Carnegie John’s… the Best Cart Burger in Midtown
Well, the line at Carnegie John’s has finally died down enough for me to try it. NY Mag wreaked havoc on the Midtown cart scene last month when they released their street cart issue. It spotlighted some Midtown Lunch favorites (The Jamaican Dutchy, Hallo Berlin, Kim’s Aunt Kitchen & Kwik Meal), but also opened my eyes to a cart I had never heard of. The legend that is Carnegie John’s.
The cart is named for its location, right next to Carnegie Hall, where John serves up Hamburgers, Chicken, Gyro, Steak & Shish Kebab, all cooked to order. Which partially explains the line. Ever since the NY Mag issue came out, the line at this cart has been out of control- and if you want a burger, you’ve got to go on the early side. He usually runs out by 1:30.
What I got, food cart porn and a +/- after the jump… Read more »
Posted by Zach Brooks at 8:01 am, July 25th, 2007 under 56th btw. 6+7th, Burger, Carnegie John's Cart, Cart, Middle Eastern, Street Meat.
Everybody loves falafel! So the second week of Midtown Lunch’s existence was dubbed Falafel Week- and each day I visited and wrote about a different Midtown falafel joint (
Bread & Olive is a Lebanese take out place on 45th btw. 5th & 6th ave. They have both beef and chicken shwarma, kafta, delicious homemade breads, and an array of maza (Lebanese salads and dips). There is a small seating area in the back, but most people take the food to go. Everything is Lebanese style, so the spices are going to be different than the shwarma at an Israeli place, or the gyro from a Greek place.
With nothing in mind to eat last week, I was wandering down 46h St. (btw. 5th & 6th) when I stumbled upon another one of those Kosher versions of the ubiquitous midtown deli. Sandwiches, Salad bar, etc… but a quick look at the menu in the window, and I discovered they had Chinese food! Now, I was brought up Jewish (a reform Jew, so we didn’t keep Kosher at all)- which means I love Chinese food (the goto meal on Sunday nights and Christmas). But what’s Chinese food without pork (and shrimp for that matter)??? I love pork. A lot. As a matter of fact, with all the pork I’ve eaten in my lifetime, I was sort of surprised that an alarm didn’t go off when I walked into Kosher Deluxe.
I bypassed the salad bar and shwarma station on the right, and headed straight to the back, where they serve a variety of sandwiches, dinner type dishes and of course- the Chinese food. The menu had most typical Americanized Chinese dishes (all served with chicken or beef)- like Lo Mein, General Chow’s, Beef or Chicken and Broccoli, Moo Goo Gai Pan, and my personal favorite- Pastrami Fried Rice, in case you had forgotten where you were. The big problem was the price. Almost every Chinese food item was over $12!!!! (And you didn’t even get shrimp!) I did a quick u-turn, figuring that it wasn’t worth the money- but something caught my eye on the way out. On the menu above the Shwarma station I saw it…. “Shnitzel in Pita”. Helllllllo???
Now, I’m a big fan of wiener schnitzel (german fried veal cutlets), so how could Shnitzel be bad??? I spotted some delicious looking fried stuff below the Shwarma, next to the falafel that I was betting was the Shnitzel. I ordered it- and was not disappointed… (It is actually a misconception that wiener schnitzel is some sort of sausage- despite “wiener” being part of the name. 
I’m a big fan of the buffet. Not any particular buffet… just buffets in general. I like the style of eating. I like the variety. I like the extent to which I can embarrass myself by eating a ridiculous amount of food. Chinese would have to be my favorite kind of buffet, because I find it very hard to order just one thing at a Chinese food restaurant. I’m actually a huge fan of any kind of Asian food in buffet form. Sushi is not ideal (because of the freshness), but I have found a couple that I enjoy (like the Korean/Sushi buffet 
American buffets are ok, but they are definitely my least favorite. The buffet that a pregnant Frances McDormand ate at in Fargo (with the meatballs) looked pretty sweet… but unfortunately fictional buffets don’t count… and even if it does exist- I doubt I’ll ever be in that small town in Minnesota. I love the buffets in Vegas- but I usually end up eating the Asian food- so that doesn’t really count as an “American” buffet. I haven’t been to Charles Southern Kitchen (a Soul Food Buffet in Harlem) but it’s pretty high on the list. Fried chicken on a buffet is the greatest and worst thing of all time… but I did survive a KFC buffet off I-95 in Florida once, so I’m sure I’ll be ok.
So, Fashion Week is almost over, and despite it being only one block away from Bryant Park, I didn’t get my picture of a model eating at the Chicken & Rice Cart on 43rd and 6th ave. But it didn’t stop me from enjoying a medium order of delicious chicken, served over rice, at this Midtown street meat institution.
I’m not sure how it happened but Jews love Chinese food. I’m sure there are exceptions, but it seems to be a stereotype that holds true. I’m Jewish. I love Chinese food. Therefore all Jews must love Chinese food. It’s fool proof logic. Actually, it’s strange when you think about it. Pork and shellfish are a staple of Chinese cuisine, yet for some reason, Jewish mothers everywhere chose it as THE meal to order when they didn’t feel like cooking (usually on Sunday nights). Of course the boneless spareribs, and pork fried rice ensured that while Jewish, I would never end up being Kosher. (I wonder if Chinese food had something to do with the rise in the number of reform Jews?)
Day 5 of Falafel Week
Because Aaron's Restaurant is on 46th between 5th & 6th avenue, I walk by it all the time (on my way to Hing Won, Variety Cafe or House of Pita). Their sign hangs right over the sidewalk, but the place itself is on the second floor, so you can't see in. Only a staircase leading up to god knows where. And when I say "god knows where", I mean that literally, because Aaron's is a Glatt Kosher restaurant, which I think is loosely translated to mean "extra" kosher.
After climbing the stairs you find yourself in the front of a bare bones restaurant, with a buffet style counter where you can order things to go, or a seating area where you can order off the menu from a waiter or waitress. The food behind the glass counter looked pretty good… but once again- it's falafel week, so I ordered a falafel with everything to go.
DAY 4 of Falafel Week
This is a lebanese place, so a beet juice pickled vegetable made it’s first appearance of the week (I’m pretty sure it was turnip, but not positive). It was one of the first layers to go down on top of the fresh baked flat bread- that I believe they make on site (another first for the week). It also had lettuce and slices of tomatos, and then the falafel and tahini, all rolled up burrito style in the flat bread.