felt no shame at all, though some dude walking by unapologetically watched me lick my fingers afterwards GROSS DUDE I'm not into creepy stare-ers, I just love hummus!!! Respect my space!!! If he'd been a cute brown-haired hippie boy named Rain who worked at a bikeshop and wanted to make out with me MAYBE it would have been okay IF YOU SEE SUCH A PERSON SEND THEM MY WAY I'M DESPERATE SINGLE AND ATTRACTIVE AND NOT AT ALL CRAZY!

The Emeryville farmer's market just started up (Thursdays from 12-6 on Haven St next to city hall); I will back with UP TO THE MINUTE INFORMATIONS about that soon.

(I'm clearly very tired.)

(Also no picture for you for I was too busy eating to take a picture but there is one on Vegansaurus)

LibaSF
Mon 11-2: 64th St. & Hollis St., Emeryville
Wed 11-2: 53rd St. & Hollis St., Emeryville