Midtown Lunch

Many people wanting lunch from a cart tend to gravitate toward the collection on Broadway between Liberty and Cedar streets, but some more interesting options can be found a few blocks away on William St. The stretch between Maiden Lane and John St. is home to a smoothie cart, fruit seller along with a Biryani House cart and Halal Gyro Express which serve an interesting mix of street meat, falafel, biryani, kati rolls and some Afghani dishes. A while ago a new cart called NY Express Biryani started parking right across William St. from Biryani House serving some of the same dishes including kati rolls, biryani and chicken tikka. It wasn’t until yesterday that I walked by, though, and noticed a substantial lunchtime line outside NY Express Biryani so I thought I should finally post about its presence. Have any of you eaten there? Is the food worth crossing the street for?

NY Express Biryani Cart, corner of William & John streets

It’s been a while since we checked out a street meat cart that hasn’t already been written about on this site, so earlier this week I took walk over to the Wall St. Food Cart that’s always sitting in the middle of food trucks at the corner of Front St. & Wall. The cart has a few oddities on its menu (a ham & cheese sandwich, a BLT, spaghetti!) meaning it’s not exactly a halal cart, although I’m not sure whether they actually serve these things. I was here for the chicken and lamb over rice combo ($6) and while one of the meats was a disappointment they’re doing a lot of things right.

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With a broad menu that includes biryani and kati rolls along with some pretty amazing chicken over rice, it’s easy to skim over the rest of what the two Biryani House carts have to offer. The menu lists both fish and shrimp plates, although I was a little skeptical that they actually served these dishes since most people seem to stick to the Indian fare here. I decided to try my luck at the cart on Liberty St. (nr. Broadway), and lo and behold the tilapia over rice plate actually exists! But it is worth ordering over other things on the menu?

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Yesterday the new Wafels & Dinges cart made its first appearance in City Hall Park, and ML contributor Brian spotted it at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge, taking advantage of all those tourists and hungry employees from 1 Centre St. The cart will be there wafting its delicious smells from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day, so now you can get a taco across the street at Nixtamalito and supplement it with a waffle with spekuloos. Or put the taco meat on top of a waffle? The possibilities are endless.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good plate of chicken over rice with ample hot sauce and white sauce, but sometimes you want something different. That’s why I was intrigued when A-Pou’s Taste Cart at Liberty St. & Broadway started serving a special of basil chicken with white rice, adding to their strong lineup of Taiwanese potstickers and Chinese spaghetti. I’ve basically loved everything I’ve ever gotten from this cart (plus the woman who works there is super nice), and it’s so nice to have an alternative to the halal cart overload happening on the Liberty Plaza. But would basil chicken from a cart be any good? Could it surpass the potstickers?

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The growing cluster of biryani and kati roll carts at Broadway & Liberty was the only mobile source of these items until Biryani House launched a second location on William St. That left those of you in the other parts of the Financial District at a loss or at least stuck with regular chicken or lamb over rice options. Indian Biryani Delights perhaps sensed a need for some spiced meats in one of these holes and opened a month or so ago on Water St. btw. Maiden & Pine right next to the A-Pou’s Taste cart. Judging by the line and speed of service from the two young guys working the cart, you Luncher’s have been keeping them busy. It turns out that they’re serving some top notch Indian-spiced street meat and rice. Read more »

A couple of weeks ago we were alerted to the presence of a cart selling Greek food on Broadway in front of Trinity Church (btw. Wall & Thames). It’s run by a nice Greek woman and offers a few lunch items like gyro and chicken sandwiches ($6) and a Greek salad ($7) along with a variety of sweets that she proudly said she makes herself and serves starting at 7 a.m. every morning. I decided to get lunch from the cart the other day and discovered it’s maybe a better destination for a breakfast or snack stop. You could also do as one woman who stopped by did and grab a “second lunch” of sweets.

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