Your Chance at a Spot in Street Meat Palooza 2

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Photo by Blondie and Brownie

One year ago this month, 30 Midtown Lunchers converged to eat 26 containers of street meat from 13 different Midtown carts.  Chicken and lamb over rice was consumed, scores were given, and in the end one cart claimed victory over the others in a completely blind taste taste.  The event was dubbed Street-Meat-Palooza, and the Famous Halal Guys on 53rd & 6th Ave. were declared the winner.

Now, one year later, the top 5 from last year will return and face a new set of challengers in Street Meat Palooza 2!  The tasting event is not open to the public (for logistical reasons), but there is a way for you to be one of the 30 lucky lunchers who gets to attend.

Unlike The Vendy Awards which is a competition that celebrates all street food vendors throughout New York City, Street-Meat-Palooza is a battle over who makes the best chicken and lamb over rice in Midtown.  That’s it.  One dish, 15 carts.  One winner.  No chicken tikka masala.  No jerk chicken or teriyaki chicken.  Chicken + Lamb + Rice + White Sauce + Hot Sauce. And the carts don’t know they’re competing.  The plates of food are ordered on a regular day during lunchtime, each by a different Midtown Luncher.

The top five carts from last year will gain automatic entry into Street Meat Palooza 2, and they are:

1. Famous Halal Guys on the SE Corner of 53rd & 6th
2. XPL on 48th & Park
3. Adham’s Halal on 40th & Broadway
4. Halal Food Cart on NE Corner of Park & 50th
5. Kwik Meal on 45th & 6th

And these two carts will be given automatic wild card spots:

6. Trini Paki Boys (because last year we ordered the wrong rice)
7. Biryani Cart (because a lot has changed since last year, and their Peoples Choice Vendy Award makes them deserving of another shot.)

The remaining 8 slots will be decided by you. If you have a favorite cart (or carts) that you think deserves to be on the list above, post it in the comments. Feel free to nominate or vote for as many carts as you like, even if they have already been nominated by somebody else. The more votes a cart gets, the more likely it will be chosen to participate (and if a cart that you voted for is chosen, you’ll have a chance at being selected to attend the event.) Carts who participated in SMP 1 are still eligible, so if you think one of your favorite carts got a bum deal last year, feel free to nominate them again. The event will go down sometime next week from Noon to 1:30pm at a location to be revealed only to the participants.

Nominations will be closed on Friday (6/26) at Noon. Invitations to the event will be sent out by the end of the weekend. Good luck!

Related:
Street-Meat-Palooza: A 13 Cart Chicken/Lamb Over Rice Showdown

83 Comments

  • Also nominating Shendy’s.

    There really ought to be some impartial staff/attendants whose job it is to transfer all of the entries into identical serving dishes.

  • 20 minutes and I can get out of here…all I can think about is cart food…Kwik Meal or Biryani is the only choice now….

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    I’d like to nominate the guy at the SW corner of 41st and Madison (next to the Liberty Travel). He won’t win 1st place but he’s been by go-to guy for consistency over the years.

  • I’ll give another vote to Aamir’s, and I’d also like to see the Halal truck on 40th, off of Broadway. Always smells yummy when I pass by on my way to Midtown Comics.

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    I’d like to renominate #6 (the Halal Cart on SE corner of 40th/7th) from last year. Ever since reading about it in SMP 1, it’s been one of my favorite places to go.

    I’m also glad to see the Trini Pak Boys getting another chance(!) though I’m curious whether the rules allow them to add the sauteed vegetables and chickpeas to the platter (I didn’t see them in last year’s picture). One of the best things about them is how each bite tastes quite different depending on whether you get the rice with just chicken, with chicken/vegetables, or with chicken/chickpeas.

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    Nomination: 52nd and 8th Avenue (Southwest corner) guys, who are an evening shop. Good, juicy chicken and good rice selection; also, super friendly guys.
    Voting: Carnegie John’s

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    Nomination: 33rd and 10th across the street from the Associated Press building on the north side of 33rd. (http://bit.ly/19oOxS). This man changed my life and saved my marriage. Well definitely the former…maybe not the latter. But so delicious.

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    the cart on 47th and 6th SW corner (Mon-Tues, Thurs-Fri) which is also on 46th & 6th SW corner on Wed, is a cart I’ve been going to for over 3 yrs. They have a great chicken and lamb over rice and should be entered in this contest!

  • It sounds like you should have to sign some legal disclaimer to participate in this. Zach, have you considered your liability?

    I’ve never eaten there, but I’ll hop on the Shendy’s train. Cool container technology gets me every time.

  • Zach, maybe you should give Meru a heads up about preparing the chicken and rice that day?

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    Halal Guys on 53rd and 6th (SE corner during the day) can’t be beat. And that hot sauce is other HOT!

  • @Blondie – No way! I’m not going to give Meru (or any of the other carts) a heads up. A random luncher is going to walk up to his cart and order chicken and lamb over rice with white sauce and red sauce and that is what he is going to be judged in. And same goes for the rest of the carts.

    This isn’t a “let’s see how well you can cook when you know it’s for a competition”. This is a let’s fine out who is serving the best chicken and lamb over rice day in, day out, to the Midtown lunching public!

  • Haha. I like how ethical Zach is. Gotta stick to your principles.

    Besides, I’m sure someone may or may not tip Meru off that he better be on his A-game all of next week. If Biryani stinges the wrong customer and it ends up being judged, then it’s their own loss for not being prepared. Same with every other cart in Midtown. A lot of them probably getting the notice to serve everyone fairly. Aaaaaahhh, hopefully a great week to be street-meating for anybody then.

  • sadly, i don’t have any new recs to add, but am hoping zach will let me attend since i was begging after the first event.

  • Carnegie John’s is obvious.
    100% Healthy & Halal!
    The 55th St. (@Madison) hot dog cart. I know that this is a unique pick, but they are good!

  • I forgot Hallo Berlin…

  • Royal Halal on W. 35th and Broadway. Using brown basmati rice. Potential best rice threat

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    the lamb at quik meal is so good that i have to put in my two cents for them even though they’re already included. plus i will no longer be working next week, so i have plenty of time to attend.

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    Meal Obama or whatever they are calling themselves now!

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