Shendy’s Halal Food Cart

ok this place got bought out by the famous guys at 53^rd and 6^th. WTF?! this is seriously FML. they hate me.

I’ve tried every Halal cart since I’ve been working around the Rock Center area since 2002, and not one in the area (even the overrated 53^rd and 6^th) has a superior flavor than Shendy’s. Everyone keeps talking about white sauce and hot sauce when comparing carts, which is but a fraction of how carts should be compared. I personally think most carts ruin the true flavor of their food by dousing it with too much white and hot sauce, but to each his own. However, I am a fan of Shendy’s hot sauce, which gives everything just the right kick.
I think the true essence of Shendy’s is how they prepare their meats. The chicken is the best hands down against any cart. The lamb is one of the best, while not outdoing their chicken, but it does complement it very well in the combo plate/​gyro. I am also a fan of the flavorful and almost always perfectly cooked yellow rice, which I prefer over their white rice, but any of the two are better than any cart that serves the same.
My favorite platter is the chicken with yellow rice combo, which is only $ 5. Gyros are even less. Shendy’s only downfall (or demonstration of its greatness) is that when you go in between peak times (12 to 2 PM, especially when the weather’s nice), expect a long wait. After eating, make sure to go for a decent stroll to walk the meal off a little, or you might catch yourself dozing off at the desk in the afternoon.

Time: 2:32 AM
The most perfect time for a chicken and rice meal to comfort my insides and make me feel all warm and fuzzy before I pass out insatiably happy on my bed. We were on the corner of 53^rd st and 6^th ave and my nose was following The Halal Guys with their shining yellow cart. Steven S raved about Shendy’s so I decided to go against the grain and try something new.
This is a classic example where peppers and onions make everything taste better in a dish, where usually the meat is the star (i.e. Philly cheesesteaks, jamabalaya and fajitas). Although, this is a meat and rice cart, they add these sautéed vegetables to enhance the flavors of their meats. The extra crunch is a nice touch.
Here, their gyro meat is delicious and their chicken has a zesty flavor. But for value, I think The Halal Guys serve larger portions of meat, rice and pita. I had to shave a star from my rating because mine came with no pita (unless my friend scarfed it down her throat without telling me… hmm). I definitely enjoyed this foil bowl of late night loving and especially the non-​greasy after taste. The white sauce isn’t perfect, but it’s still pretty addicting and the hot sauce did not turn my mouth on fire. I shared it with a friend and we pretty much finished it in a hot second even in our slightly inebriated state and left us wishing there was more on our plate.

I’ve had Halal food carts before, although I haven’t tried all three of the carts camped out at this location. That being said, I tried this cart because it had a nice clear sign with its menus and prices. I got the lamb meal with rice, yogurt stuff, and greens. not that much flavor in terms of the veggies, but the lamb was just so packed with spices and flavor and oil that it drowned out everything else. The first few bites are really really good, but the problem is that as you get about half way through, until the end of the meal, you can actually start feeling your arteries clog…
By the end of the meal, I was pretty sick of just how oily lunch was, but I will always remember those first few bites. Not a bad price (between $ 6 and $ 8 for lunch not including drinks) for midtown, and they are pretty quick too.

Love at First Bite.
When a smell wakes you up out of your current rem cycle, you know you have to try it. And love it I did! Chicken and Rice, I miss you everyday! Ever since then I cannot, absolutely CANNOT go to NYC without having some of the best street food i’ve ever had. Granted, San Diego barely has hot dogs. The 56^th and 3^rd cart has nothing on Shendys!!! Everytime i’ve gone, and it’s probably close to 10 dozen, they never disappoint. They consistently give the right amount of chicken, rice and vegetables. And they always top it off with the perfect amount of white and red sauces. It is by far the best that i’ve had and i’ve eaten at just about every halal food cart in the city :)

This place ranked number two on Midtown Lunch’s Street Meat Palooza 2. I didn’t think any place could be better than the famous halal cart on 53^rd St. and 6^th Ave., but according to a bunch of NYC food bloggers, there is room for improvement.
I made the 15-​minute trek from my office to this place and ended up waiting on line for another 15 to 20-​minutes. I went the day after the Palooza results were posted so I’m sure that at least the top five ranking carts got some extra business the days following the blog post. For $ 6, I received a decently sized, rectangular, aluminum container filled with rice, gyro meat, and chicken with white, hot, and barbecue sauce. It was motherfreaking delicious. The portions weren’t as copious as the 53^rd & 6^th cart, but it was still sizable. I housed my portion in about 12-​minutes. My co-​workers actually couldn’t finish theirs and passed their leftovers to me. I happily obliged.
As a tip, if you are carb-​conscious, when you order your dish, you can ask for the combo platter without any rice and they’ll fill up the riceless void with more meat! To my surprise, they do not charge extra for this. I should note that as we were leaving, the line continued to remain long and growing. It seems like the word is spreading about this place much to many a line waiters’ dismay.

Easily the worst street meat cart in midtown ridiculous wait time 45 minute wait with only 7 people in front of me. The food was okay at best — the rice was mushy and the servers took 10 minutes finding change for my $ 20. Poor service, long wait and mediocre food — the worst of the worst in midtown.

Hands down the best halal street cart. Here is why I prefer this over Chicken and Rice on the Hilton corner.
1. The chicken is spiced/​marinated better.
2. The chicken is tender
3. The portions bigger compared to CnR on Hilton corner and costs a $ 1.00 less.
4. The lamb tastes better.
The only time I do CnR by Hilton is when I don’t want to over stuff myself, since Shendy’s is greasier. But greasy is good. :)

I don’t understand the hype about this cart. There are always SO many people lined up during lunch hour for it, and one day, I was one of them. I waited around 15 minutes to get my dish of chicken and rice and it was merely okay. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t amazing either. I felt almost a little cheated. All that hype, for this? I’ve had better halal cart food, and I probably would not buy food from this one unless it was the only thing around and I was absolutely starving. There are just too many other better options in the area.

I’ve tried many Halal carts throughout NYC, from downtown in the Wall St. area, to the Upper East side. I have not found any better food carts than Shendy’s. I try not to go here a lot because I know I need to eat healthier, but I always find myself going back again and again. The lamb and chicken are just amazing. It is highly recommended to get the «combo platter» (lamb and chicken) over yellow rice, with white sauce and a little hot sauce to add some spice. You will not regret it! And for $ 5, you can’t beat that, with B&M shops selling the same dish for $ 10+ with it being no where as good. This has got to be the best cart during the business day hours. That is clearly evidenced with the long lines (usually 10 – 15 people) waiting for such delish food. Look around and you won’t see any other food cart in the area with such lines. If only this cart, and the 53^rd and 6^th cart (evening cart) were out at the same time, to see who’s is better. IT’S THAT GOOD!

I am not sure if this is the right halal cart but it is the same location as the one I went to but there was no signs or menus visable. If this guy is still there at 8pm then this is the place.
There are not many Halal carts still operating at 8pm so I wandered past the two I have already tried in search of adventure. I came across this cart not expecting a great deal because it was so close to Radio City Music Hall and Rockefeller Center. I was surprised that it was only $ 5 for lamb over rice which is a pretty good deal, but it did not come with the lettuce and tomato that some carts call a salad. The amount of lamb compared to rice was dismal. Though the lamb that was there did taste pretty dang good. I was also very impressed by the rice. Probably the best yellow rice I have had at a cart so far.

Damn only 2 reviews?! With the amount of people in line each day for lunch you would think there would be more. I think it’s b/​c people wouldn’t think that a food cart would actually be reviewed. But I must say they got the halal food game on lock. The line is usually from the cart to 6^th Ave. at lunch time and there’s a reason why. Their gyro’s are the best. Ask for an extra pita b/​c you’ll have so much meat (pause) you can turn one gyro into two. The chicken over rice (white sauce? hot sauce?) could use some work. I mean it’s good, but it could be better. If you see someone carrying a white trash bag with chicken and ice just turn the other way b/​c it’s gross. They are just marinating the chicken you will be eating. The least they could do is try to hide that ish, but I don’t think they really care.

yum! beef shish kabobs! Right around the hilton. Great find!

This place is delicious. I eat here about 3x a week. Yes they know me. Yes other frequenters know me. And yes, everyone in my office knows when I eat lunch because this food smells as good as it tastes. People walk by my cube and say «oh that smells delicious» I have grown tired of responding to those words so I simply nod or raise a fork if they catch me early enough.
If only they made candles that smell like Shendy’s…wait that would be gross.