Homemade Halal Cart

Screw this guy. Watched him make identical plates of chicken and rice for the people in front of me. When it came to mine he gave me half the amount of chicken and didn’t even offer me half of the vegetables, even after I’d asked for all of them. The «spicy» rice is just the regular rice that every other cart has, and isn’t spicy at all. Neither is the red sauce, which seems to be watered down. The white sauce is thin too and just as lacking in flavor. Speaking of flavor, if you’re looking for the traditional taste profile of chicken over rice look elsewhere. This is not that. His chicken tastes like it was stewed. It’s not a bad thing per se, but the chicken would be more at home at one of the Jamaican food trucks than at a halal stand. Technically it is «chicken» over «rice», but it’s not «chicken over rice». This, along with the weak sauces and skimpy servings, made for a very disappointing lunch.

This is a 4 star cart. Not a 4 star dining experience to be sure, but in terms of street food it is hard to beat. Though take your clamshell and sit in bowling green and 4 stars is a bit light.
Chicken on rice remains excellent. Also has lamb balls, lamb, and falafel.
Guy is still funny but not quite as goofy as reported a few years back. His side kick isn’t around as often; miss him.

As of September 2013 this carts location is more in front if the Ann Taylor loft than the GNC. (So beaver and broadway). The one in front of GNC is different.
And now for the review :). Basically this guy is awesome. $ 5 for the combo is a price that really can’t be beat!

This halal cart is awesome. The line moves quick (and yes, there is ALWAYS a line) and the man who runs it is friendly. If he doesn’t know you, he asks you to «stop him» when he puts too much red and/​or white sauce on your platter. So far I’ve only had the chicken over rice and it was amazingly good. The chicken was tender and perfectly seasoned without punching you in the mouth with flavor. The rice was so good and I typically stay away from most kinds of rice. You also get a side salad and can ask for onions, tomatoes, and/​or cucumbers. All this for $ 5.
It’s a great deal for the area and it’s in a convenient location.

This guy’s food is extremely mouth-​watering and delicious! He always has a long line because his food is just that good and addicting! He takes his time to ensure each customer leaves with a smile on their face and stomach, which ensures you that he will do the same for your own plate. I’m a big fan of NYC carts and his is very sanitary compared to 90% of the ones I’ve been to. His chicken tastes like actual chicken and his lamb is delightful!
He is very cheery and respectful and the type to «not give you an attitude or make you feel uncomfortable» by those scary looking middle easterns sometimes.
He has jalapenos, olives, onions, lettuce, tomato & beans.
I’ve never seen a cart have this selection.
Thumbs up!!!

Located in front of the GNC. Best chicken and rice. Rice is flavored with curry and it taste delicious. Friendly workers and it’s nice on the pocket. I always eat here when I’m in the area.

Best chicken and rice at a food cart! The rice is delicious delicately flavored with Afghan spices. The chicken is great too — well seasoned, not dry. YUM.

This cart is located on Beaver Steet in front of the GNC. The Afghani guy is hilarious, super friendly, and serves up tasty chicken, the best in the FiDi area. The only guy who comes remotely close to his quality stands on Broadway. The marination he uses on the chicken is unmatched and just simply delicious.
I’d recommend the chicken and rice with a side of red kidney beans. The ingredients are fresher than any other street meat cart and haven’t made me sick ever. There’s always a 15 minute line during lunch hour, because he takes his sweet long time with each order. But needless to say well worth the wait than eat at other sub standard Halal carts in the Fidi area.

I’ve always thought Halal smelled better than it tasted until I came across the cart right on the corner of Broadway and Beaver. After wandering around for 20ish minutes, being completely indecisive about what to eat for lunch, the wafting scent of meat and rice led me over to this particular Halal cart.
For $ 5, the funny little man did a little jig, cracked a few jokes and loaded my container with chicken and rice.
«Salad?»
“Yes please! But no onions”
«Oooooonnniiiooooonnnsss???» (he dangled a few over my container then cackled and dropped them back into the bin)
«White sauce hot sauce?»
«White sauce but Sriracha on the side please»
«Srrr-​srrr-​whaaa??»
We went back and forth for a little bit on the enunciation of Sriracha until he cackled again, took my $ 5, told me to enjoy, and sent me on my way.
Back in my office, I inhaled the aroma of my lunch wondering if once again, my first thought would be that it smelled better than it tasted? It wasn’t. The chicken was flavorful and not too dry or greasy… and although I’m not a huge rice eater (*gasp* what?! But you’re Asian!), the yellow rice was also very tasty. Overall, it was a lunch that left me pleasantly satiated and extremely sleepy.
Notable: for the best tasting chicken & rice, order when the grill is filled with chicken; not towards the end when there’s nothing left. I know it’s kind of obvious, but it’s still worth mentioning.

The orange halal cart on the corner of Broadway and Beaver has been there for quite some time and it’s one of the best around FiDi. It’s the usual open griddle cart setup with a mountain of chicken and lamb roasting on a spit. For $ 5, you get generous portions of food. The chicken and rice are well spiced and very flavorful, much more so than other carts I’ve tried. You can pick what vegetables you want in your salad, which includes lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and cucumber. The sauces are a bit on the thin side but I honestly don’t think you need much sauce, since everything else has a lot of flavor.
Long lines tend to form during lunch so it’s best to get there early if you want your food in under 5 minutes. The guy running the cart takes his time with each customer but is very funny and friendly. He builds up a good relationship with most of his customers, which is probably why many return to his cart and are willing to wait in line. It’s a humble one-​man operation but it’s well worth the visit for a rather unique cart.

Let’s face it, you get tired of long lines at the popular Halal carts at Liberty Plaza. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got a favorite go-​to cart there too.
So yes, one day I got tired of waiting and wandered off to this one on Beaver St and voila! There is still a line, but it’s a lot shorter and he’s the only one who offers smaller portions for $ 3.50! I get my fill of chicken over rice, salad, tomato with creamy white sauce plus I walk off with a smile coz the guy who mans the cart is just cheerful. He hums and sings while he prepares your meal. He also always teases me about my «no onions please» request.
Taste. I know people ask if one cart is better than the other. I say YES and his chicken was tasty, not greasy nor dry like some carts have. I can say one thing, I hate eating rice, I prefer sandwiches or pasta, but I don’t know what he puts in his that it tickles my taste buds. It’s soft and aromatic.
This is definitely on my go-​to lunch places.

def the craziest cart guy around FiDi i have met… talks a lot, sings and even dances sometimes. now how many cart owners do that around FiDi. so ya.i wud give 3 stars just for this guy’s personality. but no, these 3 stars are for the food.
chacha (uncle​.as i usually call him) is a really nice person. who talks a lot with everyone (hence the long and slow moving lines)…i usually take the combo-​rice (6 $) as i just cant decide between chicken and lamb. both are pretty awesome. have tried quite a few carts around here but havent tasted such nicely spiced (marinated) chicken. the pita (4 $) is good too. however it beats me that combo is 6 $ when both chicken over rice and lamb over rice are 5 $ each. shudnt the combo be 5 $ as well? lol
and bit of warning to the veggies… avoid this place. one of my veggie friend ordered falafel over pita. and the (spiced)pita had chicken pieces sticking to it. and i wudnt even want to talk abt hygiene here. best left unsaid. cpl of my friends got turned off by the hygiene. but tried this place anyway and have now got hooked to it.

Cheap food is hard to come by. After walking around the area for a bit, I decided to try the Halal cart out on the South-​East corner of Broadway & Beaver (closest to the corner). Lines moved pretty slow at this cart with about 4 – 5 in front of me, averaging about 2 minutes/​person. I finally made my way to the front and decided to order the chicken over rice platter ($ 5). The gentlemen grabbed a white styrofoam tray, slightly smaller (shorter in height) than the typical tray. He scooped two spoonfuls of rice and asked if I wanted salad (chopped strips of lettuce), tomatoes and onions. I nodded yes noticing that the vegetables looked very fresh. At some other carts, I sometimes notice that the lettuce is slightly browning, but not here! He threw some chicken on top, not the most generous of halal carts but a decent proportion. I asked for some white sauce and hot sauce on top. The white sauce was slightly thin in consistency, where some carts are thick like yogurt/​mayo. The hot sauce also appeared very thin (almost watery) in consistency so I asked for a little more than usual.
I took my meal back to the office and chomped in. The salad was indeed very fresh and crisp. The chicken was very tender and moist, and seasoned with spices. It almost reminded me of jerk chicken. Yum!!! The yellow rice was also seasoned with some spices and decently good. The white sauce was average at most, and the hot sauce only had a slight bit of heat.
One thing to note as I ate my meal, was that I saw an eyelash in my meal, which I picked out and continued on eating. Besides that, this halal cart has a decent stand as compared to many other subpar halal carts that I’ve been to.

I always passed by this one and went to the other halal cart on Beaver St. and then today, I figured I’d see if there’s a reason why there’s always a big line in front of this one. There is a reason — the guy is slow as molasses flowing uphill in January. The food was edible but kinda yuck — sauces were tasteless (hot sauce not hot), the chicken a little gristly. It looks like people think the guy is funny and that’s great — but I’d rather have tasty food served without the entertainment value over tasteless food served by Mr. Personality.

If this is the cart on the corner of Beaver and Broadway/​Whitehall. um…
i think some of you may need a hug after reading this one:
i saw this gross little man eating directly off of the cart with his fork. dipping the fork back into the cart after each bite. with a shitty little grin on his face.
so yea he’s crazy and disgusting too.

Funniest cart guy, hands down.
This cart is located on Beaver Steet in front of the GNC. There’s always a 15 minute line during lunch hour, because he takes his sweet sweet time with each order.
The best part is most definitely the guy’s personality. Not only does he take his time with each order, he’s got a big smile on his face and is joking around. His newest thing is dubbed «blue sauce.» When he’s asking you what kind of sauce you want (hot, white, etc), you can ask for blue sauce and he takes a blue bicycle horn and honks it at your food. Here, watch the video:
I’d recommend the lamb and rice, however the chicken isn’t bad. The ingredients are fresher than any other street meat cart and haven’t made me sick ever (unlike the 53^rd and 6^th cart).
$ 5 for meat and rice.