55th & 6th Halal Cart

I stayed at the hotel right around the corner and kept walking past these delicious smells of meat cooking.
When I saw a huge line of people during lunch time, I knew this was something I had to try.
My last night in town, I stumbled downstairs after a long day of business meetings and I devoured that humongous plate of grilled meat. For $ 7, you get a huge portion of grilled meat over rice. I would also highly recommend the «white sauce» it comes with. No idea what it is, but it was fantastic.
Did I read somewhere $ 6? I paid $ 7, so either they upped their pricing or I got the tourist up-​charge. It’s ok. It was worth it!

We were visiting from California, as tourist we see long lines of people in business suits. Obviously these are New Yorkers standing in long ass lines for some cart food… that’s different. So we jumped in line to see what this was about. yum! glad we did that. Halal Cart on 55^th awesome, thumbs up!

BEST CHICKEN GYRO EVER! My only regret is not coming here more during my NYC trip. Quick and cheap food. What more can you ask for?
Service: Super friendly and sweet!
Portions: The portions are HUGH.
Prices: Everything under $ 10. My chicken gyro was $ 6.
Food: The chicken gyro had an excessive amount of meat, served with lettuce, onions, tomato and their famous «white sauce». I am not a fan of Tzatziki sauce because the Greek yogurt overpowers everything but I will eat theirs any day. Their sauce was thinned down so it’s not as strong but still creamy and delicious. The spicy sauce was also good, it balanced well with the Tzatziki sauce but the spices slowly creeps up. The chicken was moist, juicy and smothered with curry seasonings.
Very fast, cheap and delicious food. I would come back anyday!

This cart is right outside that giant black building in which I work, so I’m thankful I can pop out at my every «street meat» craving. I can’t necessarily say this one is better than 53^rd and 6^th, but I think they are different. The chicken here is in whole chunks of thigh meat (very tender), whereas I believe the Halal Guys (as they are called on 53^rd and 6^th) serve smaller, almost shredded pieces of chicken. I’m also fairly carb conscious and this location offers my typical order of Chicken and Lamb on Salad, which is basically more lettuce and no rice. It’s delicious. I haven’t tried ordering that at the Halal Guys simply because there’s always a huge line and I don’t want to slow down their flow. The guy who works here is extremely friendly and accommodating — sometimes he doesn’t even count the $ I give him and just trusts that we paid the correct amount. I’ve seen him the same way with most customers.
However, the Halal Guys recently upped their prices to $ 7 and so far a plate here is still $ 6. So for the convenience and excellent customer service, this is definitely the best street meat in the area.

Even though tthe 53^rd and 7^th halal cart is only 2 blocks from my office, somehow, I am not enticed as my co-​worker got it a few times and it smelled just way too spicy for me. Well, it also helps that the 55^th street guys are literally right outside my office building. They are clean, friendly, and load it up generously. I liked everything I tried here-​chicken, gyro, falafel, and they also have fried tilapia, 2 giant pieces of the fish over either rice or french fries. My co-​worker actually switched to them and likes the food a lot more-​he eats it every day after lunch workout at the gym and it fills him up just fine.

Love to get lunch from here once a week. We affectionately call it «Street Meat». For $ 5 you get a hearty dish of rice, salad, and meat. Good luck finding a deal like that in one of the most expensive cities in the world. These guys are very personable, even memorized my standard order. Sees me coming and starts getting it ready. The main cart guy is back in Egypt getting married but his cousin is now minding the cart. He is doing a great job so far. This food is awesome; even turned a bunch of work people on to it. If you’re walking around the city and want to try something new, casual, and very «New York», grab a chicken/​lamb platter here.

I only get to frequent this cart when I’m visiting but boy do I make it a point to skip the hot dog and get halal cart instead. I get the lamb thingy with green peppers and yogurt and stuff. I usually try to get a few extra things to bring back on the train with me, but rarely does the food make it past Yonkers. Cheap. Quick. Delicious.

The food here is delicious and inexpensive! I ordered a philly cheesesteak, my dad ordered a gyro, and my mom ordered chicken kebab over rice. We all shared each other’s food, it was amazing. I am so glad I looked this Halal cart up on Unilocal.The service was also great. Will definitely be back.

I love cart food but they are in a league of their own! The chicken and lamb over rice was phenomenal and an excessive amount of food for a very reasonable price. I know understand why there is always a line here. If the scent alone can’t entice you just take a look at and of these reviews or talk to the people standing around eating it.

I work in that monstrocity of a skyscraping Corporate America Succubus Machine that casts a constant shadow on this cart. They always get AT LEAST one representative per day from my floor at their cart. One day five people had their food. So my envy got the better of me and I tried them out. Thus started my sordid history with these guys.
Before I tell my tale, don’t get me wrong! I highly recommend these guys! They’re UBER friendly and give GREAT customer service! Their portions are huge. They accommodate your requests (within their abilities). After my third time there, they knew me and my order the second they saw me in line (chicken & sausage over rice with extra white sauce and a kill my taste buds level of hot sauce). They eventually even started giving me a discount for being a regular!
Then they started charging me regular price again without batting an eyelash. Yes — a business is very kind to charge you less than their normal price and has every right to discontinue the favor. No — it’s not good business to exercise that right without warning.
Had they said, «My friend, costs have gone up and next time we’ll have to charge you regular price. But please have your meal at the discount this one last time,» I would’ve remained faithful. Since they didn’t handle the situation this way, I headed down the ave to the cart at 54^th & 6^th.
But I ordered the same thing at that cart and they charged me A LOT more for an inferior (dryer and less flavorful) product (how halal varies, I don’t know. But they do!). I talked them down to the other carts regular price. But now I may have to venture down to the famed 53^rd & 6^th… or even the 56^th & 7^th carts. Then again, I’ve stopped eating these types of food and would only order falafel if they began to offer a baked version. So I guess my sober halal worries are over.
Anyhoo, that was my experience. But if you’re in the area, check ‘em out! These guys are really friendly and are still very kind and welcoming to me when I walk past their cart, even though I haven’t ordered from them since last winter. And they’re kinda cute once you get to see their smiles and personalities ;-)
Go ahead. Have a phat fatty lunch. I won’t judge ya :-)

I actually find this place to be head and shoulders above 53^rd and 6^th. Is it so much to ask to have some peppers and onions diced up into the chicke and rice? 55^th doesn’t mind, nor do they mind giving me falafel. The mindless zombies at 53^rd can continue going there, because it just makes this line that much shorter. I know almost every halal cart in the city is going to be extremely similar, but this one stands out a tiny bit. The chicken and lamb are actually SPICED… imagine that? The only thing one could say positive about 53^rd is that the food is most likely fresh because they move so much of it, but there’s no point when the quality is crap to begin with. Getting a platter at 55^th provides a much better experience.

Walk to 53^rd. It’s worth it.
This cart will satisfy your hunger, but won’t blow away your taste buds like the other cart 2 blocks away.
Tried this cart instead of the 53^rd one time when I was lazy.
The meat was more dry. Smaller portions. And the guy didn’t load on the white sauce the way I like despite my dramatic communication that I want «A TON».
I guess if you’ve never tried the 53^rd street cart then this wouldn’t be terrible, but I’ll never come back when there’s such a better option 2 blocks away.

I can’t talk smack about the 53^rd and 6^th Halal cart that everyone creams their pants over, because I honestly haven’t eaten there. The cart at 55^th was two blocks closer to work, everything was a buck or two cheaper, the line was shorter, and the food was as tasty as I could ask for. After one stop here, I was never curious to venture the extra two blocks or put up the extra money to compare.
Depending on how hungry you are you can grab a delicious lamb gyro for about $ 3, or a meat combination plate for about $ 5. You’ll start to salivate as you watch him dump spoonful after spoonful of rice and meat into your styrofoam tray, and you imagine that load of food landing at the bottom of your stomach. The guys there are quick and very friendly.
At the risk of invoking the wrath of Unilocal,I say skip the line at 53^rd, save a buck, and get your meat and rice two blocks north. It always leaves me satisfied.

I don’t care what the sheep say about the 53^rd & 6^th halal cart…55^th is where it’s AT!!!