Airing of Grievances: Do The Nightime Halal Customers on 53rd & 6th Have to be Such Pigs?

I try my best not to be too negative on this site, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to vent. Every once in awhile I’ll share some of the more angry useful emails I get in a post called “Airing of Grievances”. (If the Eater Complaints Dept. would like royalties, I’ll be happy to pay up…)

The "Famous" Chicken & Rice Cart at 53rd & 6th Ave.

I have a ‘not really a lunchtime’ complaint but think you might be the best suited to help since its about a Midtown Lunch favorite. You see, I live on 53rd Street (btw. 6+7th Ave.) Yes… against generally considered good judgment some people do actually live there. Well the complaint is about the Famous 53rd Street Halal Guys cart. More specifically about their evening customers. The food is really good and I can’t fault them for their popularity. But the night customers are…well… pigs. Every morning when I take my pup out for his walk we have to maneuver through discarded chicken bones, whole platters of rice, tubs of that super hot hot sauce and most recently shards of broken glass bottles (not to mention the occasional pile of vomit … don’t ask why i know its related to the Famous 53rd St cart).

But wait… there’s more.

My calls to 311 inform me that its generally the buildings responsibility to keep the sidewalks clear (the city gets charged with the street itself). While that generally puts the cart in the clear, perhaps word could be sent out to the Halal Guys to put out some trash cans (I don’t think they have any of their own). Maybe a few signs asking their customers to respect their neighbors and clean up after themselves. Or even a quick utterance of “don’t litter” when handing over the food.

Barring that, perhaps you could work your magic and ask your loyal fans to do their part. Again, its mostly the overnight crowd (the ones that pack in 4-6 per car and line the streets all night and all weekend) so perhaps your blog wont have that much of an impact on them, but every little bit helps.  – Nick

Wait a second… you live where? Dios mio, man.

Got something you’d like to complain about? Feel free to email it to zach@midtownlunch.com

17 Comments

  • I suggest you walk down there in your house coat and confront them. http://asianfanatics.net/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t322544.html

  • Chicken bones? That cars has no bones…

    unless there’s a secret In-N-Out type menu I don’t know about!

  • *cart

  • Good luck getting drunks to stop being a nuisance.

  • What if you talked to the Cart Guys themselves? They won a Vendi, didn’t they? so they’re aware of publicity. Perhaps you could talk to the DOE and get an extra large blue can set out near the fountain?

  • God that would suck living with that so close…yet it would be so awesome! I live across from the 28th St. + Madison 24 hr halal truck, and they do a good job for the most part of keeping things relatively clean….I see the occasional styrofoam tray on the ground, but it never makes it across madison to my building…I sympathize since I have a dog (and turtle and fish) as well…..Having to deal with bones and broken glass would make me do horribly mean (and probably criminal) things to my halal truck….

  • those guys are D-bags and could care less about the garbage their customersleave behind…when they look at customers all they see is $$$$$$$$$$$$

    i am done with their over rated establishment.

  • That really sucks.

    The fact that you live on 53rd between 6 and 7.

    Also sucks that even since you live in a nighttime void, the halal cart attracts crowds of drunken bridge and tunnel crowds.

  • The police should ask Mamacita,Anastasia & Blondie to move on quietly.

  • I saw DocChuck there last night, he was peeing in a stack of newspapers and singing the old spice tune. I think he heard there was sheep and got excited. It was just lamb.

  • Of all the things to complain about (the economy, joblessness, poverty, nuclear proliferation, global warming, etc) your biggest gripes are chicken bones and broken glass on the street?!?!? Welcome to NY….obviously, you haven’t been here long….Potvin Sucks!

  • Yeah, and I saw ben playing with what looked like a chicken bone. Fortunately it was raining so ben was wearing his famous raincoat which prevented the women in line to see him polishing that bone. They would have laughed themselves to death — LOL.

  • Dear Zach,

    I was walking down the street in midtown and someone looked at me funny.

    Please make them stop.

    Thanks,
    a.

  • I went there a few weeks ago and almost chipped a tooth on a chunk of glass in my rice. After finishing (what do you expect?) I went over to one of the guys and told him. His reponse: “I was looking for that.” He then paused and asked if I wanted a freebie. I walked away.

  • Next time the DOE is handing out big blue trash cans, let me know so I can stick one on Joel Klien’s head.

  • Going to take this opp. to say that these guys’ food has really fallen off. The Chicken is dry and the rice tasteless. I no longer hit it, even after a night of drinking at Nick’s place.

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