Ask Midtown Lunch: Lesser Known Street Meat
I actually have a question for Midtown Lunch’ers today… I fully admit that pretty much every plate of street meat I’ve ever eaten has been written about on this site (I’m sure some people imagine that I have eaten at every cart in Midtown. Sorry to disappoint- but I am just one man.) When I want a plate of chicken and/or lamb over rice, I almost always go to one of 3 or 4 places- and they’re pretty much all on 6th Avenue. Kwik Meal (on 45th), the Famous Halal Cart (SE Corner of 53rd), Trini-Pak (on 43rd), Carnegie John’s (7th Ave. and 56th) and once I ate at Rafiqi’s (Multiple Carts around Midtown.) In the interest of branching out, I’d like to try some of the other carts, especially those to the East (Park Ave. and 3rd Ave have a bunch) and those to the south. Anybody have any recommendations? Or maybe you’ve always wondered about a particular cart that you walk by all the time? I’ll go there too. Feel free to post in the comments…
Posted: 8:30 am, July 10th, 2008 under Cart, Street Meat.
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38 Comments
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I almost always go to 53rd and 6th (the one that is in the spot of the famous one during the day next to the fountain on the south west corner of the intersection)
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There’s a cart outside my office on the corner of 3rd & 48th. I’ve eaten there a few times, great food. An old co-worker of mine used to eat there every day after he went to the NYSC next door. There’s always a line (backing up the quality of the food), but it moves quickly. I’ve always opted for half lamb half chicken.
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The Biryani cart on 46th and 6th is always solid, and not to mention, really close to my office!
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I’m curious about a new street meat truck on 44th and 2nd.
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Rafiqi’s on Park at 33 (E. side of street) is acceptable, and I imagine similar to their sister cars around the city. This is the far-southeastern corner of ML territory.
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Rafiqi’s also upped their prices from 4.25 to 5.00
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shendys! 52nd & 6th
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From 2000-2004 I used to eat at a cart called “Ali Khan Express” which was on the northwest corner of 49th and 6th ave. He sold the cart to someone else and set up somewhere else but I could never find him again. I ate there because he had the *cleanest* grill anywhere, and would clean it after just about every order prep, unlike the other carts around 49th and 50th who would let the grill build up daily strata of streetmeat residue which would flake off over time and add “flavor” (*shudder*).
Now that I work on 57th st, I go to this pair of carts on the southwest corner of 55th st and 6th avenue (right outside citibank). $5 for meat (chicken or lamb) over rice, or get extra meat in $1 increments ($1 is an extra spatula’s worth). The gyro meat seems like the same gyro meat at every cart along 6th ave. It’s certainly on par with the famous cart on 53rd st (I tried this cart for the first time a week or so ago after finding midtownlunch.com). My only complaint with the 55th st. cart is that they use far too much oil when eating up meat so you get a bit of a pool of oil at the bottom of the container (I get the meat over salad, no rice), and sometimes it leaks out of the container into the bag. Otherwise, it’s damn tasty streetmeat.
Aside from halal food, my favorite streetmeat of all time I affectionately refer to as Carne de Calle – the big mexican hat on the southwest corner of 50th and 6th ave. I think if you search midtownlunch for ’sombrero’ you’ll find the cart I’m referring to. There were two meat options – ground beef and stewed chicken, of which he turns into tacos, burritos, or nachos. Great stuff.
My latest favorite after finding this place is the Jamaican Dutchy. I’m on 5th and 57th, but its very much worth the trek to 7th and 51st. This cart needs to franchise or something.
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The souvlaki on 47th between 3rd and 2nd is awesome. People also love the chicken over there. Highly recommend your try it
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I agree with Alex. That is one of the best carts in the city, and i find their chicken and rice nearly untouchable. Plus their white sauce is awesome (not the fake crap most carts have, but is actual taziki)
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would love to hear anything about the carts on 49th and 50th, at the corner 6th ave. Many have lines frequently… seem popular but street meat makes me nervous sometimes.
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I get my halal fix at the cart on the NE corner of 40th and 6th. I usually get falafel but the meat is good too. And the guys are super nice.
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Even though it’s not really in Midtown (more like Flatiron), the truck on Madison and 28th has really good chicken and rice. For $5 they give you a big styrofoam clamshell filled with chicken over rice (yellow or white), lettuce, a few french fries, and a falafel. They supposedly have really good kofta too, although I’ve yet to try it.
Poor Flatiron district. So close to Midtown, but so far. :\
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Wonderer – Unless they’ve changed since 2005, don’t bother with the halal carts (IMO) on 49th or 50th. It’s worth the 3 block trek to 53′rd (south east corner) for the famous cart. They are much cleaner and don’t scare me.
But if you’re on 49th/50th and 6th, try the big sombrero. My favorite is the nachos, but the burrito is great too (I prefer the ground beef but the chicken is good too). Everyone seems to rave about the Daisy Mae’s truck, but when I worked at 1251, Daisy Mae’s had like one item on the menu.
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@ Mike, the Biryani cart has been mentioned on this site quite a few times already. Also, I’m glad it’s near your work. I guess.
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I settle for the carts at 50th street from time to time, out of sheer laziness, or when it’s rainy and I don’t want to walk the extra 2 blocks to deliciousness at 53rd.
I can confirm that the 50th street halal carts all suck, but if you’re curious, then hit the King Tut one, which is the least sucky.
But you (and I) are really better off walking the extra couple blocks.
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I’ve become a fan lately of the Charcoal Grill cart at the NW corner of 55th and Madison; their chicken is juicy chunks of breast meat, their salad contains ingredients other than iceberg lettuce and pink tomato slices (carrots! cabbage! cucumber!), and they’ve got an extensive menu of other items if a $6 chicken and rice platter ain’t your thing.
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I had the eggplant and falafel sandwich at one of the carts on 49-50th & 6th (can’t remember, on the west side of 6th Ave, there were 2 carts next to each other and I went to the one closer to 6th) and it tasted like someone had added their own *very* special ingredient to the sauce… never again!
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I second the taco meat from the sombrero on 50th. I go for the taco salad. ( nacho chips / taco meat / lettuce / salsa / peppers )
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The halal cart on 45th and 6th(not kwik meat) infront of starbucks is pretty awesome. With a small being $4, and large $5.50 it’s a deal.
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@christine – truth. in the sad hinterlands of midtown, the guys at 28th/Mad are my go-to choice for street meat. i prefer the brown rice and recommend their falafel.
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There was mention of a cart at 44th and 2nd, but the really good cart guy is between 2nd and 3rd on 44th. Good food, nice guy and really fast! And dont let the hot sauce burn you…
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There was mention of a cart at 44th and 2nd, but the really good cart guy is between 2nd and 3rd on 44th. Good food, nice guy and really fast! And dont let the hot sauce burn you…
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I just checked out the cart on 47th between 2nd and 3rd about 20 minutes ago. Still had a little line but moved quickly, I just got the gyro platter w/ rice, salad, tomatos, hot sauce, white sauce for $6.50. The amount of meat on the platter is OUTRAGEOUS and it is very very good.
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Uncle Gussy’s, on Park and 51st. The food is great, portions are decent, and the man himself is very personable and friendly. I usually get the lamb over rice, but the others seemed to be majorly interested in his kebabs, which I have to try. It seems to be more Greek-leaning than Halal/Middle Eastern. But delicious.
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Its actually closer to 43nd and 2nd, and its a truck that sells street meat. Has anyone tried it yet?
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There is a very good cart on the southeast corner of 30th and 5th. You can choose different kinds of rice! It’s there at night and late-night –not sure about lunch.
There’s a white truck on the east side in the 30s/high 20s that I ordered from once after a night out. The bar to deliciousness is pretty low when it’s raining at 2AM on a Saturday night –but still the meat was kind of gross and I might have given it to a terrier.
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Not sure if anyone paid attention to the request for an EAST side (as in east of 5th ave) location…but I did. I work on 40th and 3rd and constantly bemoan the fact that everyone is always bragging about the 6th avenue vendors. It’s just too far for me to walk for my lunch. Today I tried the chicken and rice platter at a cart on 40th and Lex. It definitely satisfied my craving, but the white sauce was thin and they skimped pretty majorly on the onions. Nice guy, good for 5 bucks, but I’m still searching. Maybe I’ll try the guys on 43rd….thanks for that suggestion.
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My go-to cart is the one on the NE corner of 40th and 5th Ave. As a nice bonus, you can just take your food across the street to eat at one of the tables in front of the public library. Disclosure–I’m a vegetarian, and I go there because their falafels are better than other carts in the area–but I have to say this cart’s meat smells delicious (and they always have a line around peak lunch hours)
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Zach, You really need to try Shendy’s Halal on 52nd and 6th. It is on the Southwest corner and is my favorite street meat around. Very sold spices on the chicken and lamb. Keen to hear what you think…
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the best halal meal i’ve tried so far is on 52nd & Park, its called Rafiqui’s (i believe they’re a chain). I’ve tried the “famous” cart of 6th & 53rd and it does not taste as good as Rafiqui’s. Too bad they raised their price by 50 cents and skimp out on the meat, but the meats tastes better than all the other carts i’ve tried.
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if you haven’t been to Tony on 62nd and Madison, you don’t know street meat…and Hallo Berlin on 54 & 5th (not traditional street but rather german brats) is the best there is by far.
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There’s a falafel/street meat guy at the NE corner or 48th and Park whose truck always smells great. Haven’t tried it yet but curious how his falafel stacks up.
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Check out the Southeast corner of 40th and 7th Ave. I go there about once a week and it’s amazing. Nice guys too.
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Don’t know if it’s been noted on the site yet, but the pizza truck, which had been absent from Park Ave. for a while, has resurfaced on 55th between Park and Madison, and he says he’ll be there every day from 10 to 3. The truck doesn’t have the Jiannetto’s name on it (I forget what it’s called), but a sign on the truck says they serve Jiannetto’s grandma slices. They also have the delicious rice balls, but those were sold out by noon yesterday.
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For my $5 cart meal, I go across the st. to 46th & Park — not sure of the name, but they give LOTS of chicken for a chicken “sandwich” (chicken, lettuce, tomato, white sauce, hot sauce & shish ka-bob sauce if you like). A very nice lady takes your order before you get up there–and you pay her. You then tell them again what you’d like once you get to the steaming cart.
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@thankyoulove: I like both the meat and the falafel at 48th and Park. They make me a lamb/falafel/salad/rice platter for $6.
There are competing carts on the northern corners of 43rd and 3rd. Both carts provide good street meat, but I tend to favor the East side vendor, mostly because he’s on the sunnier side of the street.