Halal Food Truck Cart on 33rd Street

Last Friday I passed by a cart/truck that I go by fairly regularly on my daily morning commute. This particular morning however I was hurting from a late night out with some friends, and figured I needed some food before work to soothe my stomach. Seeing as how it was breakfast time I asked for the typical New York City Fatboy Special Breakfast (bacon, egg and cheese on a roll) However they didn't have any bacon (some sort of Halal Thing?) so I went with the sausage, which turned out to be an excellent supplement.

The egg was cooked to perfection and the sausage was sweet and delicious!! I was very pleased with my decision to stop off here and highly recommend this cart. The service was great and the vendors were very friendly with some of the locals who I'm sure they see every morning.

iheartcarts has moved to iheartcarts.com! Our domain is finally set up (no more blogspot for us)

however, we've yet to iron out all the bugs. (you'll notice that the photo links aren't working)

The iheartcarts team is working diligently to fix these problems - this change should, in the long run, allow us to offer much better service and features!

Thanks!

We should all support the street vendor project!

More to follow!

The best cart in the city?



The other day I went to the "Halal Food" cart on the southwest corner of 53rd and 6th, across the street from the Hilton hotel. I have heard from many sources that this is the "best" food cart in the city. From my experience (I used to live in the area) there always seemed to be a long line of people waiting to get food from the cart no matter what time of day. Fortunately this particular afternoon there was no line. The chicken/rice dish (chix-rice) seemed to be what everyone was ordering although they also offered cheese steaks, hamburgers, hot dogs and pretzels. The cost was $6 for a plate of food and it proved to be very tasty. There also seemed to be a group of people enjoying their cart food on the surrounding benches.



I don't know if it is the best cart in the city but it sure was good. What do you think?

Knish Komments & Koncerns

Before I start, I would like to present you with a link to the knish page of eGullet.com.

I gives us a comprehensive recipe for a potato and onion knish with detailed pictures included!

OK, on to my post....

I have received a lot a comments about my knish posts since my first knish correspondence. This week's update will not be about a new delicious knish that I have found during my NYC travels, but a response to these comments. Some of my dear fans have made some false accusations while others have presented me with interesting questions. Here it goes:

1. My name is Kenneth Henley. Some may think it is Ken Kaniff from Connecticut (if you are an Eminem fan you will know who that is), Ken Knish or even the Hamburgler, but I assure you that it is Ken Henley. And yes, I did eat 10 McDizzle cheezeburgers in 30 minutes. It's on film, so there is proof if you really want to challenge me. Oh, and I do reside in Connecticut.

2. I do not work in an underground lair, although sometimes it feels like it. I work in the basement section on the AMEX.

3. My hands are not as big as you may think. Cameras can be deceiving. I assure you though that all the knishes that I have found are the perfect size for an 11 o-clock snack before lunch.

4. Some may think so, but I am not Jewish; however, I have a deep respect for Jewish history and culture (Mel Gibson sucks).

5. I am totally willing to try different types of Knish. As of now, I have only been able to find the standard potato gabila knish. I would love to find a delicious meat or spinach knish during my travels.

6. The standard knish condiment is mustard, but if you are not a fan, you could try ketchup, a dab of melted butter or even a little sour cream.

7. Anyone can submit questions to for me to ask cart vendors. The more questions I have, the better my post will be!

9. You can certainly get your hands on my mustard-flavored knishes, but it'll cost ya!!

I hope you enjoyed the Knish Komments & Koncerns. If you all have anything more to say or ask, please feel free to leave another post. Don't fret everybody, I will be back on Monday will another true knish update!

Ken Henley: Knish Correspondent

The King of BBQ

A Chinese street-meat vendor ups the ante with some sweet dance moves. (in a huge food cart) I think this video speaks for itself.

The Knish Commish is back!

Week 2 (8/10/06): I just had to return to cart row again. This time I chose to pursue the cart at the other end of the cart row spectrum. Like many a cart in NYC, this specific cart is called “Halal Food,” but what makes it unique is its atmosphere. The owner of the cart is named Ahmed, a jovial man with thick bottle bottom glasses and a matching thick accent. The man lures his many customers by playing Middle Eastern music out of his small black boom box, a nice touch to a nice cart. I just couldn’t resist this guy.

Price of potato knish w/ mustard: $1.50


What is Ahmed’s favorite cart food?: Well, he loves his gyros, but his doctor said his cholesterol is getting too high, so he switched to eating his delicious curry flavored chicken breast.

What is Amhed’s craziest cart experience?: He said that one time, a customer ran off with 3 chicken kebabs without paying. He called the cops, but their efforts proved fruitless. What a shame!

Although Ahmed’s knish was cheaper, I think “crazy cart’s” was a bit tastier. The same mustard was used, but Ahmed’s knish just seemed a bit dryer and less flavorful. If I were to return to cart row again however, I would choose “Halal Food” again because of Ahmed’s great personality, pleasant music and his array of other delicious looking foods.

See you all next week,
Ken Knish, from Connecticut
your knish Correspondent

CHIX-RICE -- DISCOVERED AND LOVED BY ALL

Well Garry's post had me and my coworkers intrigued so we sent our helpful intern out on a mission. The Cart was discovered on Wall Street near the intersection of Hanover and Wall by the BMW dealership. The cart's actual name is the "Express Power Lunch" which I think is an awesome name.

Our lucky intern ordered us 7 lunches - two chix-rice with no white sauce, one lamb-rice, and four regular chix-rice- normally they come with red and white sauce-- and neither the cart vendors nor our brave intern screwed up the order. (plus you get a can of soda!!) We all dug in and were amazed at how tasty the meal was. The lamb and rice that I had was very satisfying. The yellow rice had a curry kick to it that was flavorful, but not overpowering, and the lamb was lean and tasty, however I did add a little more hot sauce. The portion size was perfect, and the $6 price was quite reasonable. Those of my coworkers who has the chix-rice also thought the meal was delicious. I would definitely go back for more, and was very happy to have found this cart. Special thanks goes out to Garry and Ryan on this post!

If you know of any similar carts or care to comment on this one please do!!

-Dave

THE MAP IS HERE!!!!!!

http://www.frappr.com/iheartcarts


The official Iheartcarts frappr map is up and running. We encourage all our readers and contributors to add themselves so we can see how global we are.
Tired of just commenting and really want to contribute stick a pin in the map locating your favorite cart, add a short review, upload a picture....Now you are part of the fastest growing food cart blogging community on the internet.....(that last statement may actually be true)

Not sure what to have for lunch? log onto the map and chat with other cart connoisseurs across the globe!!!!!!!

Wanna find out what to expect from a cart in the Netherlands? We challenge all our foreign readers to participate.....let us know!!!

As the map grows you will be able to plan your vacations and know in advance what to expect from the food carts from every major country and city on the planet!!!!!

Please join, please enjoy, please email friends and ask them to join!!!!!


Oh yeah,
The first non Iheartcarts regular contributor to join the map and post the answer to following question in the I Heart carts frappr public message space will receive an I HEART CARTS T shirt.....

The Question is... How many exclamation points are in the above post?

And remember this people, if you spell check Iheartcarts its suggested replacement spelling is HARDCORE and that my friends is hardcore....

thanks and welcome....Iroh Echo

CHIX-RICE..

is there any better Chix-Rice cart than the one on Wall Street?

Having worked on 67 Wall for some time, I grew addicted to the Chix-Rice Cart. $5.00 gets you chix over rice plus a drink. For those with a bigger appetite, you can go with the $6.00 Chix-Rice, gets you the extra chix. Great hangover cure. The combination of spices and sauces tingles the senses. It's like a circus in your mouth, definitely worth the wait. Dont be turned off by the 20 people deep lines, the workers keep the lines moving. However, my office has now moved to Bryant Park, and I'm in desparate search for a new Chix-Rice cart. Now, there is a Rafiqi's there, with a decent Lamb-Chix over rice combo, but his spices are not the same...please help me on this...

iHeartCarts Merchandise!

Merchandise ye request, merchandise shall ye receive!

(again, courtesy of jasonoliva)

CLICK HERE for iheartcarts merch!

iHeartCarts proudly presents...
Ken Henley: Knish Correspondent

Hello fellow cart lovers. My name is Ken Henley and I will be your iHeartCarts Knish Correspondent. Each week I will go to a different cart that serves delicious potato knishes and provide you with thorough details of my experience. At each specific cart, I will also ask two important questions to the cart guy(s): 1. What is your personal favorite item that you serve?And 2. What is your craziest cart experience?

Week 1 (8/4/06): I arrived at cart row and stopped at the first cart I could find, as I was in charge of ordering 10 scrumptious knishes for 10 hungry AGS employees. I immediately asked the cart guy what his favortie cart food is. He told me that the most popular dish for his customers is the chicken kebab, but his personal favorite is... the potato knish! Because it was his favorite, it had to be good, and I had to get to know him on a more personal level. He told me his name was Chris, and when I could not find a name for the cart, he told me it was called "Crazy Cart"! What a perfect response to lead in to my next question. When asked what his craziest cart experience has been, Chris told me that on a hot day last summer, the gas in his cart died at around noon when he had quite a long line of customers. His customers slowly left to eat at various other vendors at cart row. Chris lost an estimated $500 that day. More sad than crazy really, but an interesting tid bit of cart life.

Chris charged me a whopping $2 per knish, so they had better have been good. Now, since I have no basis of comparison because this is the first knish I have had in years, all am going to say is that it was pretty tasty. The temperature was good, and was filled with the perfect amount of no frills spicy brown mustard. I have a feeling though that without the mustard the meal would have been a little bland, but i expect that with all knishes.

All in all, a good looking smaller cart, a nice guy and tasty knish. To all those who had a taste of one of Chris's fine knishes, please post your own reponses.

See you all next week,

Ken Knish, from Connecticut
your knish Correspondent

New iHeartCarts Logo!

Jason Oliva, resident genius artist and iheartcarts contributor, has been gracious enough to put together a shiny new logo for our little blog!

Please check it out and Share your thoughts!

iHeartCarts around the world.....

This is just a quick note to let you keep you apprised of the global real of the iheartcarts movement. We received our very first (to our knowledge) INTERNATIONAL (and non-english!) LINK!

thanks NRC.NL!!

in the originial dutch - how not to look like a tourist

(babelfish translation)

check it out! thanks!

The Food Cart in front of the AMEX (a review)
by Dave Fay

I have been patronizing this cart for several years, and it was actually one of the inspirations for starting this site. Every morning scores of traders, tourists, and passersby get their morning coffee, doughnut, bagel or breakfast sandwich from one of the three always cheerful family members who run the cart in the financial district of downtown Manhattan.
For lunch time (or late morning) the cart offers an assortment of choices including grilled hot dogs, gyros, and knishes. The rather large cart is always well stocked with ice cold water, soda and juice. All of the items on their menu are reasonably priced, and everything is served with a smile.
Some of my coworkers complain that the coffee (and everything they serve) has a slight hint of pork or hot dog flavoring. To them I say "What's wrong with that?!" I happen to really enjoy the coffee. However beware if you ask for sugar in your coffee the serving size is several heaping tablespoons!!!
This morning I sampled a knish from the cart with my coffee, they were even nice enough to put my mustard on the side in some tinfoil. It was a tasty treat with just a hint of pork flavoring from the grill!
All in all I'd say this is a fantastic cart, and that more cart vendors should strive to achieve this level of excellence and professionalism.