New York Street Food

I needed a quick sandwich for lunch today near Park Ave & 57th St.  One of the best vendors in this area, 100% Halal & Healthy, actually has 2 carts – one just inside the NW corner of 55th St & Park Ave featuring grilled food, and one on the SW corner of 54th St & Park Ave featuring fried chicken, fish, shrimp and more.  Today’s Lunch is a kofta sandwich ($4.50) from the 100% Halal & Healthy (grilled) cart on 55th St just west of Park Ave.

There are several things about the 100% Halal & Healthy cart which help them stand out from the crowd.

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It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for another Wall Street Winner, provided by FiDi Mama of the Money Grub website.  For Today’s Lunch, FiDi Mama reviews Alan’s Falafel, one of the better-known and highly regarded falafel vendors in the Financial District.  How did she (and her daughter HD) like Alan’s Falafel?  Find out after the jump.

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Before starting New York Street Food, I used to get a muffin every morning from Youssef’s cart on the east side of Broadway between 58th & 59th St.  Youssef is one of the friendliest vendors I’ve met, and even though I was only getting a muffin, he treated me like a regular.  When there was a line, he quickly gave me a muffin out the back of the cart, so I didn’t have to wait on line.

One day a few months ago Youssef told me that he was going to Alaska (?!?).  I think he was going to start a food cart up there, but I’m not sure.  Alaska seems like a strange place to go for a Middle Eastern person.  Not only is it brutally cold, but I thought Sarah Palin made it illegal for anyone other than “white Americans” to move to Alaska (political satire, people).

Well, Youssef was back Monday at his old spot near the NE corner of Broadway and 58th St, and he said he now has falafel available for lunch, as well as the usual chicken/lamb over rice, gyros, Italian sausages, hamburgers and cheese steaks.  If you’re looking for this cart, it’s in front of the new Argo Tea on Broadway and 58th St.  The cart sign says only Halal Food – no other name is listed.

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Last time I was in the Penn Station area, I had some success with the SBS Indian Express on West 33rd St between 7th & 8th Ave.  In order to get to SBS, I passed another truck with The Gyro King on a big sign on the front.  While there was a steady line at SBS that day, there was none at Gyro King, which made me a little wary, since it was lunchtime.

Today when I went back, there was a small line at Gyro King.  Following one of my basic rules, I ordered a gyro since it was in their name.  Would the Gyro King live up to it’s name?  Click through to find out.

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I’ve walked by University Pita several times.  It’s on 12th Street just west of University Place, almost next door to Num Pang, one of my favorite places.  University Pita caters a lot to NYU students, who receive significant discounts.  We put University Pita in our Honorary Street Food category, as it is basically a storefront with no seating.  It is also glatt kosher, if that matters to you.

The Yelp reviews rave about their falafel, but after seeing a large, juicy spit of chicken roasting, I opted for the chicken shawarma sandwich.  They also have a salad bar from which you select the items to go in your order.

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