Checking Out The Street Meat At C&H Halal, aka, The Cart Feuding With Plein Sud

If you remember, at the beginning of June the C&H Halal on the corner of W. Broadway and Chambers St. was in a public beef with Plein Sud, the fancy French restaurant on that same corner. To recap: Plein Sud wanted the cart to move because it was there 24 hours a day and creating garbage on the sidewalk. In response, those working at the cart covered one side of it with neon poster board calling the restaurant “gangsters” and saying they weren’t moving. Well, it’s more than a month later and both the restaurant and cart are still there. I decided to stop by not only to get an update on the situation but also to do a little multi-tasking and check out a chicken and lamb over rice combo. Is the food worth the fight? Find out after the jump.

The first thing I noticed was that the huge neon sign pictured above was missing from the side of the cart facing W. Broadway. When I asked the guy manning the grill about it, he said that they had to take it down because it was ruined by the rain last week. The people at the restaurant are still trying to get them to move he said, although he didn’t elaborate how they were trying to do this.

I found all of this out as he was dishing up my chicken and lamb over rice combo ($5). Normally, I don’t get white sauce on my street meat because they always just blanket the food with it even if you say you want just a little, but I got a little on my salad to taste it for you lunch’ers. I also got a healthy dose of hot sauce, because sometimes I just want my mouth to be on fire after lunch.

I was impressed with the amount of meat heaped on the rice, especially since you usually pay more for the lamb/chicken combo. This was a true gut-busting delight, with the standard gyro and chopped pieces of chicken, but what I liked was the “hot” sauce. It wasn’t so much hot, as thick, salty and tasting like chili powder, but it was good. The rice was yellow with no vegetables to taint it but it wasn’t dry at all, meaning it was slicked with grease. The white sauce appeared to be a mix of yogurt and mayo and it wasn’t bad.

This is one of the few carts this far downtown that is there all day, and I liked the plate of food I was served. Hopefully they can get things resolved with Plein Sud and continue to serve drunk people and office workers alike without having to move.

Update: In a weird coincidence, the NY Press has a story elaborating on the feud between the cart and the restaurant.

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

  • You get a lot of meat heaped on non-dry rice.
  • They have an interesting hot sauce.
  • I like to support carts locked in a feud with a brick and mortar restaurant.

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

  • The hot sauce isn’t so much hot as salty and chili flavored.
  • It’s a little far out of the loop to get standard street meat.

C&H Halal Cart, Chambers St. (at W. Broadway)

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5 Comments

  • chicken AND lamb combo over rice for no extra charge is already a win. But how was the meat?? I hate it when it’s bland.

  • The Plein Sud chef is on this season of Top Chef and seems like a real tool. I wish they’d give them a street meat challenge.

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    Jane – The lamb was the standard chopped gyro meat so some flavor there. I couldn’t really tell with the chicken because of all the hot sauce, but it definitely wasn’t dry white meat.

  • User has not uploaded an avatar

    AH, thanks for this informative review. I live in the area and this cart stays open way into the night. Much better alternative to the Subways.

  • ok, walked all the way there today and am eating it now. I think it’s better than the ones in Liberty Plaza but doesn’t live up to the drunken one I had near Union Sq still.

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