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.
In their version of this dish, there are 5 round discs of fish, breaded and baked at home, then fried at the cart (more like warmed up than fried, but who needs the extra oil anyway). The fish is placed on a long rectangular roll with your choice or garnishes and sauces.
I asked for lettuce, white sauce, hot sauce, and tamarind sauce, which in our opinion is the secret weapon in the Trini-Paki Boys’ arsenal. It’s a bit spicy and a little sweet – much better than just white sauce and hot sauce on whatever you order.
The fish was pretty tasty, but there was a small round bone in the middle of each piece of fish. It was somewhat messy removing the pieces of fish, taking out the bones in the center, and putting the fish back on the sandwich.
After removing the bones, the sandwich was tasty, with plenty of heat along with the breaded fish. The lettuce added some crunch, and the bread was good too.
There was so much weight in the sandwich, the bottom of the bread got somewhat difficult to handle towards the end, but it was still enjoyable.
Today’s Lunch from the Trini-Paki Boys cart was decent. There was one big downside, the fish bones, but the rest of the sandwich was good. Lunch was a great value at only $5, but you had to put a little work into it.
