Cart Me Away! Midtown's Street Food Gems
I had to meet a new potential partner for lunch last week and he asked me to pick a good place near his office which is located on 52nd Street and 6th Avenue. He said he wanted something good and not too fancy. I suggested we go to Anthos, a great Greek place that has one of the best lamb burgers in all of Manhattan.
We met at Anthos the next day and as he perused the menu, he lamented the fact that there was no traditional middle eastern food listed. He was yearning for a yummy Gyro or a delicious Falafel. I apologized and told him that had I known that’s what he was looking for, I would have taken him to two of the least well kept secrets in Midtown Manhattan. The Gyro Halal cart on the corner of 53rd and 6th and Moshe’s Falafel cart on 46th and 6th.
Now, I know what you are thinking…this blog is supposed to be focused on luxury and fine dining. In my opinion however, sometimes you don’t care about the ambiance and decor (or as is the case here, the complete lack of it) and just focus on really good and tasty food. Yes the food at both of these carts is what makes both lines at these carts so incredibly long.
The Gyro Halal cart on 53rd and 6th is known to anyone who works in midtown. You can see the line starting to form around noon and the lines remains long well into the night. Many of the city’s cab drivers make it their one and only stop during their shift. The New York Post named it the best cart in NYC. The specialty of the house is either the lamb or chicken over rice. Both the lamb and chicken are delicious on their own. Extremely flavorful and moist, this is not your run of the mill cart lamb or chicken. The rice is also moist and delicious . However, what makes this meal so amazing is the wonderful white and hot sauce. The white sauce is better than any other white sauce I have tried. It is full of flavor and provides a perfect compliment to the extremely spicy hot sauce. If you are a spice lover like me, you will simply adore it. You can get it with or without pita bread and they throw in a little salad to cool everything down. The price for this amazing meal? $6.00!
Moshe’s Falafel is my other favorite cart in NYC. I am a huge falafel fan and usually head down to Mamoun’s falafel in the Village when I am looking to fulfill my falafel cravings. Moshe’s falafel is as good if not better than Mamoun’s. As with the Halal Gyro cart, the line at Moshe’s usually starts forming around noon or so and sometimes it can be as long as 100 people. They have several choices at Moshe’s but most people get either the half or whole falafel sandwich. The staff know how to layer the pita and makes sure you get a taste of everything with every bite. The salad is fresh and the Tahini sauce is delicious. However what makes Moshe’s falafel great is the falafel balls. They usually serve them to you hot and crispy and the flavor is the best falafel flavor I have ever tried. The outer crust is fantastic, so much so that last time I was there I saw several people who just got falafel balls by the dozen. The pita holds up well and does not get too soggy and the hot sauce it nice and add to the overall flavor of the sandwich. The cost for this delicious sandwich is $5.00 for a whole and $3.75 for half.
So next time you are craving a real taste of middle eastern food, forget all the fancy places and get yourself out on the street. I promise you will not be disappointed.
