I embrace breakfast for lunch (or snack for that matter) and I also embrace cheap. Earlier this year, Jamba Juice introduced $1 oatmeal Wednesdays. The promotion was supposed to only last through early February, but as of last week they were still doing discounted oatmeal, but now the going rate is $2. Is it still worth it?

Jamba Juice’s steel cut oatmeal gets high marks from the resident oat experts at Serious Eats. A single serving topped with bananas, brown sugar, apple-cinnamon or blueberry-blackberry regularly goes for $3.21 so at $2, it’s still a decent discount. And I know from personal experience that making steel cut oats in the office microwave isn’t quite as easy is heating a bowl of Quaker Oats. If you like the nuttiness of steel cut oats and don’t have the time to make it for yourself in the morning, the Jamba Juice version is a worthy buy at $2. But beware, the texture of the oatmeal varies throughout the day…

Go in the morning and you’re more likely to get a creamier/soupier oatmeal whereas later in the afternoon (after some evaporation action) the oatmeal is thicker and denser. The Jamba Juice people seem to only fill the container with 2 scoops of oatmeal regardless of the density, so the earlier you go, the more likely you are to end up with more head space.

If you prefer smoother textured oats of a Quaker-ish variety, the Healthy Vegetarian cart (on 52nd btw. 6+7th) dishes up big servings (think a wonton soup size container) with apples and cinnamon for $2.50 every day.

What midtown breakfasts have you found to be good deals?

Jamba Juice (various locations)
99% Vegetarian Food Cart , 52nd St. btw. 6+7th

Yesterday, as promised, I hit up the Famous Halal Guys and the Healthy Vegetarian Cart (both on 52nd btw. 6+7th) for a mashup platter and I discovered that the Vegetarian Cart is now sporting a 99% vegetarian food sign in recognition of their brand new grilled chicken lunch special. Yes, the vegetarians are now serving chicken…real chicken.

But before we get distracted by what to call a “vegetarian” cart that serves meat, let’s talk chili/street meat mashup…

Apparently great minds lunch alike, because I went for a very similar combo as Luncher “Wellerfan” choosing chicken and lamb over rice with white sauce and hot sauce from the Famous Halal guys ($5) paired with a side of vegetarian chili and grilled veggies from the Vegetarian Cart ($3).

The combo of lamb, chicken, rice, salad, pita points, chili, veggies and white sauce/hot sauce made for one freaking delicious and satisfying lunch. Meaty bites plus black bean/soy protein chili over rice are a winning combo and worthy repeat meal. The lamb and black bean bites were especially tasty. Next time I would ask for extra white sauce and hot sauce on the side so I can distribute more evenly. As wellerfan notes, if you’re into hot and spicy, you’re going to want to go for the tongue burning Famous Halal Guys sauce rather than just relying on the hot sauce from the Vegetarian Cart.

While the Vegetarian Cart has a rotating “bean of the day” they only serve the chili on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. With the weather expected to be a snowy mess this morning and into the afternoon there’s a good chance that the Vegetarian Cart might not be out at all today anyway (anybody see them setting up this morning?) If not, hopefully they’ll be back in commission on Friday with plenty of chili on hand.

While I was ordering up my vegetarian chili and veggies the vegetarian guys were offering samples of their chicken. After I confirmed that “regular chicken” was in fact legit poultry, I gave it a try. Their grilled chicken was flavorful–they cook it with onions and other mixed grilled veggies. Texture-wise was more like little strip/chunks of chicken than the choppy grilled bits from over at Famous Halal Guys. Starting this week you can have chicken as one of your “choose any four dishes” combo for $6. Not a bad deal. This probably isn’t the ideal lunch for someone looking for a traditional street meat fix, especially since they didn’t seem to have any white sauce available, but if you’re looking for a healthy-ish cart lunch and you’d previously shied away from trying the vegetarian cart because of the lack of meat, you might consider giving them a second look.

99% Vegetarian Food Cart, 52nd St. btw. 6+7th

Last week as I was studying the menu at the Healthy Vegetarian Food Cart, I noticed a familiar face–one of the guys from the Famous Halal Guys cart on 52nd and 6th (the former Shendy’s cart) was getting the hook up. I watched as the vegetarian guys topped off the Famous Halal guy’s chicken and rice platter with the “bean of the day” (it happened to be black eyed peas) and some sauteed veggies. Nice. While I can’t take credit for coming up with the Famous Halal Guys and Healthy Vegetarian Cart mashup, I can say that I support the idea and will be hitting up this combo myself soon. If you were to make your own Healthy Vegetarian + Famous Halal guys combo, what would it include?

Related:
How Do You Keep Vegetarians From Getting To Their Lunch? Park a Hot Dog Cart in the Way!

A new cart popped up this morning on 52nd & 6th, and Lunch’er Yasmin sent in this report: “I was getting my daily fruit smoothie this morning when I noticed a new cart had been set up directly next to the smoothie truck on NW corner of 52nd and 6th. This DEFINITELY wont appeal to you, but might appeal to your vegetarian readers, or those on diets. Here are some crappy phone pictures…”

I was in the area when Yasmin emailed the photos, so I decided to swing by this new cart and found a “scene” that at this point should surprise nobody.

Ah, the old park a hot dog cart in front of your new cart trick! We’ve seen that one before… although in this case there is that extra F you to the particular clientele that would be interested in checking out a new cart such as this one. Strangely enough the vendor with the hot dog cart was wearing a Shendy’s Halal t-shirt (their cart is two spaces to the East) and appeared to be unofficially representing all the other vendors parked on that particular stretch of 52nd and 6th.

Eventually the cops came, and forced the hot dog cart to move (although as of 2pm it didn’t look like anybody was actually selling hot dogs from it. Purely a protest cart, I suppose.)

But what about the food, man!?! Vegetarians deserve a cart of their own, don’t they?

Veggie burgers, vegetarian chili, veggies, yams, beans, soup, brown rice and the like… choose any four options for $6. Not bad at all. They’re also open for breakfast, serving up oatmeal and fresh juices.

Apparently these guys are from Chicago, where they own a vegetarian restaurant. They’re committed to staying on 52nd and 6th, so look out for them tomorrow. I didn’t partake (naturally) but if any vegetarian early adopters want to check it out and report back, feel free. You know, provided there aren’t random planters installed in the spot tomorrow.

Healthy Vegetarian Food, NW corner of 52nd & 6th Ave.