I was lucky enough to be there on the early side, and got to try what could be my new favorite truck in New York City.

$6 buys you a single piece of fried chicken (leg & thigh), served over rice which has been topped by this ground pork and sour cabbage mixture (that will be familiar to anybody who has ever eaten at places like the Excellent Pork Chop House). Despite only being open for less than 10 days, the food from this truck is already spot on. The chicken is perfectly fried, moist on the inside and perfectly crispy on the outside. There’s no batter on the chicken, it’s more about the fatty skin getting super crispy.

The fried chicken is good, but what takes this to the next level is the pork sauce. Salty, with a vague hint of sweetness, the ground pork and sour cabbage is a perfect flavor explosion counterpart to the fried chicken and white rice- and there is nothing like it in Midtown right now. (Well, nothing like it for $6 out of a truck!) Next time, I’m asking for extra pork sauce.

They also are serving dumplings, which caused a bit of confusion among office workers who *don’t* read Midtown Lunch (can you believe they still exist?) I can’t tell you how many people i heard walking by say “Oh, the Rickshaw Dumpling Truck got a new paint job?!” Of course, once you try the food there is no confusing the two. At 4 for $3 they are still overpriced (when compared to Chinatown), but they are more similar to traditional Chinatown dumplings than Rickshaw.

They were out of pork dumplings, so I had to settle on the vegan dumplings (I know, I know). Filled with a mixture of Chinese vegetables, a few commenters and people on the line complained that they were bland. I thought they were perfectly fine… once you smothered them with the provided dumpling sauce. They’re not super stuffed with filling- plus they are steamed, so you don’t get that little bit of crispy wrapper on the outside. But, unlike Rickshaw, the wrappers are the doughy Chinatown style wrapper- so if that’s what you’re into it, you’ll be much happier with these. And if you’re a Vegan you’ll be super happy (although eating at this cart and not trying their pork sauce would be a crime against humanity.) I’m guessing the pork dumplings are better.

I’ll admit I didn’t have high hopes for this 9 day old cart, and I normally give places a little more time to perfect what they’re doing before posting about them… but if what you’re doing doesn’t need any work- than why wait? For those of us who wished we worked in Chinatown, this is our new favorite truck. I’ll admit though, it wasn’t all fun and games… there were some serious service issues, but that’s to be expected for a brand new truck- especially one that gets slammed the way they got slammed yesterday. The service was incredibly slow, and they haven’t gotten the cooking down to a science yet. (After I was served, the guy right after me waited another 15 minutes for the new batch of rice to finish cooking.) But I’m sure all that will improve with time. I just hope they don’t sacrifice any of the quality, and if it in 2 or 3 weeks it still takes 30 minutes to get your chicken, then I would start to get critical.

The truck says they plan to park on 45th btw. 6+7th every single Monday, but if you don’t want to wait until next week they’ll be parked on Park Ave. and 24th Street today. And for our Downtown Lunch’ers, they’ll be on Greenwich & Harrison tomorrow. Thursdays they’re near Washington Square park, and Fridays are still TBD, but they might try and look for another Midtown spot on Fridays. At night, they’re near Astor Place. With food this good, as long as they stay away from Chinatown, I think they’re going to do alllllright. You can follow them on their website or Twitter.

THE + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

• The pork and sour cabbage sauce that goes over the rice is amazing
• The fried chicken is perfectly cooked.  Moist on the inside and super crispy skin on the outside
• The dumplings are made with the doughy, Chinatown style wrapper (unlike Rickshaw which are made with a super thin wrapper)
• They have an array of great Asian sauces on the truck for you put on top of your food
• Where else can you get Taiwanese food in Midtown? (And from a truck!)
• Did I mention how good the pork sauce was?

THE – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

• What’s up with dark meat only?  Can we get a breast and wings up in this piece!
• You can get a much version of this food in Chinatown… and for cheaper.
• Which reminds me… can we some pork chops up in this piece!
• The pork sauce is a little too salty… and/or I don’t like sour cabbage.
• The vegan dumplings are a little bland without the sauce
• $3 for 4 dumplings!  Who do these people think they are, Rickshaw?
• The dumplings aren’t stuffed with a dense filling, like they are in Chinatown.  (And they’re steamed!  I like my dumplings pan fried first.)

NYC Cravings Truck, 45th btw. 6+7th on Mondays.  www.nyccravings.com

And that’s the way things were… until the Wafels and Dinges Truck arrived.  

The Wafels and Dinges Truck started off parking on 46th St., but more recently it’s been popping up on 45th & 6th… where the Treats Truck is parked on Wednesdays.  For some reason, the Mister Softee truck feels threatened by cookies and cone cakes, but not waffles.  Go figure.  Either way, seeing how the Wafels and Dinges truck has been able to park in the spot on other days, the Treats Truck has decided to try and reclaim their spot for a second day each week.  The Treats Truck and Wafels and Dinges truck will alternate parking in the spot on Fridays.  So this afternoon from 12:30 to 3:45 the Treats Truck will be parked on 45th & 6th.  Support Kim, and let’s hope the Mister Softee truck doesn’t give her any more trouble.

Either way, with Winter approaching the 45th St. Mister Softee truck should be disappearing soon anyway.  And then maybe we can convince Kim to park on that block 3 days a week!

I decided to stop by the Treats Truck yesterday after hearing rumors that the Wednesday lines have gotten crazy on 45th & 6th. Sure enough the line was down the block, and that was at 2:30!  I don’t even want to know what it’s like during peak lunch time.  That corner is easily owner Kim Ima’s most popular spot, and she used to park there twice a week, but now that it’s summertime, and the ice cream trucks are back she is only “allowed” to park in that spot once a week (competition among carts in Midtown is fierce, and there is a lot of politics and jockeying for position between the carts.)

You may remember the Treats Truck only started parking in that space regularly last winter, when the ice cream truck that has occupied that spot for years went into “hibernation.”  Clearly he’s back (it’s freakin hot out), which is why Sugar is only there once a week now- but I have a great idea to get the Treats Truck more days on 45th & 6th, and hopefully make the lines shorter… 

I say Kim should cut a deal to make an Ice Cream/Treats Truck ice cream sandwich!  Buy two cookies at the TT, take them over to the ice cream man and let him do the rest.  He makes money from selling more ice cream, the Treats Truck gets to park on that super popular corner more than once a week, and we get ice cream sandwiches!  Everybody wins… hopefully a deal can be cut in time for us to benefit from the 2nd Treats Truck (which I hear may hit the town sometime next week.)

In the meantime, if you don’t want to bear the Wednesday lines, order your treats in advance (they’ll do large boxes for offices too, so you can get your work to pay for them!) or try going to the Tuesday/Thursday spot on 38th and 5th.  The line can still get long, but it’s not nearly as bad as the 45th St. line. 

Oh- and one more thing.  It was Sugar the truck’s birthday on Monday, and to celebrate they’re serving a special edition chocolate frosted truck shaped cookie.  Man time flies when you’re stuffing your face with cookies… 

So the news broke on Weds, and was confirmed yesterday that Rupert Murdoch plans on moving the Wall St. Journal from their Downtown offices to the News Corp. building on 6th Ave. & 48th St., smack dab in the middle of Midtown.  Well, let me be the first to say welcome!  We’re actually neighbors (I work in the McGraw Hill Building across the street), and there are plenty of great lunch options within walking distance of our block.

According to the NY Observer, you guys are leaving behind PJ Clarke’s.  Well don’t you worry, the original one is here in Midtown- although 3rd Ave. is a pretty long walk away. 

Some much closer options, after the jump…

• 46th btw. 6+7th – Venture one block south and you’ve got some of the best that Midtown Lunch’ing has to offer.  The Biriyani Cart on 46th & 6th serves up great Chapati Rolls (Indian soft tacos), or wait in line at Minar, the steam table Indian place a little farther west.  I’m sure the people you will be interviewing will be drawn towards the clean, and suit friendly looking Havana Central, but try to resist and head to Margon across the street for some real Latin food, at half the price.
• Street Meat – I don’t know what the street meat scene is like Downtown, but if you are a fan, you just landed right in Street Meat Ground Zero.  There are plenty of options right outside your building, but if you want the good stuff I would walk a few blocks south to the Kwik Meal Cart on the SE corner of 45th & 6th, or a few blocks north to the famous chicken/lamb and rice cart on the SE corner of 53rd & 6th.  Hope they have good bathrooms in the News Corp building.
• Kosher Stuff – Our proximity to the diamond district means plenty of Kosher options.  Go old school at the hidden Diamond Dairy on 47th btw. 5+6th, or grab falafel and chicken shawarma at Kosher Deluxe on 45th btw. 5+6th.
• Good Burger - The new location on 45th btw. 5+6th is the closest fast food burger to your building worth mentioning.
• Del Frisco’s Steakhouse (6th Ave. btw. 48+49th) - I’m not exactly sure how the WSJ works, but I’m assuming people who write about Wall St. don’t make as much money as those who work on Wall St., so I’ll let you in on a little secret.  At the Del Frisco’s bar you can order a plate of steak tips and mashed potatoes for $9.95.  Hob nob with all the suits, without having to pay through the nose (or throw down a corporate card, which is clearly the only other way anybody could actually enjoy eating at Del Frisco’s.)

Good luck and welcome to the hood!  Feel free to bookmark the site for future use (and beware of the commenters).

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.

11:03am: Workers start grilling the pita bread, as the rice goes into the rice cooker.

11:20am: First customer of the day arrives. Orders lamb over rice.  The house specialty.

11:30am: Rahman puts on his own chef uniform (hat, smock) as the workers start cooking the fish, which takes much less time than the meats.

11:40am: The first line starts to form.

11:45am: Workers set up a generator to power the cart lights and a small fan. The fan is a must on warm days, as it gets extremely hot inside the cart with the grill and all the other cooking surfaces giving off heat. The day we were there, the temperature was in the 90s, meaning a long, hot day for the staff inside the cart.

12:20pm: The lunch crowd starts to pick up. A lot of the customers are regulars, and Rahman clearly enjoys the personal interaction involved with running a food cart. The efficient assembly line kicks into gear as the line gets longer. Rahman takes the orders from the customers in line, sometimes more than 5 orders at a time. There are plastic containers filled with rice ready to go as the food is ordered. When the customers place an order, the meat goes on the grill with a little oil, for a final cook/warm up. They spoon the meat into the rice or over pita, give a squirt of hot sauce and white sauce and its ready to go.

12:30pm: Now there is a non-stop line, at times almost 20 people long. This is, according to Rahman, still a relatively slow day, because of the heat.

1:30pm: Its been very busy.  The line is still about 10 people deep.

1:45pm: They are running out of plastic containers. One of the workers climbs up to the top of cart to grab more.  Because the cart is so small, the space must be used very efficiently.

2:00pm: At this point, food was being cooked and served non stop for over an hour and a half.  As the line begins to slow up, Rahman and his workers continue to prepare meat and cook falafel during the breaks.

2:15pm: Starts to pick up yet again. Another relatively constant line forms for the next 45 minutes.

3:00pm: Finally, the lunch rush is over. Now, the guys have about 3 hours to organize stuff, clean the cart, and start cooking more meat for the dinner rush.

3:30pm: Because it is Friday, Muhammed must leave to stock up supplies for the next week. He goes to pick up the truck from the garage, and heads to Costco to pick up most of the bulk dry goods and some of the food and ingredients. While he is gone, his workers man the cart.

6:00pm: Dinner rush starts, mostly office workers headed home and wanting to grab a quick bite to eat.

7:45pm: Muhammed arrives back at the cart. After shopping, he drove the supplies back to the garage in Jackson Heights for storage before heading back into Midtown. 

8:00pm: Most of the dinner crowd is over, so the workers start packing up, and cleaning the cart. While this goes on, the grill remains on, in case someone walks up for a last minute order.

8:40pm: They are still busy wiping down cart.  The glass panels get taken out and wiped down. 

8:42pm: The last customer of the day walks up and buys a bottle of water.

8:57pm: Generator is turned off, lights go off in cart, and the grill is turned off.

8:59pm: Cart is closed up.

9:05pm: Muhammed and workers hook the cart up to the truck.

9:10pm: Drive off, headed for the garage in Jackson Heights

9:45pm: The workers arrive back at garage. The cart is washed down again.  Since it’s Friday, they are done once the cart is washed… but the rest of the week, this is the time the prep work is done for the following day.  This is when the famous white sauce is made, from sour cream, cottage cheese, yogurt and a mix of herbs and spices.  They also prepare the marinade for the meat, which is made from garlic, cumin, coriander, onions and other spices.  The ”secret” to what makes the lamb so tender: papaya puree.

10:45pm: Over 16 hours after starting work, everyone leaves the garage and heads home.

Rahman does this routine five days a week, 52 weeks a year. He has had one vacation in the last six years.

Support for this piece, generously provided by The Street Vendor Project.  Special thanks to Ryan Devlin for putting together the timeline and taking all the photographs.

DAY 3 of FALAFEL WEEK

Finally, after two days of mediocrity- I finally hit the goldmine.  A fresh, hot falafel- that isn’t dry in the middle, or messy.  Happy times.

Definitely the tastiest falafel so far this week.  The pita is that pillowy soft kind of pita, so they have to roll it up with the falafel inside, rather then cut a hole in it and stuff the falafel inside.  They also brush it with butter and stick it on the skillet- so it’s hot and delicious.  The falafel is made fresh right in the cart, so it’s still hot when you eat it and the balls are small so it’s not dry.  They are served on top of a little bit of lettuce and tomato, and some yogurt sauce, which is a really refreshing change from some of the tahini heavy falafel in Midtown.  The only downside is the size… definetely the smallest, but at only $3.75 you can afford to get two (if you’re super hungry), or a bag of chips!

All in all, the butter grilled pita, and the lack of veggies make this the least healthy of the falafel I’ve had this week… but sometimes, least healthy translates to tastiest.

THE +

• Fresh falafel that are not dry in the middle
• Pillowy pita bread, that is brushed with butter and grilled
• If you like yogurt sauce instead of tahini, this is the place for you

THE -

• The size
• If you’re into veggies, this place isn’t for you.  There’s only a little lettuce and tomato on the falafel
• If you’re not into carts… it’s a cart

Kwik Meal, Cart on the SW Corner of 45th and 6th

• Day 2 of Falafel Week: Moshe’s Falafel
• Day 1 of Falafel Week: House of Pita