Halal Cart

I go to John Jay college that’s right there. I have this halal (chicken over rice) at least once or twice a week. This is probably the best ones from the area that I have tasted. Great for a quick bite before classes.
The chicken doesn’t have much marination (which I like because it doesn’t have its smell). Good portion of rice and salad with the chicken (meat). Always get white sauce and hot sauce if u want it hot. Hot sauce here is really hot… so beware!
Try to avoid community hour or lunch hour since u will have to wait outside on the crowded sidewalk. Though it’s worth a little wait.

This is a great alternative to fast food, a lot better tasting and cheap too.

I’ve walked by this food cart many times on my way downtown and uptown on 10^th Avenue — a couple times I stopped for a minute and watched the guy preparing dishes, a couple times I asked him about the selections and prices, one time I had a hot dog (which was over-​cooked and cold on a stale bun), one time I got a bottle of water (which was cold-​enough, I guess — but the label had completely fallen off in the puddle of ice-​water), but it wasn’t until today that I actually had the courage or craving to order an actual full meal here.
I’m cautious when it comes to street food. The more people in front of the place, the more secure I am. But there never seems to be anybody here, there’s never a line. And now I understand why.
This is my most local halal cart, and I really really wanted to like it – I even had an extra dollar in my pocket ready to tip the guy who runs it – but, ugh, I was disappointed by the preparation, was disappointed by the presentation, and when I finally got it home (10 blocks up) I was extremely disappointed with the food.
I asked for lamb over rice. He only put a ridiculously meager miniscule amount of lamb on the grill, I thought perhaps he would make up for this by having exceptional meat — but boy was I wrong… The lamb was soggy and over-​cooked and super salty… And the rice was bloated and super oily… The accompanying salad was a joke, a couple wilted pieces of lettuce and a couple tiny chunks of tomato… I asked for more tomatoes (because I love tomatoes) and he said «No you have enough,» then I asked for more onions and he said «I already gave you a lot,» then I asked for more hot sauce and he said «You won’t like it, it’s too hot for you,» I insisted on more hot sauce, and he responded with two or three more drops… I asked him why he didn’t put a chopped up pita on my plate like I’ve seen him give other people and he said «because I gave you so much salad and meat» and I said «you barely gave me any salad, you barely gave me any meat» and he barked at me «fine, I’ll give you some chicken in for free.» Damn it, I didn’t want any chicken (I ate enough of it last night at my friend’s rooftop dinner/​drinks party) — damn it, I wanted lamb — and the chicken was way over-​cooked and way too salty… Ugh.
I won’t be back — I’ll either walk up to the Halal Cart on 86^th street and Broadway, or over to the 6^th Avenue Halal Carts, but I’d rather go hungry than patronize this stingy shyster pushing inedible crap.