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…

38 Comments

  • 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.

  • @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.

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Its actually closer to 43nd and 2nd, and its a truck that sells street meat. Has anyone tried it yet?

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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)

  • 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…

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Check out the Southeast corner of 40th and 7th Ave. I go there about once a week and it’s amazing. Nice guys too.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • @thankyoulove: I like both the meat and the falafel at 48th and Park. They make me a lamb/falafel/salad/rice platter for $6.

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