Are Lunchers Finally Getting the Message About the Halal Carts on 53rd & 6th?
53rd St. & 6th Ave at 12:30pm; SW Corner/Imposter (On Left), SE Corner/Real Deal (On Right)
In all my years of Midtown Lunch’ing this is the first day that I’ve seen the lunchtime line for the halal cart on the SE corner of 53rd & 6th rival that of the “imposter” cart on the SW corner of 53rd & 6th. As any longtime reader of Midtown Lunch knows, the cart on the SW corner of 53rd & 6th during the day is not related in any way to the famous Halal cart that is parked there at night. In fact, if you want the famous halal during the day you have to go to the SE corner of 53rd & 6th or the SW corner of 53rd & 7th. Best way to tell if you are at the right cart… look for the yellow bags with the famous halal guy logo on them. It’s good to see that folks are finally getting the message. Whatever you do, though, don’t OD on the stuff. According to Lunch’er “TC”, if you eat at the cart on 53rd & 6th every day you will definitely get sick of it.
Related:
Debunking the Myths of 53rd & 6th, the Most Famous Halal Intersection in New York City
Famous Halal Cart on 53rd & 6th, Adds Another Cart on 7th
Posted by Zach Brooks at 2:45 pm, May 20th, 2009 under Famous Halal Guys on 53rd & 6th.
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16 Comments
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Thought of your comment today- i ordered chicken and rice from my downtown guy after a 3 month hiatus. took a bite and was sad. It just doesnt taste the same. Should have known something was up when he didnt have a line…
My office has a lovely pungent chicken and rice stench…Might have to just opt for deli sammies -
I work in this area & I prefer the ‘imposter.’ The meat is chunkier, not as shredded. I think it’s more flavorful *and* they give you more. I always walk right past the ‘Famous’ line and cross the street.
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Haha. Cool. Wow to 3 month hiatus. The longest I gone is maybe 1 month without it.
A pita is equivalent to a sandwich. If I get tired of that, I think I’ll go after the real deal gyros or souvlaki with tzatziki sauce. MmmMmmm.
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When I get sick of something…i get sick of it. LOL
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wait a sec, your caption says: “SE Corner/Imposter, SW Corner/Real Deal (On Right)”
is it not the other way around, as stated in the post?
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The pic caption is wrong but contents are correct. Hehe. The real deal, my fav chicken/lamb w. rice cart, is on the SE corner near the CBS building. The imposters are SW corner, right next to the Hilton and same location as the Famous night cart.
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@TC & locondcoco- Awesome! How smart am I? It’s fixed…
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i knew which is which (as my building is at the corner of the imposters!). just didnt want others being confused ;)
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Monique, you’re breaking what should be the first rule of eating streetmeat; only oblige carts which have lines / avoid carts which don’t have a line…
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i hated the impostor’s food. had it twice. the first time, i was tricked. I asked him “hey you’re open at this time? and he said “yes and with the same food.” when he broke out the rectangular container and kept asking me if i wanted hot sauce, i knew i’d been had. Ate it and barely finished.
2nd time, my girlfriend brought some for me once as a surprise. she didn’t know it wasn’t genuine but i ate it anyway. sigh
There was a third incident. my brother wanted to meet up with me and my cousin for some halal. i was running late and he was impatient so he bought the food (it had a long line). I told him it wasn’t the real one and he felt cheated. we went ahead and bought the real deal but i was moody and everyone was full already from the fake stuff so .. yea.
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damn…i was liking not having to wait on line for the good stuff
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I think they have their on-and-off days. Sometimes there’s a line, sometimes you can be served in a second. As most of us know, the lines make people confident that the food is worth purchasing. LOL.
Anybody know if their pitas are still $3 during lunchtime? If so, that would be awesome!
I ended up hitting Carnegie John’s today and getting the chicken/gyro platter. I definitely didn’t feel sick of eating that. I need to toss Greek back into the mix. Haha. Tzatziki!
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Mmmmm. Carnegie John’s is my new favorite cart. I have to put carts with tsatsiki ahead of carts with ranch sauce. That plus the fact that he has ribeye steak, and it’s good and fresh…
I think I need a carnegie john’s steak and sausage combo soon.
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Ranch sauce? Is that what you’re calling the halal white sauce to give it an identity? lol.
Yea, I think I can def. do Greek more often too.
Yea, just say no to crack…chicken/lamb w. rice everyday. My game plan has to be lamb with pita going forward.