I’ve been wanting to try the “100% Halal Food” cart (on the SW corner of 54th & Park Ave.) for awhile now. Obviously it was the assortment of fried goods hovering above the standard halal chicken and lamb covered griddle that intrigued me, and after reading on Wined and Dined that it was owned by the same guy that runs 100% Halal & Healthy (on 55th btw. Park+Mad) I was sold.

Fish and chips is not something you can get at most street carts in Midtown (and I love the idea of fried shrimp from a cart) so I was pretty set on getting that. Unfortunately they were out of fish when I got there, so I had to settle for the chicken and shrimp.

To compound things, I didn’t specify “fried” chicken (they have fried chicken cutlets in addition to their fried fish, fried shrimp, french fries, and falafel balls) so I ended up with halal chicken over rice plus some fried shrimp. That’s cool. They have a bunch of different rice options (spicy, yellow, rice with lentils) so I decided to try the spicy. Just like Andrew from Wined and Dined, I was pretty indifferent to the chicken over rice. The white sauce and hot sauce were pretty standard, the chicken was fine, and the spicy rice was just whatever. (Couldn’t tell if it was spicy or if it was just the hot sauce.) The shrimp were good though, so clearly I had to return for the fried fish.

And return I did. Got the fish and chips, and asked them to throw some fried chicken in there. Total cost = $7. ($5 for the fish and chips + $2 for the chicken add on.) You get your choice of spicy or regular grilled onions (???), so I went with spicy. I asked if they had vinegar (the proper topping for any fish and chips) and surprisingly they did. In the end it didn’t matter, because clearly this was not really a proper fish and chips… they use tilapia, and it’s doesn’t have that thick breading you get on the fried fish at a proper chip shop. And the fries were a little undercooked. Oh, and the vinegar wasn’t just vinegar. It was some sort of sweet vinegar based dressing. But you know what? It didn’t matter. Proper or not, the thing tasted freaking good. The tilapia, the onions, the french fries, the sauce. It was freaking good. Sub in some fried shrimp (instead of the fried chicken cutlet, which was fine but paled in comparison to the fish) and you’ve got an amazing seafood lunch. So it wasn’t a real fish and chips… but it was damn tasty.

Even though I had already tried the chicken, I figured it wouldn’t be right to leave without trying their full on chicken and lamb over rice plate. I asked them to throw on a falafel ball too (and they happily obliged, only charging me $5 for the whole thing.) In fact, one of the best things about this cart is they’ll pretty much give you whatever you want… and charge you accordingly. I didn’t really go over board, so I don’t know how much you can push it… but I got the sense they’ll custom make every platter and you probably won’t ever end up paying more than $7 or $8 (with most standard plates coming in between $5 and $7 depending on what you order.) This time I got the rice with lentils, which was better than the spicy rice, but still not great- mostly because I don’t love waterlogged rice (which this was.) But that’s just me… I like the perfectly cooked (bordering on dry) long grain rice you get at XPL or the famous halal guys on 53rd and 6th. Overall the plate was average… they were out of eggplant (another popular topping they have) and I wasn’t offered the green sauce that Wined & Wined mentioned- but they do have a “hotter” red hot sauce you can ask for specifically (which is definitely hot.)

Despite the average chicken and lamb over rice plate, this cart is definitely worth hitting up. Their fish and fried shrimp would be enough for them to stand out… add to that the fact that they’ll let you pretty much make whatever custom combo you want, makes this one of my new favorite carts in Midtown.

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

• It’s fish and chips from a cart! (Sort of…)
• They have fried shrimp too!  (I love eating seafood from a cart)
• They have a ton of variety (chicken, lamb, 3-4 different kinds of rice,  falafel, fried chicken cutlets, fried shrim, fish, french fries, eggplant, grilled onions) and will let you custom make your platter however you like
• I love the sweet vinegar sauce!  Have them put it over your fish and chips!

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

• The thought of eating seafood from a cart makes me sick!
• It’s not a proper fish and chips
• I want just plain vinegar… not some vinegar based sauce
• The chicken and lamb over rice, white sauce, and hot sauce are nothing special
• The rice is just ok, also nothing special

100% Halal Food Cart, SW Corner of 54th & Park

With all the talk over Patsy’s (Patty’s?) Taco Truck making a two day appearance in Midtown, it’s not surprising that the two mainstay Midtown taco trucks have been mentioned a bit in the past week. There is the sombrero topped taco truck on 50th btw. 6+7th, and the previously sombrero-less Tacos/Burritos cart on 54th and Madison. I say “previously” because it appears as if this cart has come down with a case of sombrero envy…

I don’t know… but those two hats look pretty pathetic to me. If you can’t compete with the giant sombrero, why bother even trying? If you haven’t been to either of these carts yet, don’t get too excited. While they’re both ok, they bear more resemblence to a gringo family’s “taco night”, than something that could actually be referred to as Mexican. In other words, if you like nacho cheese, and hard shelled tacos you’ll love both of these carts. For those of us looking for a more authentic taco experience, we’ll keep holding out that Patty’s Taco Truck will return.

Related:
Tacos/Burritos Cart on 54th & Madison (no sombrero)
50th St. Taco Cart (with sombrero)

Erasing all of those delicious burritos out of your mind, there is another category of Mexican food, or tex-mex, or whatever you want to call it that is a decent meal as long as you don’t compare it to the top of the heap.  For example, the Chicken Gordita Supreme at Taco Bell.  A tasty concoction that is perfectly good, and with none of the “side effects” commonly associated with eating at a place like Taco Bell.  It’s a deliciously soft and squishy pita type tortilla, with plain grilled chicken, lettuce, tomato, cheese and sour cream on top.  No fake ground beef, no weird refried beans that send you to the toilet 15 minutes later.  I wouldn’t call it “great Mexican food”, but it’s a decent meal if you have to eat fast food.

A few months ago I discovered the world of Midtown “Taco” Carts when I ate at the Sombrero topped cart on 50th btw. 6+7th.  A world where nacho cheese reigns supreme, and ground beef and stewed chicken are your only two meat choices.  Soft corn tortillas are nowhere to be found, replaced by those crunchy yellow things that I’ve only seen at Taco bell, and in Ortega boxes in the Supermarket.  There are a lot of burritos and tacos I would choose above this type of place… but that doesn’t take away from the fact that if you are into hard shell tacos, and ground beef and nacho cheese- than this kind of place is going to be perfectly satisfying.

Thanks to an email tip, I discovered another Taco Cart (sadly, with no sombrero) for eastsiders looking for a lunch of nacho cheese and ground beef… with a surprisingly decent “chicken burrito”.  Pics and the +/- after the jump….

They don’t have too many ingredients at these “taco carts” and this one is no different, but you can pretty much have whatever you want, in whatever combo of ingredients.  Hard shell taco, soft flour tortilla, corn tortilla chips, ground beef, stewed chicken, black beans, yellow rice, lettuce, tomato, shredded cheese, sour cream, hot sauce, sliced jalepenos and of course… nacho cheese.  One Taco, served with rice and beans is $4.50, two is $6.50.  One burrito with rice and beans is $5.50, or you can get the gigantor combo of one burrito, one taco, rice and beans for $7.50.  If you don’t want the rice and beans, a taco ala carte is $3.50, and burrito (with the rice and beans inside) is $4.00.  Finally, there’s a “Taco Salad” which is really just nachos… corn chips covered in everything listed above.

For the sake of the blog, I ordered the $7.50 combo so I could try both items.  Yeah… that’s it.  For the sake of the blog…  I assure you (and my wife), it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I am a fat bastard using this blog as an excuse to stuff my fat face.  Anyway, motives aside, the hard shell taco was what you would expect… the ground beef had a nice peppery flavor, and you can’t argue with a fried corn shell tortilla.  It may not be “authentic” but it certainly tastes good. 

The burrito was smaller than your “normal” burrito, but a decent size- especially for the price.  The chicken inside was surprisingly good… and by that I mean- you could tell it was actually chicken.  Big chunks of white meat chicken, and the sauce was flavorful without being too overpowering.  The lettuce, tomato and sour cream did their job, with some red sauce adding a nice little kick.  The shredded cheese was a nice addition… I’m pretty sure the Cart with the Sombrero only has Nacho cheese.  I didn’t try the nacho cheese… because even I have limits- but if you are into the yellow nacho cheese thing, I’m sure this one won’t disappoint.  The rice and beans were forgettable, but not terrible… with a couple bites of the beans being slightly undercooked- which means they are probably made fresh.

All in all, it’s a pretty good meal at a decent price.  I can’t say I didn’t have to go to the bathroom 30 minutes later… and the people who had to work with me the rest of the day were probably less than thrilled- but it’s usually the price you pay for eating at carts in Midtown.  Here’s the +/- (very similar to that of the sombrero cart… in fact- I think I’ll just copy and tweak it, because I’m lazy).

THE + (What people who like this place will say)

• I like Hard Shell Tacos
• I love Nacho Cheese
• I love nachos with nacho cheese all over them
• I like beef tacos made with ground hamburger meat
• The chicken at this cart is actually not bad, with big chunks of white meat

THE – (What someone who wouldn’t like this place would say)

• I don’t like Hard Shell Tacos
• I don’t love Nacho Cheese
• I don’t love nachos with nacho cheese all over them
• I prefer my beef tacos to be made with shredded beef (I hate ground beef)
• I like my Mexican food a little more authentic
• I don’t like eating a sketchy carts
• Oh, and it’s only open until around 2pm… so make sure to get there before then.

Tacos/Burritos Cart on 54th & Madison (btw. Mad & Park)