Midtown Lunch

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?

The $6 dish smelled wonderful even through the bag and when I opened the container was hit with a full on assault of the scent of basil. It’s a simple dish consisting of a not-skimpy layer of white rice under the chicken and a bonus side of green beans. I almost felt like I was eating a well-rounded meal!

I guess I’m used to eating crappy Chinese takeout because I was expecting a salt overload with this dish, but instead the tender dark meat chicken was almost sweet and sprinkled with fresh basil. I thought the dish benefited a bit from the little bag of soy sauce and a bit of hot sauce you can get with it, as did the al dente green beans. I appreciated the simplicity of the food and the fact that I was full after eating it.

If you need a break from halal chicken over rice, (or the chicken tikka from Biryani House next door), I’d say give the basil chicken a whirl and you won’t regret it.

A-Pou’s Taste, Liberty & Broadway; occasionally on Water btw. Maiden Lane & Pine