Midtown Lunch

I’m always up for trying a street meat cart that comes recommended by a reader, so when Lunch’er “Matt” sent in that account of Kebab Express (on 55th and 6th) I knew eventually I would have to try it (at the very least, as part of Street Meat Palooza 3!) But once I saw the YouTube video, I decided I couldn’t wait any longer. If these guys spent half as much time on their food as they did making that video (it’s 7 minutes and 20 seconds worth of photos) it couldn’t be bad, right!?

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Last week Lunch’er Bill tipped us off to the Munch Truck, a brand new street vendor parked on 56th & Park: “New Clean and very large looks like a catering truck but is open to the public complete with a satellite tv to watch while they are cooking… Husband and wife team… We can only wish them the best but you may want to check out and do a write up? I haven’t eaten there yet…”  All the standard Midtown cart food is accounted for (falafel, gyro, chicken over rice), but they’ve got a whole bunch of not so standard items as well.

Check out their menu after the jump…

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Alright back to the work at hand (aka finding lunch in Midtown).  Got this email from Lunch’er Matt about a street meat cart on 55th and 6th that he thinks everybody should check out (and you know I’m always up for new street meats!)

I’ve been meaning to share with you a newish street meat cart… but my co-worker who found it (and gushed about it) didn’t want me to. But I think we’d both like to insure its survival by having it appear on Midtown Lunch. It is called Kabab Express and it is located on the southeast corner of 55th and 6th, just in from the LOVE sign. I’ve only tried 3 things there so far, chicken and rice, lamb kabab over rice and the chicken kabab over rice. The standout is the chicken kabab which they marinate overnight in little bags for each skewer and come out tasting perfectly cooked and well seasoned with what I think is cumin and cinnamon. Because the kababs take some time as they are cooked to order, the cart has a phone number and a flyer that they give away so you can call ahead of time.

The flyer and more is after the jump…

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Got this message from Lunch’er “Michael” the other day: “A new cart opened on 53red and Park. Its an “international soup” and “halal” cart that offer 9 soups daily plus a special. 12oz = $4.50, 16oz = 5.50 32oz = 9.50. The guy running it was very nice and generous with the samples.” Turns out the cart is from a newish soup restaurant in College Point Queens called the Herb International Soup Factory. It’s got great reviews on Chow and Chowhound, and like Michael said they’re willing to give you a sample of any of the soups. I tried a taste of the pumpkin soup yesterday, which was really tasty and more of a savory squash soup than the sweet orange goop you’d expect. Super interesting, and a great change of pace from the red signed Hot Soup carts that have come to dominate the Midtown soup scene. It’s parked on the NW corner of 53rd & Park (where the Mexican burrito cart used to be.)

Remember last April when NBCNewYork put David Chang into a street cart downtown to promote their new website? Well, they’re at it again.  We’re hearing from a very good source that on Feburary 8th Daniel Boulud “and friends” will be hijacking a food truck to promote the launch of NBC’s new restaurant site. “It’ll be a bonafide truck, stopping at various unannounced locations through out the city.” And unlike the Chang thing, they are guaranteeing a Midtown stop. (My vote is for charcuterie sandwiches!)

Apparently when it rains coffee, it pours coffee. Yesterday I posted about Zibetto Espresso Bar, and discovered that Machiatto Espresso Bar is opening a new location on 52nd Street. Today we get word that the Love Truck popped up in Midtown yesterday. Lunch’er Brian spotted it on the corner of 46th & 6th, and sent along this photo. The Love Truck was created when the owners of the Mud Truck (a Downtown mainstay) split back in 2007. No word on if they’ll be back today, but you can track their whereabouts on this website.

Our Happy Hour Correspondent “Mamacita” isn’t all alcohol all the time.  She also enjoys her street meat… so when she told me that she had a great chicken and lamb over rice plate from La Baguette Truck (a strangely named halal truck that I’ve walked by many times, but never pulled the trigger on), I told her to her write it up for everyone to enjoy!  Here’s her report…

Every once in a while you find yourself in midtown after dark and seek the comfort of a reliable street cart for dinner. I was in Bryant Park recently on the first cold night of December and my initial thought was that of the cart on 40th St. & Broadway, the 3rd place winner of Street Meat Palooza 1. Unfortunately I found it’s only a daytime cart, so after I got there I reluctantly looked towards the truck that I’ve seen for years on the opposite side of the street. It’s called “La Baguette Cafe,” and has a Parisian motif but with a typical Halal menu. I was hungry so I figured after all these years I’d finally bite the bullet and check it out. Of course I went with the ML staple: chicken and lamb over rice… but I was surprised by what I got for $5.50.

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If there’s one things I love about eating street meat in Midtown is that everybody has their own favorite spot for chicken and lamb over rice. Sure, some of the halal carts have become more famous- and Street Meat Palooza has crowned two different winners. But most people have their favorite spot (usually close to their work) where the guy knows your order, and makes it just the way you like it. And while it may not win any awards, it doesn’t make it any less worthy of being patronized.

So yesterday when Miss Softee (yes, that Miss Softee!) offered to take me to her favorite street meat cart, I immediately took her up on the offer.

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If you wanted to hit up a cart as your last lunch before Thanksgiving, all the old school carts will be out- and the most of the new school ones  are in Midtown today… Wafels & Dinges is on 52nd btw. 6+7th, Street Sweets is on 50th btw. 5+6th, Cupcake Stop Truck is on 47th and 3rd, Rickshaw is on 57th & 8th, NYC Cravings will be on 53rd and Lex (with their $5 Thanksgiving week special), the Treats Truck will be on 45th and 6th, and the Schnitzel Truck is just out of bounds on Park btw. 26+27th.  Of course things can always change so you might want to check the ML Twitter Tracker before heading out.

So it looks like Eliana, the $1 hot dog lady on the NW corner of 43rd and 6th, has survived the onslaught. You might remember that she was part of the crew of carts that got kicked out of that spot by the cops awhile back for parking on a sidewalk that was supposedly too narrow to be a legal vending spot for carts. She even had her cart confiscated, despite the fact that later measurements clearly showed that the sidewalk was the proper width. The other two carts (which included the 3rd El Rey del Sabor cart) decided to cut their losses and set up on the NE corner of 43rd and 6th. Eliana tried that for a bit but, after working the opposite corner for many years without issue, she was eager to return. Thankfully the Street Vendor Project (which hosts the Vendy Awards every year) stepped in and not only helped her get her cart back but also helped deflect any other obstacles to her returning to her original corner.

It looks like she’s there for good again (on the NW corner of 43rd and 6th), and last week I decided to swing by and actually try one of these $1 hot dogs.

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