Midtown Lunch

Every Friday we go south of the ML boundaries in search of a delicious lunch. Sometimes it’s Murray Hill south or the Flatiron District, sometimes Gramercy and everything in between- but we just like to call it Flatiron Lunch.

Shortly after Street Meat Palooza and my corresponding post about City Halal, a reader sent an email suggesting a cart in front of the Museum of Sex on Fifth Ave. He said: “The food is consistently awesome. Way better than Rafiqi’s, which is really the only other option around where I work.” Seemed worth a try.

I hope in the many months it took me to try this cart, the reader has discovered the halal truck on Madison and 28th. It is well liked by those in the area and beyond (I have a friend who lives nearby and her father often insists they go there when he comes to visit her from Connecticut.)

It looks like this cart is named Mia Zee, but I think “the cart in front of the Museum of Sex” is more accurate and easier to remember. And keep its location in mind when choosing which coworkers to go get lunch with – Museum of Sex windows can be entertaining or awkward depending on your lunch companions.

First, I ordered the combo rice platter ($5.50) made up of gyro meat and chicken over rice with white sauce and hot sauce, and I added two falafel (bringing the price to $6). While it may not win Street Meat Palooza, this dish was solid, especially for Flatiron. I would have preferred the meat in larger pieces and not diced, since I think it loses flavor impact. My falafel were pretty dry, so I think you can probably skip that addition.

When I asked if the combo platter was the best thing on the menu, the guy in the cart said “the biryani”, so I ordered that as well for $6. And I was not disappointed – it was better than the combo rice platter! It had a lot of great flavors and spiciness, a mix of white and dark meat, whole cumin seeds, and a good amount of sautéed onions.

I want to mention a few additional items of note about the Museum of Sex cart. Don’t get too excited by all the menu images and items listed on the outside of the cart – they don’t actually have all of these dishes. For my order, the guy was very heavy handed with the white sauce, but skimpy on hot sauce. But overall, the portions are sizable with a very generous meat to rice ratio. As the reader indicated, it may not be the best plate of street meat you have ever had, but it is a great lunch.

The + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

• The Museum of Sex windows keeps me entertained while I wait.
• I am happy for great biryani without having to walk to Lexington.
• Largest portions in the area.

The – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

• Why does Midtown get all the amazing street meat carts?
• The menu is misleading and wrong.
• I wish the cart was more prudent with white sauce and more generous with hot sauce.

Mia Zee Cart (aka Museum of Sex Cart), corner of 5th Avenue and 27th Street btwn 27th and 28th Street, (212) 685-3451