Is there a battle of the Mediterranean fast-casual chains brewing in Greater Portland?

Not long after Jaffa lined Route 1 with yard signs leading to its new, second location in Falmouth this fall, Mr. Chickpea opened to rave reviews in South Portland, and owner Abbas Ahmed says he has plans to re-create the business model.

Jaffa’s South Portland location, which opened in 2020, quickly became a lunchtime favorite among my co-workers when we returned to our nearby office after the pandemic, and as a sucker for anything served in bowl form, I am no exception.

With plenty of options for falafel, gyros, shawarma and other Middle Eastern staples near both my home and office, I didn’t think I needed Mr. Chickpea, but as I heard more buzz about it, I couldn’t not go.

Falafel Plus Wrap from Mr. Chickpea in South Portland. Photo by Leslie Bridgers

In online reviews, people repeatedly mentioned the Falafel Plus Wrap. The absence of a description on any menu I could find made me even more intrigued: What could the “plus” be? I followed Siri’s inane directions through South Portland neighborhoods to find out.

Inside the compact storefront, with a row of stools looking out a window and a handful of booths, a menu on the wall behind the counter showed photos of each item. It appeared the “plus” meant, for 50 cents more, a few french fries were stuffed into the wrap.

At first, I didn’t ask or even look inside the wrap, and tried to see if I could discern the different components by taste alone, but soon realized it would be impossible to pick them each apart. The french fries and falafel melded into a flavorful mush, complemented by crunchy vegetables and smothered in what tasted like a curry gravy.

Ahmed later told me it was actually three sauces I was tasting: tahini, mango and tamarind; the regular falafel wrap just has the first two. If you want it spicy, you can add a fourth – hot sauce. And it turned out, along with the addition of french fries, the Falafel Plus also has cauliflower and eggplant, as well as the beet spears and cabbage-lettuce mix that come in the regular wrap. At under $8, both are a great deal, but that’s a lot of “plus” for just 50 cents more.

Altogether, it made for a falafel wrap unlike any I’ve had and proved me wrong about whether Mr. Chickpea could serve a purpose in my life.

Falafel Plus Wrap, $7.95, Mr. Chickpea, Main St., South Portland. mrchickpea.com