Xpress Power Lunch on Wall/Pearl Does Its Midtown Sibling Proud

After placing 2nd in Street Meat Palooza and 5th in Street Meat Palooza 2, the Xpress Power Lunch at 48th and Park got plenty of love from the Midtown Lunch community, and then subsequently some confusion about just who was running which cart.

I can’t speak to the current XPL situation in Midtown, but the Xpress Power Lunch cart on the southeast corner of Wall and Pearl definitely serves up street meat that could win top honors at a downtown palooza. I stopped by on Monday on the recommendation of Lunch’er Maatthias, who said it was just as much of a gem as Adel’s. After just one visit, I have to agree.

So first of all, you have to make sure you go to the right cart. I’ve seen a number of carts down here with the XPL label, and though I don’t know if they’re all owned by the same people, they’re definitely not all of the same quality.

The one you want is on the southeast corner of Wall and Pearl. When I went, it was pulled up parallel to Pearl, just off Wall, but I don’t know if this is how it parks every day. Here’s another pic, this time from the side:

I ordered the lamb biryani with white sauce and hot sauce, which came with a can of soda for $5. And now, without further ado, the shots you’ve been waiting for:

The lamb is of the cubed variety, and it is heavily seasoned. There’s a lot of herbs happening here, and the meat has almost a sort of sweetness to us, which sounds gross as I type it, but was quite pleasant when I was devouring the whole boxful in 3.5 minutes.

The lamb is good, but the rice is even better. Be sure to order biryani rather than just “rice” because they have regular yellow rice as well. Why anyone would order non-biryani here is totally beyond me. This was far and above the best rice I have ever had from a street meat cart, which makes me think that is does have some connection to the midtown XPL, as that one won the Best Tasting Rice Award at SMP2.

My only criticism of this XPL is their hot sauce, which was decidedly unhot. It had good flavor, though, so I’ll just ask for more next time.

And there will definitely be a next time. While I’ve had plenty of good street meat down here, it’s rare that one really stands out from the rest. The Wall/Pearl Xpress Power Lunch did just that.

Xpress Power Lunch, Wall St. (at Pearl)

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