Quality Biryani Serves A Juicy Version Of Chicken Tikka

Halal carts also dabbling in Indian food have sprouted up all over the Financial District (OK, mostly in the northern part of the neighborhood), bringing us kati rolls and biryani alongside the usual lamb/chicken/falafel trinity.

I spotted a new entrant called Quality Biryani on Water St. at John last week and decided to stop by for lunch. A sign taped to the street side of the cart advertises that they have Bangladeshi food, likely vying for the business of cab drivers.

The menu has many of the usual suspects: Biryani, chicken tikka, samosa, kati rolls. They also have shrimp and fish on the menu, although as I’ve found, carts sometimes don’t make seafood dishes every day. And there are also cheese steaks and pita sandwiches if that’s your thing.

I went for the chicken tikka ($5, but listed on the menu as $6) over rice with red and green sauce. I got a little smile when I asked for the green sauce which was wordlessly squirted all over my chicken. Later, when I took my first bite of chicken I realized that I had gotten two different hot sauces, but they both hurt so good.

This was some top notch chicken over rice! The meat was flavorful and juicy dark and white meat and my only quibble was that there were small bones and a couple of pieces of cartilage lurking. You also get some raw and griddled onion and green pepper along with the usual iceberg lettuce and terrible tomato.

The worst part of the meal for me was the rice which was fairly dry and flavorless where it wasn’t stained with juices from the tikka.

If you like the chicken tikka from the Biryani House carts or are just looking for something a little different for lunch, I can vouch for the version served at Quality Biryani. And they’re generous with the poultry as well.

Quality Biryani Cart, corner of John and Water streets

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