New York Street Food

One of the better and more unique vendors in midtown is the Trini-Paki Boys cart on the south side of 43rd St just east of 6th Ave.  They serve a good chicken over rice dish, but their daily specials are what you should ask about before ordering.

There could be jerk chicken, goat curry, chicken tikka masala, beef stew, oxtail stew, shark bake (not actually shark), or any number of other Caribbean and Pakistani dishes. You see the food is a combination of cuisines, just as the married owners are – one is Trinidadian and one is Pakistani.

Several of these specials were available when I recently visited, and I went for a small portion of chicken tikka masala for $6 and a Trinidadian double for $2.

Inside a Trinidadian double (credit: NYSF)

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The Vendy Awards have announced this year’s finalists for the Vendy Cup, which takes place this Saturday on Governor’s Island.

In a break from past years, this year’s main category will have 7 vendors vying for the Vendy Cup.  In past years, no more than 5 vendors competed for the Vendy Cup.

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One of the better and more original vendors in midtown is the Trini-Paki Boys cart on the south side of 43rd St just east of 6th Ave.  They serve a good chicken over rice dish, but their daily specials are where you should look before ordering.

There could be jerk chicken, goat curry, beef stew, oxtail stew, shark bake, chicken tikka masala, or any number of other Caribbean and Indian/Pakistani favorites.

Today’s Lunch is Baked Fry Fish ($5) from the Trini-Paki Boys cart.

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Last week’s lunch of fried chicken from the Jerk Pan got me thinking about jerk chicken.  I really like the jerk chicken from Jerk Pan and Jamaican Dutchy, but they are pretty different from each other.

Not wanting to repeat myself, I decided to try the jerk chicken from the Trini-Paki Boys cart.  If you’re not familiar with them, the Trini-Paki Boys cart is one of the better street carts around, and is located on West 43rd St just east of 6th Ave.  They are tucked between one of the El Rey del Sabor carts and a generic halal cart.

If you’re not sure which cart is theirs, it’s the one with the friendly woman sitting in a chair handling the money while her son and daughter-in-law handle the cooking.  One of them is Trinidadian and one is Pakistani, hence the Trini-Paki Boys cart, named after their sons.

The chicken over rice from here is excellent, especially with some tamarind sauce.  But they started making jerk chicken a few months ago, and this is the first chance I’ve had to try it.  Today’s Lunch is the medium sized jerk chicken ($6) from the Trini-Paki Boys cart.

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I stopped by 43rd St & 6th Ave to talk to Rosa, the Vendy finalist from El Rey Del Sabor.  She wasn’t there, but the trip was still worthwhile.

Right next door, I noticed the Trini-Paki Boys cart had fish, dumplings & sweet potato listed  as one of their Daily Specials.  I really like fish and don’t get it often at home, so I try to get it outside the house whenever possible – and Trini-Paki Boys is one of the fresher, more interesting carts around.

Today’s Lunch is the fish special ($7) from Trini-Paki Boys cart.

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