Zak’s Halal Cart
“Let me remind you, this is street meat so it's not exactly the healthiest.”
“One, you don't get as much of the tasty yellow rice as I'd like.”
“They give pretty generous portions of lamb and chicken, and if you buy a plate over rice for $5, they give you a free soda.”
Zak’s Halal Cart
Take-out: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
3 reviews
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Chicken and Rice
For a quick cheap meal, this truck is a pretty good option. Five dollars gets you a lot of rice, chicken and some token amount of lettuce and tomatoes. I just wouldn't eat it on a regular basis.
BOMB philly cheesesteak! So so so good! Great flavors from the medley of spices and toppings. So delicious. Would definitely go back for his halal cart in particular!!
Just in front of the Brown Brothers Harriman building on Broadway (east side of the street), is Zak's halal cart manned by two guys (inside the cart). For those not familiar with the area, the cart is just slightly in front of the building with a large red/orange cube on one of its corners. Lines vary here but expect there to be a line at this cart for lunch, as compared to the several neighboring carts. The main attraction is that these guys sell a meat platter and a can of soda for $5, where others usually charge $6. A few have neon/LED signs but you may notice that this cart has a small (2 ft.) LED sign that scrolls the prices of some of their items (knish, hot dogs, platter, etc.), and it will eventually say "Zak's Specials".
I don't know what made me get Halal a second day in a row, but I just couldn't find anything that was within budget. That free can of soda really enticed me, so I jumped in line with 6-7 people in front of me. The line moved fairly quick averaging about 1-2 minute/person. As I waited on line, I was trying to decide between chicken or lamb. The combo platter with a can of soda is $6, which was $1 more. When I finally made it to the front of the line, I saw the chicken stacked up in a pile on the grill and was not able to see the donner lamb kebab anywhere, so I decided to go for the Chicken over rice platter with a can of Fanta soda ($5.00). What a deal?!!
The older gentleman taking my order seemed pretty bored and aloof, as he grabbed my food and put it in a standard-size white styrofoam tray. Without even asking (which I didn't mind), he put the salad on one side of the tray, the usual concoction of chopped lettuce, and slices of tomato. He then put 2 scoops of yellow rice on the right side of the tray, and topped it off with chicken. What caught me off guard was what he was about to do next. He then placed some sliced green peppers, onions and jalapenos on top. Yum!!! I asked for white sauce which he overly-generously covered my whole platter up, leaving the food beneath barely visible. I also asked for a little hot sauce which he did a quick squeeze over my platter. He displayed my tray as if in acknowledgment, which I gladly nodded my head, and he proceeded to close the tray and let the other gentleman know that I wanted a Fanta soda. Styrofoam tray, can of soda, a few napkins, and a fork in a white plastic bag, and I was on my way. It was a cold day today, in the low 40's but going into the high 30's with the strong winds. I scurried back to my office as fast I could a couple blocks away hoping my food would not get cold.
I opened my artery clogging tray of street meat and feasted. The food was steaming (not literally) hot!! The chicken (dark meat) was tender and moist. Mmmm, I was also quite surprised at the slightly generous portions of chicken. The pieces of chicken were also pretty sizable compared to the small round bits at other carts. That sure put a happy smile on my face. The green peppers and onions were fresh and crisp, though the 2-3 small jalapenos tasted ever so slightly old without any of its jalapeno juice inside. No biggie. The lettuce in the salad was slightly browning but still had a nice crisp, and the tomatoes (some sliced in burger fashion) were fresh and juicy. The yellow rice was nicely seasoned, though portions were noticeably small (only seemed like 1 large scoop of rice as compared to the usual 2 standard size scoops at other carts). The white sauce was familiar, thick like mayo, and the hot sauce had quite a bit of heat. Yum!!! I was actually enjoying my dish quite a bit, and let's not forget the free can of soda. When I finally finished my platter, I noticed there was a small pool of orange grease (oil) sitting on the bottom of the tray. Yuck, but in all it's goodness!!! Let me remind you, this is street meat so it's not exactly the healthiest.
$5 for a single meat platter and a can of soda is quite a deal, especially in these tough economic times!!! The meat portions were larger than I was expecting, and delicious!! Though the highlight was the large slices of peppers, onions and jalapenos thrown on top. Yum!! Oh boy, was I one happy lunchgoer!!