Midtown Lunch

At this point, I think I’ve tried most of the kati rolls available in the Financial District, at carts or brick and mortar shops. Some singed my hands with hot oil, while others were a more expensive revelation. Mostly I was looking for a happy medium between salty street meat and greasy paratha.

I still hadn’t tried the kati rolls at Shafiq’s Halal cart on Broadway at Liberty St. where I had a decent plate of chicken biryani soon after they started parking on the plaza. Believe me, it was hard to resist the lure of shrimp and fries or mini egg rolls on Shafiq’s sort of random menu, but I did.

I like that you can get a single kati roll here ($3.50) or two at a discount ($6). I did the double and got lamb as my filling although there’s also the option of chicken.

I watched as a package of paratha was taken out and two were placed on the griddle. This was key to the bread developing a delicious crust and they weren’t saturated with grease like I’ve had from other carts.

The lamb was your garden variety (not literally) chopped up meat but it had been nicely griddled, and then sprinkled with iceberg lettuce and a single tomato slice. One inexplicably contained strips of red bell pepper as well and that one was far better than the one sans pepper. I think the key for my enjoyment was also a liberal dousing with hot sauce, although many of you would likely also enjoy the white sauce.

Shafiq’s is not offering a ground-breaking version of a kati roll, but this was the best version I’ve had from a cart yet, and you can’t beat the $6 price tag.

Shafiq’s Halal Cart, Broadway at Liberty St.