Midtown Lunch

Anybody who’s been to the Kwik Meal cart lately has most likely noticed the photo of owner Muhammed Rahman with celebrity chef Bobby Flay taken from the Throwdown episode where Bobby beat Taim with Kwik Meal’s falafel recipe. And anybody who reads this site on a regular basis knows about the family feud between Muhammed and his brother, who operates the neighboring Fahima Halal Cart. Over the last few years, Fahima has done everything to lure customers away from Kwik Meal- including serving practically the same food. But their latest shenanigans might be the most ridiculous stunt of all…

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Kati rolls seem to be everywhere around midtown. There’s the Kati Roll Company (on 39th btw. 5+6th), the Biryani Cart (on 46th and 6th), Indus Express (on 48th btw. 5+6th), Grill 44 (on 44th btw. Lex+3rd), and now Fahima’s Halal Cart– the street meat cart on 45th and 6th run by the brother of Kwik Meal’s Mohammed Rahman.  Their stir-fried noodles were unimpressive, but their biryani was a surprise hit and I even hinted that they could be equal to or even better then the Biryani cart’s well-established version. It’s no surprise that Fahima’s is also cashing in on the kati roll fever. As a steadfast devotee to Biryani’s kati rolls I wondered if Fahima could bring the game in a side-by-side taste test.

Check it out after the jump.

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I reported recently on the brotherly rivalry that is pitting cart against cart, Fahima against Kwik Meal, and now Muhammed’s pasta against Muhammed’s pasta. Yes, to confuse matters even more they both have the same first name. Someone dig up Richard Dawson because ladies and gentleman what we have here is a Family Feud!

I can only assume that the Fahima stir-fried noodles are a direct counterpoint to the Kwik Meal Pasta cart that debuted last year. Mohammed Mahbub Rahman, the owner of the Fahima cart, has the same streak of entrepreneurship as his brother. He has impressively taken on serving biriyani along with his lamb and chicken and made a good impression with this street eater. Now it was time to try these noodles and see if they are substantive, unique and, as is our M.O. here on ML, worthy of your hard earned dollars.

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Kwik Meal vs. Fahima, bumper against bumper, brother against brother, the side by side street cart family feud on the SW corner of 45th Street and 6th Avenue rages on! Yet in the black cloud of this Greek tragedy is there perhaps a silver lining? Out of this great turmoil might there be great rewards? With some new additions to Fahima’s menu, I certainly hoped so. Bear with me people; I’m inspired by Halal not Homer. Ehem, So then, here’s my first take.

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Last week we reported that Kwik Meal owner Muhammad Rahman’s brother had returned to 45th and 6th, parking his Fahima Halal cart next to Kwik Meal in an attempt to siphon off some of his brother’s business. The prices are slightly cheaper, but it doesn’t seem like many of Kwik Meal’s fans are taking the bait… although one Lunch’er said they tried the cart when it was parked on 42nd, and found it to be “nothing special”. But by the looks of things, Fahima Halal is trying to change all that by adding stuff that Kwik Meal doesn’t serve- like Bombay Biriyani, and stir fried noodles. Of course with the Biriyani Cart and Trini Paki Cart just one and two blocks away respectively, (and Utsav serving a delicious Biriyani from their take out counter on 46th) it will be tough for Fahima to make inroads into the already awesome 6th Ave. biriyani game. But I’m willing to give it a try… early adopters, let us know how it is in the comments.

Related:
Kwik Meal Family Feud Reignites
Kwik Meal Kin Stirs Up Weekend Vendor War

Back in October Kwik Meal owner Muhammad Rahman got some competition from an unlikely source when his brother pulled up his “Fahima Hala” cart to 45th and 6th to sell chicken and lamb over rice right next to the Kiwk Meal cart. The brother didn’t last long at the spot, and Muhammad brought in the Kwik Pasta cart to try and keep him away.  Well from the looks of things it didn’t work because according to Lunch’er “Victor” Fahima Halal, which had been parked on 42nd btw. 8+9th for the past few months, spent last week (and today) parked on 45th and 6th.  Anybody try the food.  I’m curious how it stacks up to his brother’s.

Related:
Kwik Meal Kin Stirs Up Weekend Vendor War

Where have I seen this before?

Fahima Halal, the cart run by Muhammad “Kwik Meal” Rahman’s brother, decided not to return to 45th and 6th today (after spending the weekend parked right next to his brother’s cart.)  Instead he went back to 42nd and 9th, and was greeted by two hot dog carts ready to give him the business.  Lunch’er “Joel” gives us the report:

After reading about Fahima this morning, I thought I’d give it a try, as I had to go to the bank on the corner of 42nd street and 9th anyway. Well, the Halal mafia seemed to have it out for the Fahima cart, as there were 2 hot dog carts blocking the Fahima cart, that was parked where it usually is(as well as another hot dog cart to the west, actually vending) I squeezed around behind the two carts and ordered lamb over rice platter, despite warning from a hot dog guy that Fahima was closed.

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It sounds like the cops were pretty busy with vendor complaints on Monday.  There was the ice cream fist fight on 50th & 6th, the Schnitzel Truck twittered that cops were called to a vendor fight downtown, and there was this thing on 45th & 5th…

I got word a few weeks ago that the owner of Kwik Meal, Muhammed Rahman, has a brother who opened a new cart on 45th & 5th, and was selling biriyani (in addition to chicken and lamb over rice.) Even though this new venture is not associated with Kwik Meal (this year’s Street Meat Palooza winner) in any way, I was still excited to try the food- after all, cooking skills could be genetic, right?  Sadly though, by the time I made it over to the corner, the brother’s cart had disappeared.

You may remember that Kwik Meal, which currently has four carts in their empire, used to park another cart on the corner of 45th & 5th called Kwik Meal 2, before it was stolen from the garage it was parked in.  They still operate Kwik Gourmet on 47th and Park, Quick Delight on 45th & 3rd, and Kwick Meal IV on 37th and 6th. But 45th and 5th has remained Kwik Meal-less… until Monday.

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