Midtown Lunch

So it looks like the saga dubbed “Plantergate” by various Midtown Lunchers is not quite over.  Just to bring everyone up to speed… Mexican cart El Rey del Sabor parked their third cart on 43rd and 6th Ave., and was immediately confronted by a hot dog cart owner from the same block (caught on video here.)  That proved unsuccessful, but when El Rey del Sabor showed up to their spot last Monday, they found that it had been blocked by shoddily installed planters, and the next day they were removed.  An article about Vendor Wars in this morning’s NYPost has confirmation from the landlord of the building that it was in fact vandalism (in addition to similar stories from newcomers Kosher Oasis, and the Downtown Cart Little Ochi’s Hot Spot.)  On Wednesday El Rey del Sabor returned, and ran out of food by 1:30pm (there just ain’t a lot of good Mexican food in Midtown.)

The latest happened on Friday… according to the guys at the El Rey del Sabor cart, the building has now decided to reinstall the planters on that block.  They had marked the sidewalk with spray paint, and were planning on putting the planters in over the weekend.  Depending on the size of the planters, and there exact location on the sidewalk, it could mean the end for all vending on that block.  We’ll see today when the carts show up to park.  If anybody passes by today, feel free to post updates in the comments or forward along a photo.

I can’t even imagine how angry that Greek hot dog vendor must have been today watching you guys clean out the El Rey Del Sabor cart on 43rd & 6th.  According to comments, by 12:45 they were out of tamales, by 1:30 “all they had left was cheese.  They did say that someone was supposed to be bringing more food but wasn’t there yet.”  You people know they have two other carts in Midtown, right? One on 60th & 3rd, and another on 49th & 3rd.

If there was any doubt the building had nothing to do with the shoddily installed planters that blocked the El Rey Del Sabor cart from parking on 43rd and 6th the other day, they were erased yesterday. Lunch’er Jeff sends in this update:

Walked real fast near where the El Sabor/Greek Hotdog Lady battle went down… bad news, didn’t see the El Sabor cart but good news some maintenance men were out there working hard to move the planters. Can’t be 100% what the situation was but they definitely were chopping off and cracking the cement that glued them down… and they were definitely lifting the planter boxes to move them around a bit.

Another comment confirmed that they were completely gone by 3pm. So… one would think that would clear the way for the return of the El Rey Del Sabor cart today! If you’re on the scene, let us know if they’re there serving up tacos and enchiladas.

UPDATE: From the comments… “They’re back again today!” The cart, not the planters…

Related:
The Latest Weapon in the Vendor Wars is… Sidewalk Planters!?

If you haven’t been following the battle going on between the new El Rey del Sabor Cart and the Greek hot dog vendor on 44th 43rd btw. 6+7th, here’s a quick recap.  El Rey del Sabor moves their third cart to 44th 43rd and 6th.  Hot dog vendor gets very angry.  The fight is caught on video. A few days later the cops show up and get involved. Numerous reports come in from Lunchers observing a noticeably angry looking hot dog vendor every single time anybody buys anything from the new Mexican cart.  And now, there’s the latest…  two planters have been placed on the part of the sidewalk that El Rey del Sabor was using.

But here’s the crazy thing, the building denies doing it…

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When it rains it pours. Got this email from Lunch’er Brian late yesterday afternoon: “El Rey Del Sabor on 43rd and 6th got a summons today, as did the old lady. Appears it was one of the buildings across the street. I was talking to the guys in the cart. They are really nice but they are concerned that the police are going to chase them from the spot. It’s possible this is fallout from the confrontation on Monday.“

A lot of news pouring in over the past few days about the third El Rey Del Sabor cart. Just to recap, their original cart is parked on 60th and 3rd, and their second cart is parked on 49th and 3rd. A month ago, they parked a third cart on 28th and 6th, but last week we heard rumors that it had disappeared. Cut to yesterday, when the cart was spotted on 43rd & 6th. This could be great news for Midtown West, if the cart ends up staying…

Apparently the owners of the El Rey del Sabor Cart got into a fight with another vendor on that corner yesterday while they were setting up. And Lunch’er “Jer” caught it all on video.

Check it out, after the jump…

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El Rey del Sabor has added a third cart to their Mexican food empire. They’ve been flirting with the just out of ML bounds location on 28th Street and 6th Ave. for months now, but made it a permanent spot a few weeks ago.  This should considered great news for lunchers in the southern part of Midtown.  Their other two carts are located on 60th & 3rd, and 49th & 3rd.

via Wined and Dined: The original El Rey del Sabor cart (on 60th and 3rd) will start a free delivery service on Monday (6/15). They’ll deliver via bicycle 10-12 blocks in any direction, with a minimum $3 order. No word on whether or not they will also have delivery from the 49th & 3rd Ave. location. Call 917-837-8278 to order.

I stopped by the new, second location, of the El Rey del Sabor cart yesterday (on 49th btw. Lex+3rd) and discovered a few little tidbits.  First, for those of you wondering what happened to the teriyaki/udon cart that popped up in that same spot a month ago… the new Mexican cart is the ramen cart.  The El Rey del Sabor people bought the udon cart (and the spot, in theory) and converted it into a second branch of their popular Mexican food cart (the first one is on 60th and 3rd).  The teriyaki guys gave no reason for wanting to sell their cart after only a month and a half, but the El Rey del Sabor people suspect it might be because they were intimidated by the street meat vendors in the area.

The same intimidation El Rey del Sabor has been feeling since setting up shop two days ago on that corner.

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If you were bummed out about the Pinche Taqueria news from earlier today, this should immediately cheer you up:  There were a lot of comments and emails yesterday asking what happened to the El Rey del Sabor cart (on 60th & 3rd).  Apparently they were missing from their usual spot yesterday because they were… wait for it… wait for it… setting up a second cart on 49th & 3rd!!!  That’s right- El Rey del Sabor now has a second cart on 49th Street and 3rd Ave. So if you’ve been meaning to try what I think is the best Mexican food in Midtown, but couldn’t make it all the way up to 60th street and back to work in an hour, now you have no excuse.  And for those who were missing the original cart yesterday, fear not- it will be back in its normal spot today.

Related:
The New El Rey del Sabor is Serving Authentic Mexican Food from a Cart
El Rey Del Sabor Round Two: Mole, Tamales, and a Spicy New Creation You Won’t Want to Miss