Subway photo

A few weeks ago, I saw a poster in a southwest suburban Subway for a falafel sandwich. That burb has a huge Middle Eastern population.  So, I thought the falafel sandwich was just a local thing.

Well apparently, Subway has been test-running their falafel sandwich in Chicago all year.  I just saw a poster for it this week at the Subway on 18th and Loomis.  Why it took me all year to find it, I don’t know.

The 9-grain wheat bread, on which the falafel is served, has honey but no milk or dairy.  So to make your sandwich more vegan-friendly, order it sans cucumber sauce and on another bread, like Italian.  As far as I know, the falafel patties are vegan.

For vegans stricter than me, be aware that some of the bread does have DATEM, which is sometimes animal-derived.  Also, it has not been confirmed if the sugar used in Subway’s bread is 100% vegan. Subway lists ingredients on their site.

Is it the best falafel I’ve ever had?  No.  Is it the worst? No.  The patties, which the cook re-heated in Subway’s oven, are soft with bits of green, which I assume are parsley.  The patties are yellow on the inside, which could be due to turmeric or because of  yellow food coloring. However, I detected Middle Eastern-ish seasoning.  Possibly cumin.

Will I get it again? Sure.  I like the Veggie Delite, but it is basically a salad on bread and has a whole lot of no protein.  I hope the falafel stays around longer.  It is hard to find vegan-friendly fast-food that isn’t all carbs and fat!

Have you tried it too? What do you think?  Share here or tweet me @CMarieHarrell.