Halal Cart 53rd and 6th

After the wonderful and very filling dinner at Joe’s Shanghai my cousin drove us to the World Trade Center site for a drive by.

This is all we saw. I did say we didn’t have time for sightseeing.

In passing I mentioned that I had a list of places I would like to eat in New York but we didn’t have enough time. Virgil asked me what those were. The minute I mentioned Halal cart he immediately drove us there despite our protest that we were too full to eat again.

I first saw the famous Halal cart on 53rd & 6th featured in The Today Show a few years ago and filed it in my memory. Then a few weeks before going to New York my friend Allen posted pictures of the Halal cart on Facebook showing him and his family enjoying the food. It triggered my memory and made it to my ‘must eat in NY list.’

We arrived at 10:30 pm and saw this long line. What the heck, I don’t go to New York often so La and I stood in line to buy the famous platter.

The people beside us in the line told us that the line was even longer after midnight with club goers and night owls.

Make sure you go to the right cart which is across the Hilton hotel. There’s similar cart selling exactly the same food across the street and more in other streets. None of them had lines this long.

The production line was manned by several hard working people. The line moved really fast. There was no chit chat. State your order and pay for it.

There were 3 choices – chicken, lamb gyro or mixed. You can have it as a rice platter for $6 or as a sandwich for $5. 

We chose the lamb and chicken platter with white sauce and bbq sauce. We skipped the hot sauce.

Allen told me to load up on the white sauce and he was right. The white sauce was what made the platter heavenly.

We all took a bite and groaned not only because we were still stuffed and were eating again. It’s because it was soooo freaking delicious! Both the chicken and lamb were tender, juicy and perfectly cooked. The sauce was a thick, rich garlicky sauce that complemented the meat and rice perfectly.

We took the rest home and had it for breakfast. A quick zap in the microwave and it was just as good. The best thing about the platter was the price. For $6 or P260 you get a generous serving of seasoned rice, meat and pita bread to feed 2 people or 1 really hungry person.

I’m so glad Virgil insisted on taking us to the Halal cart. It’s definitely a must eat when you’re in New York.

This is my niece Erin with Jennifer’s super cute and hyper active dog Olivia. Jennifer is Virgil’s pretty daughter.

Menu 
Platter  $6
Any combination of the following items: 
Chicken, Gyro, Rice, Pita, Salad, Hot Sauce, White Sauce, BBQ Sauce.

Halal Cart
W 53rd st. & 6th
New York, NY 10079

The authentic 53rd & 6th cart is open from 7:30PM-4AM. During the daytime it is a different vendor who is totally unaffiliated.