Midtown Lunch

Blockbuster news in the Midtown Lunch inbox today.  The famous 53rd St. and 6th avenue chicken and rice cart is expanding their empire to 7th Avenue.  The new cart is parked on the SW corner of 53rd St. & 7th Avenue during the day now starting at 11:30 a.m.  The sister cart on the SE corner of 53rd & 6th, who won the Midtown Lunch Street Meat Palooza is not effected.  Got that?  Let’s see if I can break it down for the uninitiated:

• There is a famous chicken and rice cart that parks every night on the SW corner of 53rd & 6th from around 8 p.m. until 5 a.m.  The line is down the street every night (you may have seen it before.)
• The same guys have a second cart that parks on the SE corner of 53rd & 6th during the day, from Noon until Midnight.  The food is exactly the same as the cart parked across the street at night.
• Now, another cart that serves the same food is parked on the SW corner of 53rd & 7th starting at 11:30 a.m.

The guys at this new cart claimed that this is the very same cart that gets moved over to the SW corner of 53rd & 6th at 7:30 at night- but I’m not positive that is true.  Either way, they’ve got the shirts, the plastic bags, and the awning of the famous cart, and the food looks exactly the same… so I guess in the end it doesn’t really matter. Simply put- Midtown Lunchers now have two places to get the Famous Halal Guys chicken and lamb over rice platter during the day.  SW corner of 53rd & 7th and SE corner of 53rd & 6th.  Very exciting!

Related:
Street Meat Palooza: A 13 Cart Chicken/Lamb Over Rice Showdown
Debunking the Myths of the Most Famous Chicken and Rice Intersection in New York

Two of the better Indian lunches in Midtown have undergone some changes…  Indus Express (on 48th btw. 5+6th) known for their giant version of the Kati Roll, has gotten rid of their salad bar- the lone holdover from City Market Cafe, the generic deli that originally occupied the space.  They’ve added more seating in that space, plus a small table filled with Indian snacks that are now for sale.

But the real big changes have been happening at Khodiar Express, the vegetarian food inside the former Newsstand on 6th Ave. btw. 37+38th.  See if you can follow this… the Gujarati Indian food, which used to be in the back left hand corner, has moved to the front, right next to Taj Delhi Chat  which opened along the right hand wall two months ago.  The latin food, which moved from the now closed Blimpie next door, to the back right hand corner of the “newsstand”, has also moved to the right hand wall.  And finally, between the two, a Middle Eastern steam table has opened up, serving Israeli style falafel.

Got that all?  If not, there are semi-helpful photos after the jump…  Read more »

When Olympic Pita first came to Midtown in February of last year, I was pretty excited.  The Brooklyn location was pretty well known, and has a lot of fans (plus has been mentioned by at least 4 Profiled Midtown Lunch’ers)- but I couldn’t help but be put off by a few things.  First, the back is a sit down restaurant with most items on the menu costing over $10 (a Midtown Lunch no-no).  They had a take out counter in the front, where you could watch them bake beautiful looking fresh laffa bread, but all of those sandwiches (with the exception of the falafel) were over $10.  You could buy a cheaper sandwich on pita, but why would you want to eat something stuffed in pre-packaged pita, while there’s amazing looking laffa staring you in the face.

At the time, Kosher Deluxe’s shawarma on pita was (barely) under $10, so I was of the opinion that I didn’t need Olympic Pita.  Plus if they were going to charge that much for a sandwich, there were cheaper places to get good falafel and shawarma sandwiches, like Pick a Pita on 38th btw. 7+8th (and they’ll even put fries in your sandwich!)  Since then, Kosher Deluxe has raised their prices (a shawarma on laffa sandwich is now over $10) and so I finally caved in and tried the Olympic Pita falafel on laffa ($6.50), the only item on the menu worthy of a Midtown Lunch distinction… and all I can say is- wow.  What the hell took me so long! ?!  Read more »

*Sigh*  Is it over?  Have I finally given in to the pressures of everyday lunch’ing in Midtown?  When Crisp first hung up their sign on 3rd Ave., I figured there was no way in hell I was going to find something redeeming about a place that calls itself Crisp.  From their saying on the wall (“Fast fresh food that syncs your taste with your conscience“) you automatically knew it was going to expensive, and worse case scenario- it would be expensive salads.  (I think between Just Salads, Chop’t and every single crappy generic deli in Midtown, we’re all set on the salads.)

When they finally opened, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that “crisp” actually referred to falafels, and the place was more like a midtownified pita pocket and hummus bowl kind of place.  Not terrible, but certainly nothing to jump for joy about.  With so many great (and mostly cheap) falafel places to choose from in this area, why do we need a place where the cheapest falafel sandwich is $6.75- thanks but no thanks. 

But then something happened.  I tried it.  And I have to say, despite my brain urging me to show hate and disapproval- there is one sandwich at Crisp that I think I can fully get behind.  Read more »

Normally they give away free topping coupons the day after Hideki Matsui hits a homerun, but why should we be punished because it is the Yankees’ offseason?  Problem solved.  Today is free topping coupon day at Go Go Curry on 38th St. btw. 7+8th. 

The new House of Pita on 8th Ave. btw. 39+40th finally replaced the Mandler’s Sausage sign.  They smartly decided to keep the H.O.P. name, and only add the “Chicken Bar” part to the sign underneath.  I guess they “discovered” that Chicken Bar already exists.

Kashmir Express, the Indian take out place on 8th Ave. btw. 38+39th, has converted to a by the pound buffet.  Looked pretty good, although having to pay for my lunch by the amount it weighs is always a scary proposition.  The $4.99 price tag is not bad, but Indian food can get heavy!  And it forces you to break the #1 rule of eating at buffets by the pound… go easy on the rice and bread.

A shot of the buffet, plus Piece of Chicken’s shocking new menu changes, after the jump… Read more »

House of Pita has become the little falafel stand that could, re-opening their operation on 8th Ave. btw. 39+40th, in the space formerly occupied by Mandler’s Sausage Co.  This comes a little over a month after their 2nd location, on 46th btw. 5+6th closed after 6 months in business.  According to the owner, the 46th St. location was always only going to be a temporary location- they were just forced out a little earlier then they expected.

The new House of Pita on 8th has the same falafel, salads and pickled veggies you loved at the original 48th St. window, but they are now serving meat dishes, most notably- chicken shawarma.  Because House of Pita was always a dairy (no meat served), and the new location will serve meat, the owner felt it would be misleading to keep the original name, so he plans to change it to… Chicken Bar.

Why does that name sound familiar??? Read more »

Not even open long enough to take down their Grand Opening sign, the newer House of Pita , on 46th btw. 5+6th has closed down. The original House of Pita location, a window on 48th btw. 5+6th, closed down a little over a month ago , 5 months after the owners opened the newer, larger location just two blocks away. I had always assumed that closing the 48th St. window was the plan all along, but now that the larger location has closed, I’m not so sure. One thing is for sure, restaurants looking to expand their already successful Midtown businesses should take notice.

According to Kosher-NY, the owner “hopes to open a new Fleishig restaurant in another location, [but] nothing specific is in the works as of yet”. Need a replacement falafel? Kosher Deluxe , Moshe’s , The Kwik Meal Cart & Bread & Olive are all within walking distance.

53rd St. & 6th Ave is the Chicken & Rice Capital of New York City.  There will never be consensus over who makes the best, but there is no question about who is the most popular.  If you’ve passed 53rd St. & 6th Ave. after 8pm on any give night, then you’ve seen the line.  It forms from the time the cart opens, and doesn’t die down until the cart leaves at 4 in the morning.  Late night club goers, bridge and tunnelers, and cab drivers as far as the eye can see- sometimes stretching as far down as 7th Ave.

A lot of people see this line, and wonder “How could this chicken and rice be so good?”  Not me.  If somebody gets killed just for cutting in line, then I don’t question how good the food is at the front of the line.  I just wonder, where can I get Chicken & Rice worth killing for, in Midtown, during lunchtime!?!   The answer led me back to 53rd St. & 6th Ave., but not necessarily the corner you may think.

The definitive answers to all your chicken and rice questions, after the jump… Read more »

Ever wondered what the white sauce is made from at your favorite chicken and rice cart?  Or where the cart even comes from?  Where do they prepare the food?  And, of course- is it clean?  Have you ever wondered what it was like to run a street cart?  Here is a glimpse into the life of one person that knows the answers to all those questions…

Much has been written about Muhammed Rahman.  Born in Bangladesh, this chef has become famous for being that street cart guy who used to work at the Russian Tea Room.  Now he owns and operates Kwik Meal, a Lamb & Rice cart on 45th & 6th which opened in 2000.  Since then Rahman has opened two more carts (one on 45th & 5th, and one on 47th & Park) both run by his brothers.  Food costs are high, and profits are low- yet he would never go back to cooking at a restaurant, because he loves the interaction with the customers you only get running a food cart.  This is a day in his life…

Photos & Timeline by Ryan Devlin

6:00am: Muhammed Rahman wakes up in Jackson Heights, Queens. Heads to garage (also in Jackson Heights) to pick up his cart.

6:28am: Arrives at the garage in Jackson Heights, and gets the cart stocked with goods. As is required by law, all the food, drinks and sauces must be prepared and stored in the garage, or other DOH approved facility.  Nothing can be prepared at home. Rahman buys most of his supplies directly from wholesalers and has them delivered directly to the garage.  The cart is stocked up with supplies for the day, including the meat which had been prepared the night before, and left to marinate overnight.

6:55am: The cart is hooked up to the truck, and they leave the garage with cart in tow.

7:25am: The truck arrives at corner of 45th and 6th, at which point the truck tows it into place before the workers straighten it out by hand.  The whole process takes about five minutes.  On this morning, the sidewalk had already been hosed down by the building’s maintenence man… but if they show up to a dirty sidewalk, Rahman will rinse it off himself while the truck waits with the cart. 

7:30am: The cart is secured in its spot.  A worker takes the truck to be parked in a Midtown garage, which costs hundreds of dollars a month.  Everyone else goes to work setting the cart up. The glass windows are put into place, and the inside of the cart is prepared.  First the pans and containers are arranged in their proper place.  Then the sauces.  After that, the propane tank is set up and the surfaces are given another wipe-down just before cooking starts. One guy sets up the beverages, putting ice in the cooler and water, sodas, etc.  After that, the workers pull on their white chef smocks and white hats.

8:07am: Once the cart is prepped and everything is in place, they fire up the grill, oil it down, and the cooking begins. Chicken goes on the grill first, while another worker starts throwing falafel balls into the deep fryer.  The cooking takes about three hours as they work through the chicken, lamb and beef.  During this time they will also cut and prep the vegetables.

11:00am: Cart officially opens for business.

Read more »

A few months ago I got an email tip about a Halal cart that also served fried shrimp.  It didn’t occur to me how weird that was until I finally got around to checking out the cart and saw their sign for “Halal & Seafood”, which if you believe some interpretations of the Koran, would essentially be the same as a cart putting up a sign that says “Kosher & Pork”. 

While some might think Halal means “Chicken & Rice from a cart”, the actual translation just means permissible under Islamic law.  While it is usually used to describe food, the word can actually be applied to anything.  Haraam is the term used to describe things that are forbidden under Islamic law.  Certifying meat Halal has to do with how the animal is slaughtered, with blood and pork being 100% forbidden.  The rules dictating what is halal are very similar to the Kosher laws, although the two terms are definitely not interchangeable.  Seafood is up for debate as different sects interpret the Koran differently.  While most agree that fish is halal, some Muslims feel that shellfish is haraam, because they are bottom feeders, and the Koran strictly forbids eating predatory animals. 

That being said, I am not Muslim, and if a cart wants to throw some fried shrimp on top of that plate of chicken and rice, I’m all for it!  What I got, a +/- and cart porn after the jump…  Read more »