Li-Sal’s Brings Egg Roll Like Calzones to 50th Street

Right next to Swami (or Sammy’s or whatever) Dosa Cart is another brand new food cart crowding 50th Street. Li-Sal’s Italian Kitchen recently pulled up to the end of the row of mobile vehicles between 6th and 7th Avenue.

Last week was their first week and they were offering a grand opening special for $5 calzones. Normally, the price tag is $6 so not a huge savings, but when you’re trying to eat lunch in Midtown, every penny helps.

I got the Chicken Parm Calzone, which was much more like an egg roll or cheese stick than any calzone I’ve ever tried. It was served warm but not terribly hot and the flat long log was fried until it had a golden crisp skin.

The insides which were comprised of breaded and sliced chicken with just a smattering of tomatoes also needed to be hotter. There was a decent amount of mozzarella, but it melted to the sides of the dough and at moments was hard to detect. Still, it was interesting and a filling snack.

The rest of the menu looks promising with subs, salads, strombolis, and something called an Italian Quesadilla. All are $8 or under and are hopefully bigger than the calzone. I watched the woman on the cart piping cannolis to order too, so there is potential here. They claim to hail from (or at least be influenced by) Arthur Avenue, which most New Yorkers consider the legit Little Italy. They do have a Facebook page, but no Twitter that I can find. Anybody else give them a try yet?

 Li-Sal’s Italian Kitchen, 50th Street between 6th and 7th Avenue, (718) 650-9890

7 Comments

  • How many times have we walked by each other?

  • That ‘calzone’ probably looks the same coming out

  • I tried out the $8 chicken parm sub for lunch today. The sub roll was normal sub size, slightly hollowed out, with about one normal chicken breast worth of meat pressed into the indentation. It was breaded with Italian crumbs (Italian seasoning in the breading), lightly dosed with an onion-heavy sauce, and covered with a fairly substantial layer of cheese.

    Taste? Fairly good. The bread was soft and chewy, though there was a bit more of it than the chicken. The condiment container of sauce on the side proved helpful. The sauce here ranks pretty high on my list and was the saving grace. I don’t know if there are decent $8 chicken parms elsewhere, but I’d be willing to compare if there are.

  • Today they had baked ziti with garlic buns (or something like that). The ziti was really really good. It was somewhere between homemade quality and restaurant quality. It was thick, warm, appropriately cheesed and big (let the jokes begin). It came with basically two large garlic knots that were perfectly oiled and garlicy. The ziti was $8. I highly recommend trying it. It’s a quicker and easier meal that Fuku+ and just as fulfilling. The quality and freshness of the ziti was impressive considering it came from a cart. I have to get over there for the calzones.

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    Went here today for lunch. Was in a rush and it had no line compared to all the other trucks on 50th. Bad idea. Worst chicken parm hero I have ever had. Unless of course, you like a hero, with an abundance of mushy, cold breading, and almost little to no chicken or sauce to be found in it. Then go for it!

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