Take-out: Yes Good for Kids: Yes Good for Groups: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
3 reviews
Kum Ifill
Can't go wrong with this cart. Great lamb over rice! And awesome falafel! We picked up five plates faster than it would have taken us to get one burrito bowl from Chipotle!!
I work around the area and I must say, it isn't easy finding good, cheap eats for lunch. Thankfully, there are a handful of Halal carts around 34th Street that can keep my palette entertained and go easy on my wallet. I'm not gonna lie, I haven't tried all the carts around here, but I can guarantee that you will walk away happy after purchasing yourself a chicken over rice with white sauce from this cart. I've had this at another cart around the vicinity and found myself eating chicken that did not taste fresh and rice that left me with greasy lips … no need for lipgloss. I stumbled upon this cart, situated right outside HSBC and decided to give it a try. Not only was the chicken fresh and rice tasty and less oily, the man who took my order was extremely friendly. It's always nice to be greeted with a smile, a rarity in New York City. I've returned several days ago and nothing has changed. Food is good and workers ain't got no tude.
I don't really think much of food carts near major commuter hubs. But after my colleague's been telling me time after time about one particular halal cart, I decided to give it a shot. Halal carts come a dime a dozen in New York City, so I'll try to point out the location of this one as easy as possible. It is located on the SW corner of 34th St. & 8th Ave. If you can't tell one corner from the next at an intersection, it is located right outside HSBC bank along 34th St, right beside the E train subway steps.
Two guys operate inside the enclosed cart. When walking by, it looks like a breakfast cart, with the sides of the cart prominently displaying bagels and other baked goods. The only thing that will give this place away as a halal cart, is the menu on the left side of the cart. It's very hard to see as the window opening is very small, but if you stop for a moment, you'll notice a small grill inside the truck on the right
The guy stuck his head by the window and asked what I wanted. I shouted to him, Chicken over Rice ($5.00), which he then withdrew his head and told the other guy who was operating the grill. Two minutes later, he sticks his head back out and asks what kind of sauce I want on it. "White sauce and a little hot sauce! And can I try a piece of lamb?" He grabbed his knife, opened a tray and cut off a piece of lamb and handed it to me on a fork. Tender, moist, not too salty. It didn't come off a doner kebab, which is usually my standard when eating lamb from a cart, but I was surprised that it was actually pretty good! A few seconds later, the gentleman bagged my styrofoam tray in a plastic bag with a generous stack of deli napkins (19 if anyone's interested) and a plastic fork.
The weight of the tray was fairly significant. Not too shabby since I had an appetite. When I first opened the tray, I noticed the orange hue of the chicken. The pieces were actual chunks rather than chopped up bits. Curious, I took a piece into my mouth and noted that the dark meat was tender and tasty. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that it sort of looked and tasted like Tandoori chicken. Mixed with the chicken were pieces of onion that were cooked just enough so that you could stay taste a slight rawness to the onion. Underneath the chicken, sat a bed of brown basmati rice. The basmati rice was very good and had very noticeable notes of cardamom. Yum!! Situated on one side of the platter was a simple serving of freshly chopped lettuce with a slice of an uncooked green pepper. Simple and unobtrusive, as I was glad that only 1/5 of the platter was salad vs. the usual 1/4 or 1/3 that many other halal carts tend to do. I really enjoyed my dish. What lacked was the white and hot sauce. The white sauce was thin in consistency. It did lack that thick mayo-flavor but it actually felt quite healthy. The hot sauce was barely noticeable and maybe on my return visit, I will ask for a normal amount of hot sauce so I can get a better idea of how it tastes.
I really wish they named this Halal Cart as it really stands out from the others. Chicken that actually tastes like chicken and served in substantial chunks rather than chopped up little bits. I really enjoyed the cardamom basmati rice, and all around I felt healthier eating this as compared to other halal carts. In a city of unnamed halal carts, this is one worth checking out.
Can't go wrong with this cart. Great lamb over rice! And awesome falafel! We picked up five plates faster than it would have taken us to get one burrito bowl from Chipotle!!
I work around the area and I must say, it isn't easy finding good, cheap eats for lunch. Thankfully, there are a handful of Halal carts around 34th Street that can keep my palette entertained and go easy on my wallet. I'm not gonna lie, I haven't tried all the carts around here, but I can guarantee that you will walk away happy after purchasing yourself a chicken over rice with white sauce from this cart. I've had this at another cart around the vicinity and found myself eating chicken that did not taste fresh and rice that left me with greasy lips … no need for lipgloss. I stumbled upon this cart, situated right outside HSBC and decided to give it a try. Not only was the chicken fresh and rice tasty and less oily, the man who took my order was extremely friendly. It's always nice to be greeted with a smile, a rarity in New York City. I've returned several days ago and nothing has changed. Food is good and workers ain't got no tude.
I don't really think much of food carts near major commuter hubs. But after my colleague's been telling me time after time about one particular halal cart, I decided to give it a shot. Halal carts come a dime a dozen in New York City, so I'll try to point out the location of this one as easy as possible. It is located on the SW corner of 34th St. & 8th Ave. If you can't tell one corner from the next at an intersection, it is located right outside HSBC bank along 34th St, right beside the E train subway steps.
Two guys operate inside the enclosed cart. When walking by, it looks like a breakfast cart, with the sides of the cart prominently displaying bagels and other baked goods. The only thing that will give this place away as a halal cart, is the menu on the left side of the cart. It's very hard to see as the window opening is very small, but if you stop for a moment, you'll notice a small grill inside the truck on the right
The guy stuck his head by the window and asked what I wanted. I shouted to him, Chicken over Rice ($5.00), which he then withdrew his head and told the other guy who was operating the grill. Two minutes later, he sticks his head back out and asks what kind of sauce I want on it. "White sauce and a little hot sauce! And can I try a piece of lamb?" He grabbed his knife, opened a tray and cut off a piece of lamb and handed it to me on a fork. Tender, moist, not too salty. It didn't come off a doner kebab, which is usually my standard when eating lamb from a cart, but I was surprised that it was actually pretty good! A few seconds later, the gentleman bagged my styrofoam tray in a plastic bag with a generous stack of deli napkins (19 if anyone's interested) and a plastic fork.
The weight of the tray was fairly significant. Not too shabby since I had an appetite. When I first opened the tray, I noticed the orange hue of the chicken. The pieces were actual chunks rather than chopped up bits. Curious, I took a piece into my mouth and noted that the dark meat was tender and tasty. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that it sort of looked and tasted like Tandoori chicken. Mixed with the chicken were pieces of onion that were cooked just enough so that you could stay taste a slight rawness to the onion. Underneath the chicken, sat a bed of brown basmati rice. The basmati rice was very good and had very noticeable notes of cardamom. Yum!! Situated on one side of the platter was a simple serving of freshly chopped lettuce with a slice of an uncooked green pepper. Simple and unobtrusive, as I was glad that only 1/5 of the platter was salad vs. the usual 1/4 or 1/3 that many other halal carts tend to do. I really enjoyed my dish. What lacked was the white and hot sauce. The white sauce was thin in consistency. It did lack that thick mayo-flavor but it actually felt quite healthy. The hot sauce was barely noticeable and maybe on my return visit, I will ask for a normal amount of hot sauce so I can get a better idea of how it tastes.
I really wish they named this Halal Cart as it really stands out from the others. Chicken that actually tastes like chicken and served in substantial chunks rather than chopped up little bits. I really enjoyed the cardamom basmati rice, and all around I felt healthier eating this as compared to other halal carts. In a city of unnamed halal carts, this is one worth checking out.