Midtown Lunch

Last August Muhammed Rahman, the cart operator who famously used to cook at the Russian Tea Room, left Midtown for a new pizza and pasta venture on the Upper West Side; entrusting his famous Kiwk Meal cart (on 45th and 6th) to helpers.  Well, this week Muhammed made his triumphant return- opening a new cart called “Quick Delight” on 45th Street and 3rd Avenue. This is the third cart in the Kwik Meal empire, replacing Kwik Meal 2 which used to park on 5th Ave. until it was stolen a few months ago from the garage where it was parked.  Kwik Gourmet, the second cart, is still parked on 47th & Park Avenue.

This is huge news, and the tips poured in yesterday from excited Kwik Meal fans on the East side who have always had to walk West for a taste of Rahman’s famous lamb pita… but even more exciting is the news that Quick Delight will have two menu items not available at either of the other two carts.

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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!

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Got this email from Lunch’er “Spencer” who has been stalking a lady selling Latin food on the sidewalk of 48th btw. 5+6th on Fridays for the past few weeks. Not sure if a) she’s only there on Fridays, and b) if it’s the same Ecuadorian lady who used to sell food on 46th btw. 5+6th. (I haven’t seen her in awhile…)

“Two Fridays ago I was with a co-worker who gets a jump on the lunchtime rush by going out every day at 11:30. He hits Variety Cafe 19 out of every 20 lunches (the other one being Tina’s Restaurant). As we’re walking from 6th Ave. on 48th towards Variety, someone drops a can of soda and I pick it up and hand it back to a little lady with what is essentially one of those metal laundry/grocery upright carts filled with plastic bags of all sizes and colors. I see it is food and waste no time asking what she’s selling. She says sheepishly “food” as if I’m going to bust her. Instead I said I’d take a plate, and to allay her fears I take the first thing she offers. It ends up being a piece of fried fish over a bed of awesome yellow rice, drowned in a great shrimp sauce.”

But wait… there’s more.

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I don’t even know where to start with this one.  I post a story on Thursday, and yesterday CBS 2 “reports” the same exact story on their 6 p.m. newscast- pawning it off as their own discovery.  Kind of lame if you ask me.  I might believe that it was just a coincidence, if it weren’t for the reporter being a complete douche total idiot guy who doesn’t know what the world halal means.  I’m flattered you use Midtown Lunch to come up with stories for your newscast… but a little credit would have been nice.  Think I’m being a bit harsh?  Read what I wrote on Thursay.  Then watch the video of the newscast… and you be the judge.

My first trip to El Rey Del Sabor, the Mexican cart on 60th and 3rd Avenue, consisted of a taco and a huarache.  It was enough to know that this place was the real deal, and I posted immediately about the new-found gem.  But that lunch was not nearly enough to satisfy my own personal desire to eat everything on their menu. I mean, the food I had was good… but what about their tamales?  Or the fried empanadas?  Oh, and most importantly the mole.  I love mole poblano (the thick, dark, spicy, chocolaty sauce) and this cart serves up a version made from scratch by the owner’s sister.  How could I not?

Enchilades topped with mole, tamales, and a new off the menu creation that is pretty crazy- after the jump…  Read more »

Fresh off taking photos of that mediocre Mexican cart posing as a Vendy Award nominee, I ran into these guys again on the SW corner of 53rd and 6th Ave… who have now started wearing yellow sweaters to further confuse people into thinking they are the famous 53rd St. and 6th Ave. halal cart.  As you know (or maybe you don’t know), at night this corner of Midtown is occupied by one of the most popular street meat carts in the city. The line stretches down the street from the time they set up (around 7 p.m.) to the time they leave (sometime after 3 a.m.) But during the day, there is a different cart there serving different food- but that doesn’t stop them from claiming to be the same cart that is there a night. They still don’t have yellow bags though, which is the true way you know you’re getting the real thing.  If they ever switch to yellow bags, there might be a war.

A photo of the actual famous halal cart guys is after the jump…   Read more »

Got another great tip from the commenter who goes by the name of “Bossman”:

You want to talk about crazy ass shit? There’s always been this Halal cart on 55th and Mad (Southwest corner) that had a fryer setup. Convenient when the urge strikes for fries along with your street meat. Aside from that there’s nothing that stands out about the place. I used to frequest it because they’ll throw your gyro on a hero and I always found that held up better than pita. The guys are real nice and if I found myself getting lunch at 2:45 (like today) I’ll hit it up.

So today I see a sign saying Fried Chicken w/ fries (4 Pieces) $6.00. It’s all your fault Zach- prior to reading ML I would’ve ran for the hills, nowadays it just raises a bunch of questions:

Fried chicken truck, yes. But cart? Has Zach done that? How could they? Pre-cooked and just warmed through?

…and finally “how could I not?”

Anyway, what I got was 2 tenders, a wing, a drumette, and a thigh and fries all freshly fried (obviously they’re better at dishing the food than counting it). Of course, it’s not your Grandma’s chicken but it was pretty damn good for what it was (especially as a conduit for hot sauce). What will they think of next?

The photo he sent in, after the jump…  Read more »

After a few days down on Wall Street, the Rickshaw Dumpling Truck is back in Midtown today- parked on 52nd and Lexington Ave.  Ever since it was announced that the Rickshaw Dumpling Bar (which has two brick and mortar locations in the lower of half of Manhattan) would be opening a truck, there has been a lot of criticism in the comments.  And a lot of it is is warranted. The place is freakin’ expensive. And it’s fancy pants Asian food, not the sort of cheap, authentic Hing Won/Ying Du’ish chinese food we normally praise here on Midtown Lunch.  Who the hell would spend $6 on 6 dumplings, when you can go to Chinatown and get 5 better dumplings for the price of 1 dumpling at the Rickshaw truck. Even with the subway ride there and back it would still be cheaper! 

All of this 100% true.  And yet, it doesn’t mean that nobody will like the Rickshaw Dumpling Truck.  And that’s why we do the +/-

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It’s been all carts all the time this week!  But this one was too good not to post… “How many calories is there in a plate of street meat” is a question I get pretty often.  I guess there are a lot of people out there who are interested.  I am not one of them. Unfortunately, I spotted this (accidentally, of course) posted on a cart in Midtown East. It might be worth noting, the calorie laws that went into effect earlier in the year, only apply to chain restaurants… not carts. I’m not sure whether the white sauce is included in the 680 calories that make up a lamb over rice platter.  A good reporter would have asked… but like I said before- I really don’t want to know.

UPDATE: A savvy commenter pointed out that those numbers are for 100 grams, which is less than a quarter pound of food.  I feel like an order of street meat weighs at least half a pound… which means that sign is kind of misleading!

Related: Basic Math Blows Holes in Chipotle’s Absurd “Calorie Range”

According to Eater, the Rickshaw Dumpling Truckhit the street for the first time yesterday, parking at 51st and Lex.  Anybody see the truck or get a chance to sample?  Today they’re parking on Wall Street for lunch (what’s up with that?!?!)  Secretly, I guess I’m grateful- the last thing I want to be doing in this weather is stalking a dumpling truck.   

Eater says “they’ll be serving an abbreviated menu including six dumplings (for $6), watermelonade, and sides like chili sesame noodle salad” which kind of begs the question- why would anybody who works downtown pay $6 for dumplings, when there are so many other cheaper dumpling options. As with most of the new trucks in the city, you can follow their location on twitter. If anybody gets a chance to taste, let us know what you think.