I’ve been wanting to try the “100% Halal Food” cart (on the SW corner of 54th & Park Ave.) for awhile now. Obviously it was the assortment of fried goods hovering above the standard halal chicken and lamb covered griddle that intrigued me, and after reading on Wined and Dined that it was owned by the same guy that runs 100% Halal & Healthy (on 55th btw. Park+Mad) I was sold.

Fish and chips is not something you can get at most street carts in Midtown (and I love the idea of fried shrimp from a cart) so I was pretty set on getting that. Unfortunately they were out of fish when I got there, so I had to settle for the chicken and shrimp.

To compound things, I didn’t specify “fried” chicken (they have fried chicken cutlets in addition to their fried fish, fried shrimp, french fries, and falafel balls) so I ended up with halal chicken over rice plus some fried shrimp. That’s cool. They have a bunch of different rice options (spicy, yellow, rice with lentils) so I decided to try the spicy. Just like Andrew from Wined and Dined, I was pretty indifferent to the chicken over rice. The white sauce and hot sauce were pretty standard, the chicken was fine, and the spicy rice was just whatever. (Couldn’t tell if it was spicy or if it was just the hot sauce.) The shrimp were good though, so clearly I had to return for the fried fish.

And return I did. Got the fish and chips, and asked them to throw some fried chicken in there. Total cost = $7. ($5 for the fish and chips + $2 for the chicken add on.) You get your choice of spicy or regular grilled onions (???), so I went with spicy. I asked if they had vinegar (the proper topping for any fish and chips) and surprisingly they did. In the end it didn’t matter, because clearly this was not really a proper fish and chips… they use tilapia, and it’s doesn’t have that thick breading you get on the fried fish at a proper chip shop. And the fries were a little undercooked. Oh, and the vinegar wasn’t just vinegar. It was some sort of sweet vinegar based dressing. But you know what? It didn’t matter. Proper or not, the thing tasted freaking good. The tilapia, the onions, the french fries, the sauce. It was freaking good. Sub in some fried shrimp (instead of the fried chicken cutlet, which was fine but paled in comparison to the fish) and you’ve got an amazing seafood lunch. So it wasn’t a real fish and chips… but it was damn tasty.

Even though I had already tried the chicken, I figured it wouldn’t be right to leave without trying their full on chicken and lamb over rice plate. I asked them to throw on a falafel ball too (and they happily obliged, only charging me $5 for the whole thing.) In fact, one of the best things about this cart is they’ll pretty much give you whatever you want… and charge you accordingly. I didn’t really go over board, so I don’t know how much you can push it… but I got the sense they’ll custom make every platter and you probably won’t ever end up paying more than $7 or $8 (with most standard plates coming in between $5 and $7 depending on what you order.) This time I got the rice with lentils, which was better than the spicy rice, but still not great- mostly because I don’t love waterlogged rice (which this was.) But that’s just me… I like the perfectly cooked (bordering on dry) long grain rice you get at XPL or the famous halal guys on 53rd and 6th. Overall the plate was average… they were out of eggplant (another popular topping they have) and I wasn’t offered the green sauce that Wined & Wined mentioned- but they do have a “hotter” red hot sauce you can ask for specifically (which is definitely hot.)

Despite the average chicken and lamb over rice plate, this cart is definitely worth hitting up. Their fish and fried shrimp would be enough for them to stand out… add to that the fact that they’ll let you pretty much make whatever custom combo you want, makes this one of my new favorite carts in Midtown.

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

• It’s fish and chips from a cart! (Sort of…)
• They have fried shrimp too!  (I love eating seafood from a cart)
• They have a ton of variety (chicken, lamb, 3-4 different kinds of rice,  falafel, fried chicken cutlets, fried shrim, fish, french fries, eggplant, grilled onions) and will let you custom make your platter however you like
• I love the sweet vinegar sauce!  Have them put it over your fish and chips!

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

• The thought of eating seafood from a cart makes me sick!
• It’s not a proper fish and chips
• I want just plain vinegar… not some vinegar based sauce
• The chicken and lamb over rice, white sauce, and hot sauce are nothing special
• The rice is just ok, also nothing special

100% Halal Food Cart, SW Corner of 54th & Park

The International starring Clive Owen opens today, and according to Lunch’er Leslie our favorite salad (and now sandwich) cart, 100% Healthy & Halal (on 55th & Park), makes an appearance at the end of the movie: “Just wanted to let you know that we here at Nation’s Restaurant News patronize the cart on a regular basis. The salads are great just as described. In fact, the cart can now be seen in the new movie ‘The International’ with Clive Owen. There is a small scene towards the end. I saw it last night and recognized Gamal. I asked him about it today. He was so nonchalent.”  It’s good to see they used what they shot with him in the finished film… the Daisy May’s cart never made the final cut of Don’t Mess With the Zohan.

Note: Surprisingly none of the official promotional stills for the movie contained our beloved halal cart (shocking right?) so I had to doctor up the one above. The fake photo in no way reflects on the accuracy of the story.  You probably think that this doesn’t need to be said, but the last time I used a fake photo to add a visual element to what was a true story, people loved pointing out that the photo was clearly fake (as if I was trying to pass it off as real.)

One of the best parts about the Midtown Lunch Challenge is how many street vendors are getting in on the act.  There was El Rey Del Sabor’s spicy Mexican cheesesteak, I hear rumors that the Jamaican Dutchy is introducing two sandwiches today, the Biryani Cart has something in the works, and there is this… from the 100% Healthy and Halal Cart on the NW corner of 55th and Park.  You may remember this cart for making one of the few salads I will actually eat in Midtown, and now with the help of Wined and Dined, he’s created a special sandwich just for us.

Oh my.  Not the prettiest of the lot, but what do you expect?  It is truly the sum of its parts… kofta (a Middle Eastern ground beef patty with herbs and spices) , grilled chicken, grilled onions and peppers, your choice of cheese and sauces.  On Wined & Dined’s suggestion I selected the feta cheese, and topped the monstrosity with white sauce and their special homemade hot sauce (if you don’t specify, they’ll just give you tabasco.)

If you have to ask “was it good?”, well then- you don’t me at all.  Sure, it may lack the subtlety of say, a perfectly pastramied piece of duck, but what it lacks in finesse it surely makes up for in “whoa, jeebus- this thing is messy!”  In other words it tastes exactly the way you would imagine it would taste… so if that list of ingredients sounds good to you, you will certainly love tucking into this crazy pita.  And for $5, the price is oh so right.  If the thought of cart kofta and chicken with everything else under the sun stuffed into a pita isn’t appealing, this sandwich will not be the thing that changes your mind.

100% Halal & Healthy, NW corner of 55th & Park Ave.

I’ve walked by this cart on 55th btw. Park+Madison many times, and each time was equal parts turned off and intrigued by the sign. What exactly is “healthy” street meat? Is that even possible? And what would it taste like? Well, last week the question was partly answered when a couple of commenters recommended the Greek salad topped with chicken from this very cart.

Now, if you read this blog regularly you know my feelings on salad. I generally can’t bring myself to do it. If I want to eat healthy, I’ll get a “salad style” bibimbap from Cafe Duke on 51st btw. 6+7th (that’s about as healthy as I’ll get). But salad from cart? Well that is kind of interesting. I think I could get away with that, without ruining my reputation… plus it’s a Greek salad- so you throw in some feta cheese and grape leaves, and this fat guy is ready to eat some greens!

The Greek salad is $5, and comes with tomato, green peppers, onions, olives, and the part that makes me smile the most: feta and 2 grape leaves. For an extra $1 you can get grilled chicken, and for 50 cents more, a piece of pita bread (gotta have carbs with every meal, right?)  Obviously I went for the works (a total of $6.50).

It kind of worries me to say this (I don’t want you guys to think less of me) but this salad was really freakin’ good. They give you a ton of grilled chicken (two small breasts worth), the grape leaves are totally tasty, and the warm pita bread brings it all together. Obviously, I’d take more cheese, but for the price I’m not going to complain. I went with the “house” vinaigrette (the most popular choice) but they do have other options- including a few fat free dressing packets if you really want to get super healthy.  For me, eating the salad was enough.  I’ll take the regular dressing…

I would do a +/- but I don’t really have anything bad to say about this… except the obvious: “It’s a salad!” Thanks to “Wined & Dined” for the recommendation… for his comment, he’s the winner of the Broke Ass Stuart book.

100% Halal & Healthy Food, 55th Street btw. Mad+Park